DENVER  – The [17/14] University of Denver women's lacrosse team defeated Villanova 18-10 on Friday afternoon at Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium.
 
Inside the Box Score:
Hannah Liddy quarterbacked the offense with six assists on Friday afternoon, including a behind-the-back feed on a dime to Sara Palmisano early in the first half. Mackenzie Wallevand scored five goals on seven shots to lead the Pioneers in the goal column. Bea Behrins also added six points on four goals and two assists. Eliza Radochonski and Palmisano rounded out the multi-goal scorers with a pair apiece.
 
Abby Jenkins got Denver the ball in the eight-goal win, picking up eight draw controls, part of a 20-for-30 day for the Pioneers. Molly Little and Kailee Lammers had three apiece. Sam Thacker had two caused turnovers to lead the day for the Pioneers in the category.
 
First Half:
Radochonski picked up a feed from Liddy to get the Pioneers on the board 42 seconds in. Rado then answered Villanova's first of the day with 18:00 to push Denver's lead back to 1-1 midway through the first half. Palmisano converted Liddy's third assist in the first 15:07 of the contest to make it 3-1. After a two-goal run from Villanova, the Pioneers rattled off four-straight to give the Pioneers a little breathing room at 7-3 with 1:47 to go. In the run, Denver got goals from Behrins, Kailey Conry, Wallevand and Palmisano. Amelia Cole made five stops in the opening 30 minutes.
 
Second Half:
Denver scored five of the first six goals in the second half to push the lead to seven at 12-5 with 17:19 to play. Wallevand, who scored four of her five goals in the second half, got the scoring started in the second 30 minutes with a free-position goal. Kayla DeRose, Ellie Curry, Wallevand and Behrins capped the early second-half run for Denver. Behrins answered a Villanova tally with her 35^th goal of the season to give the Pioneers a 13-6 lead at the midway point of the half.
 
Julia Gilbert got in the scoring column with 13:43 to go, Behrins added her third of the half and Wallevand scored her fourth in another mini 3-1 run for Denver. Taylor DeRose and Wallevand rounded out the scoring for Denver in the final 6:22.
 
Significant Stats

• Molly Little brought her career draw control total up to 198, two away from becoming the second player in Denver's Division I history to record 200 draw controls.
• Mackenzie Wallevand's hat trick was her second-straight, as she now has nine goals in her last two games.
• Bea Behrins now has seven hat tricks on the season, including five in her last six games (22 goals in that span). 

Up Next: Denver and Villanova will play game two of their two-game set on Sunday at 1 p.m. MT. Denver will honor its senior class both pre and postgame on Sunday.
 
CORONAVIRUS UPDATES: For the latest University of Denver updates on the coronavirus, click here.

DONATE: 
Fans interested in making a donation to the women's lacrosse program can do so by clicking here. Your contribution will make a direct impact on the success of YOUR Pioneers. Thank you in advance for your unwavering support of our student-athletes and their quest for excellence.

-5280 TOGETHER–
Visit DenverPioneers.com for complete coverage of all 17 of Denver's NCAA Division I sports.
Like Denver Pioneers and Denver Women's Lacrosse on Facebook
Follow @DU_Pioneers and @DU_WLAX on Twitter
Follow @denverpioneers and @DU_WLAX on Instagram