Sept. 7, 2009

Final Stats

VILLANOVA, Pa. - Scoring chances were precious on Labor Day at the Villanova Soccer Complex and neither Penn nor Villanova could dent the scoring column in a 0-0 tie played here this afternoon. The Wildcats are 1-1-1 on the young season while Philadelphia Soccer Six rival Penn is now 0-1-1.

"I liked the energy we showed in the first half," stated Villanova head coach Tom Carlin. "We felt we were a little flat in the first half on Friday at Temple and were chasing the game the rest of the day. Our energy today was good and I thought we had our scoring chances.

"Our defense was very good and I liked the number of chances we had. We just weren't able to put any away and that's an area we'll continue to work on."

The first half saw a lot of tight midfield scraps for the ball but few in the way of quality chances. Penn's Chrisitan Barreiro probably had the best chance of the half but his shot sailed just wide of Villanova keeper Chris Bresnahan, who made three first half saves.

Bresnahan made his best save of the afternoon in the 72nd minute. Aaron Ross collected a loose ball about 20 yards directly in front of the Wildcat net and sent a low blast that appeared ticketed for the left hand corner. But the sophomore goalie anticipated the blast and made a sliding stop that kept the contest knotted at zero.

Villanova was not without its own opportunities. Senior Mike Seamon created several chances, including a cross that just missed sophomore Matt Margiotta in the 51st minute.

"I thought Mike Seamon generated a lot of chances for us," stated Carlin. "He's very creative and there were a number of times he put pressure on Penn."

Perhaps the best chance of the day came with just under four minutes left in regulation. Senior Adam Amann's shot from eight yards in front of the net caught the crossbar and ricocheted over the top of the goal.

Despite a few chances that looked promising, neither squad could get the game winner in the two 10-minute overtime sessions.

"Penn is a team that played in the NCAA Tournament last year," Carlin said. "They came in here and battled. But we did too and our defense was excellent.

"We told our freshmen after the game that they have experienced it all in their first three games - a win, a tie, and a loss. Now it's like they're grizzled veterans. We'll just keep working to get better."

Their next chance to do so comes this Friday at 5:30 p.m. when the `Cats meet Binghamton in Easton, Pa., as part of Lafayette's tournament.