The Georgetown women's lacrosse team began BIG EAST Conference play with a solid 19-11 victory over the Villanova University Wildcats on Friday afternoon at Cooper Field. Additionally, it was a record-setting day for graduate student Natalia Lynch as she became the program's all-time draw controls leader, surpassing Gloria Lozano who played on the Hilltop from 2001-04 and now sitting at 228 for her career. With the win, the Hoyas improved to 2-3 overall and 1-0 in league play, while the Wildcats dropped to 2-5 overall and 0-1 in BIG EAST play. Head Coach Ricky Fried On the win: "It's nice to get our first BIG EAST win and to set the tone for the weekend. Today gave us some things to work on because most of the mistakes were ours, but if we can continue to build and improve on those areas, as well as forcing our opponents to make plays, we will set ourselves up for success." On Lynch's record: "I'm super excited for her, this says a lot about her work ethic and athleticism to get that many draw controls from the circle. She's had an incredible career here and with more games to play, she has an opportunity to leave a significant mark on our program." How it Happened Villanova opened the game with two quick scores, but an unassisted tally from graduate student Michaela Bruno sparked a 3-0 run as a free position goal from freshman Kylie Hazen at 13:05 made it 3-2 in favor of the Hoyas. The Wildcats tied it up on the ensuing draw, however, it was graduate student Liza Liotta and freshman Katie Goldsmith finding the back of the net 27 seconds apart to put GU ahead by two 5-3. Villanova would not go away answering right back to tie the game at five at the 8:29 mark in the first half. A free position goal by senior Caroline Frock sparked a 3-0 run over the final eight minutes of the half as the freshman duo of Goldsmith and Hazen each tallied a goal to make it 8-5 at the break. The Georgetown momentum would continue into the second period when junior Jordyn Sabourin took a beautiful pass from classmate Annabelle Albert to begin a 4-0 Hoya run. In the end it would be seven unanswered goals for the Blue & Gray spanning two halves. Looking at a 12-5 advantage, Villanova would tally back-to-back scores, but Bruno stopped the momentum with an unassisted shot at 23:02. It was truly a game of runs as the Hoyas went on a three-goal tear before 'Nova answered back. Georgetown would not let up with three more before the end of the game as the Blue & Gray cruised to the 19-11 victory. Of Note Hazen led the way with five goals and two assists, while her classmate Goldsmith was second with four goals on the afternoon. Bruno tallied the hat trick as well. Senior Ali Diamond had a big day with her first goal on the season, but also managing a team-best four assists in the contest. Lynch put in an all-around performance with one goal, one assist, five draw controls and two caused turnovers on her way to the record. Freshman Emma Driggs was impressive on the draw pulling in seven to her credit. Both teams tallied 32 shots and 13 turnovers apiece in the game, but Georgetown pulled in 17 draw controls to the 'Cats' 15. In the cage, sophomore Emily Gaven tallied seven saves, while the Villanova keepers combined for nine. Up Next In the second game in the conference series, GU will host the Wildcats at 1 p.m. on Sunday at Cooper Field. The contest will be streamed live on HoyaVision ($) and live stats will be available at GUHoyas.com.