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April 3, 2004 | Stats

Laura Barnes led the defensive effort in a 6-3 win at Villanova with five caused turnovers.

VILLANOVA, Pa. — American University women's lacrosse used a stifling defensive effort and three goals from Rebecca Copeland (Webster, N.Y./Webster) to earn a hard-fought 6-3 victory Saturday at Villanova Field.

Copeland opened the scoring just 79 seconds in with a goal off a feed from senior attacker Lindsay Cartin (West Chester, Pa./Henderson). However, in a slow opening period, neither team would score again until Copeland and Cartin hooked up again with 11:54 remaining in the period.

AU's stingy defense allowed just seven first-half shots and sophomore goaltender Kathleen Finnegan (Arnold, Md./St. Mary's) stopped the only two that were on cage to preserve a shutout in the opening stanza. The Eagles tallied again, with 6:27 remaining, when Lynn Brandon (Exton, Pa./Henderson) received a feed from Moriah Linnell (Antrim, N.H./Contoocook Valley) on a fast break and buried a low shot to give AU a 3-0 lead at the half.

The Eagles raced further ahead in the second period, when Copeland tallied her third goal and freshman Caitlin Gorman (Springfield, Va./Bishop Ireton) turned in a fantastic individual effort to notch her eighth goal of the season to give American a commanding 5-0 lead.

Villanova fought back with consecutive goals three minutes apart to make it a game again at 5-2. However, the Eagles iced away the victory when Brandon scored her second goal, again off a feed from Linnell, to give AU a comfortable four-goal lead with 13:51 left. The Wildcats' Lauren Ferrara scored with 2:17 left, but AU controlled the ensuing draw control and retained possession for much of the remainder of the game.

The win pushes the Eagles' Patriot League record to 4-0, and AU remains a half-game ahead of Colgate in the PL standings after the Raiders defeated Lafayette earlier today, 12-7.

American returns to action in a non-league tilt at Richmond on Tuesday, April 6, beginning at 3:30 p.m.