Sept. 27, 2006

Final Stats

VILLANOVA, Pa. - Villanova (5-6-1 overall, 1-5-0 BIG EAST) built a 2-0 lead early in the second half and then held off a late charge to post a 2-1 victory over Rutgers (4-6-0 overall, 2-4-0 BIG EAST) in an entertaining match played here at the Villanova Soccer Complex this afternoon.

The game was marked by several booming shots, a handful of brilliant saves and tight play throughout.

The Wildcats broke into the scoring column at 22:02 off a set piece. After Rutgers was whistled for a foul 27 yards from the Scarlet Knight net, sophomore Joe Taylor (Southampton, Pa.) lofted a ball inside the box to freshman Victor Faustino who then headed the ball towards the goal. A Rutgers defender got a piece of the ball but it caromed to Villanova freshman Mike Seamon (Rahway, N.J.), who headed the ball towards the net. Scarlet Knight goalkeeper Matt Van Oekel caught the shot but was ruled to have been past the goal line and Villanova had its first lead in BIG EAST play since Sept. 10 at Connecticut.

Despite 13 shots from Rutgers, Villanova maintained the 1-0 edge at intermission.

At 49:22, the Wildcats capitalized after another Rutgers foul. Junior Matt Sleece (Clifton, N.J.) sent a low blast from 22 yards out that Van Oekel stopped with his body. However, the force of the shot was such that the Scarlet Knight goalkeeper could not control the rebound and it bounced on to the foot of junior Mike Del Guercio (Chatham, N.J.), who picked up the loose ball and deposited a shot into the net to give the `Cats a 2-0 advantage.

Rutgers kept pressing and got on the board at 63:03 when Alieu Terry made a nice play along the goal line, dribbling and drawing the defense to him. He then fed a cross to Nick LaBrocca, who calmly lofted a shot into the net to close the gap to 2-1.

Both teams generated terrific chances in the final 25 minutes. Villanova goalie Jason Friel (Dublin, Pa.) managed to get his hand on a laser off the foot of Ryan Breznitsky that deflected off the crossbar and over the net in Rutgers' best opportunity while Taylor and Del Guercio had good chances for the `Cats. But neither team scored again resulting in the 2-1 final.

"We told the team that this was like a playoff game," stated Villanova head coach Larry Sullivan. "If we don't win then we would have a very tough time making the (BIG EAST) playoffs. The game had a real playoff atmosphere to it.

"We have played well defensively all year but the defense had much more to do today. If we don't win this game it would make things very difficult for us. Jon Wells, Matt Sleece and Jason Friel have done a great job all year. Friel had some incredible saves today."