VILLANOVA, Pa. - The La Salle field hockey team, fresh off a 1-0 victory over Saint Francis (Pa.) on Saturday, will make the short trip to city rival Villanova on Wednesday to take on the Wildcats at 7 PM. 

La Salle Explorers (2-2) at Villanova Wildcats (2-1)
Wednesday, September 5, 2012 | 7 PM
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Scouting the Explorers

Senior Neelam Kumar scored the only goal in the contest in Saturday's 1-0 win over visiting Saint Francis (Pa.) at DeVincent Field. Sophomore Lisa Shaffer stopped five shots for her fourth career shutout.

Five different Explorers have tallied goals this season, with junior Olivia Shoemaker the only player to have scored more than once. Shoemaker also has 13 shots, twice as many as the second Explorer (Mariel Papa, six).

Freshman Juliana Carfagno will see some familiar faces as two former high school teammates, sophomores Andrea Conte and Allison Flitter, currently play for Villanova. 

Scouting the Villanova

Villanova comes into Wednesday's game with victories over Robert Morris and Central Michigan and a loss to Rider. Four different Wildcats have scored, led by Olivia Maggitti's two goals. Alex Diekmann has been strong in goal, sporting a .867 save percentage and a GAA of 1.65.

The Wildcats defeated Robert Morris, 2-0, in the opener before Maggitti's game-winner gave VU a 3-2 overtime win over Central Michigan. Last time out, Nova fell to Rider, 2-0, despite 10 saves from Diekmann.

Villanova returned to the Big East Tournament for the first time in five seasons last year and was 8-11 overall.

Up Next

La Salle travels to Columbia (0-2) on Sunday at 1 PM.