PHILADELPHIA - The 2025 BIG EAST Women's Lacrosse Championship final will feature the No. 2 seed Villanova Wildcats and the No. 1 seed Denver Pioneers. The Pioneers took down No. 4 seed Georgetown 20-9 in Thursday's first semifinal game before the Wildcats defeated No. 3 seed UConn 16-10. Saturday's championship game is set for 11 a.m. ET and will air on FS2. The winner of the BIG EAST Championship earns the league's automatic bid to the 2025 NCAA Championship.
The Pioneers are making their eighth straight title game appearance and seek their fifth consecutive tournament title. The Wildcats advance to their first ever championship game. Denver beat Villanova in the regular season meeting 17-7 at home.
Semifinal 1: No. 1 Denver 20, No. 4 Georgetown 9
No. 1 seed Denver's defense dominated the Hoyas, setting two BIG EAST Championship records en route to a victory. The Pioneers set the tone early with four goals in a row. The Hoyas got two quick goals towards the end of the first quarter, but Denver responded with three goals in the last two minutes. Redshirt-freshman Caroline Keil scored three of the team's seven goals in the first quarter.
The Pioneers stayed in control through the end of the half, bringing the score to 11-4. Denver scored the first goal of the second half, but BIG EAST Freshman of the Year Sophia Loschert responded with two in a row for the Hoyas. The game ended on a five goal streak for the Pioneers, bringing the final score to 20-9.
Denver's defense broke the records for most ground balls (32) and caused turnovers (17) in a BIG EAST Championship game. Sophomore midfielder Olivia Ripple was one goal shy of tying the BIG EAST record of most goals in a BIG EAST Championship game, finishing with seven. She also finished with a game-high seven ground balls. Georgetown's junior attacker Gracie Driggs had a game-high 14 draw controls.
This is the 13th consecutive year the No. 1 seed will advance to the BIG EAST title game. No. 1 seeds are now 17-1 all-time in semifinal games.
Semifinal 2: No. 2 seed Villanova 16, No. 3 seed UConn 10
After going back and forth for most of the first half, the Wildcats stormed ahead in the third quarter and never looked back. Villanova took the early lead with goals from redshirt-sophomore attacker Elena Torres and sophomore attacker Jillian Vaught. UConn redshirt-sophomore attacker Ava Platta responded with a goal for the Huskies. After that, neither team had a lead larger than four goals until the third quarter.
At the beginning of the half, Vaught scored her third goal — a game high — which sparked a 7-1 run for the Wildcats. UConn finished the game on a three goal run, but it was not enough to close the gap.
Senior goalkeeper Cate Gallagher had a game-high six ground balls for Villanova and sophomore midfielder Emma Verhoest had a game-high six draw controls.
BIG EAST Women's Lacrosse Championship
Presented by Jeep
Semifinals – May 1 – BEDN
No. 1 seed Denver 20 vs. No. 4 Georgetown seed 9
No. 2 seed Villanova 16 vs. No. 3 UConn seed 10
Final – May 3 – FS2
No. 1 seed Denver vs. No. 2 seed Villanova, 11 a.m.
All games played at Villanova Stadium - Villanova, Pa.