Oct. 4, 2008

VILLANOVA, Pa. - A Brad Simpson goal off a scramble in front of the Villanova net was the afternoon's only score, lifting Cincinnati to a 1-0 victory in a BIG EAST men's soccer match played here on a beautiful sun-splashed day at the Villanova Soccer Complex. The Bearcats improve to 3-5-2 overall, 1-3-1 in the BIG EAST while the Wildcats fall to 4-5-2 overall, 1-2-2 in the BIG EAST.

"I thought we did some good things," stated Villanova head coach Tom Carlin. "Defensively we were much better today than we were at Penn. Unfortunately for us, Cincinnati got a goal off a set piece scrum. We had some chances of our own and we need to convert a couple of them."

Villanova had the better of play in the first half, generating 10 shots to the Bearcats four. But the game remained scoreless at intermission.

Cincinnati returned to the pitch after the break with its best sustained pressure of the afternoon. Following a whistle on Villanova, the ball was served into the box where Simpson got a head on the ball towards the net. His initial attempt was blocked but the rebound came right back to Simpson. He then calmly deposited a low shot into the left side of the net at 46:03.

The Wildcats bounced back and produced several solid scoring chances.

In the 54th minute senior Joe Taylor (Southamton, Pa./Archbishop Wood High School) dribbled into the box and sent a low blast that Bearcat goalie Matt Williams deflected. The rebound came to Villanova freshman Kevin Garcia (Flushing, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) whose followup blast went over the goal.

In the 62nd minute, Taylor played a soft ball into the box intended for senior Farris Fakhoury (Parlin, N.J./St. Joseph Regional High School). But Williams got there a split second before Fakhoury and collected the ball as he went sliding on the grass.

Then, in the 67 minute, Villanova was awarded a free kick just outside the top of the box. Senior Danny DeMasters sent a low blast that got a piece of a Bearcat in its wall and nearly rolled into the right corner of the net. However, it went just wide.

Villanova ended the day with a 16-11 edge in shots. Freshman goalkeeper Chris Bresnahan (McLean, Va./Gonzaga High School) made two saves while Williams made five saves for Cincinnati.

The Wildcats return home on Wednesday afternoon to play host to Rutgers at 4:00 p.m.