Oct. 3, 2001

Villanova, Pa. - A four-goal burst in less than 20 minutes of the second half carried the Syracuse Orangemen to a 4-1 victory over the Villanova Wildcats in a Big East soccer game played here on a warm afternoon at the Villanova Soccer Complex. Kirk Johnson scored a goal and added a pair of assists for the Orange (4-3-1 overall, 2-2-0 Big East).

Villanova (2-6-0 overall, 1-4-0 Big East) gained an upper hand in the first half when freshman Chris Blatz (Great River, N.Y.) lofted a soft pass into the box where Dan Massimini (Downington, Pa.) headed it past goalkeeper Anthony Peters to give the Wildcats a 1-0 lead at the 3:29 mark.

The 'Cats kept the Orange at bay for the remainder of the first half, outshooting Syracuse 7-4 and holding the one goal lead at intermission.

The second half belonged to the Orange, however. Johnson broke through when he accepted a pass from Guido Cristofori and beat Wildcat goalie Sean Teesdale (Blue Bell, Pa.) to tie the game at one at 66:55. John Andrade then tipped a shot past Teesdale after taking a ball from Johnson in the center of the box at 68:49 to give Syracuse a 2-1 lead.

With Villanova pressing, Syracuse's Ari Schneider broke in ahead on Teesdale and dropped a shot underneath the Wildcat netminder at the 78:10 mark to make it a 3-1 lead. Ryan Hall's goal at 83:10 completed the scoring.

Villanova travels to Boston College on Sunday for a noon kickoff.