Sept. 26, 2008
Final Stats
VILLANOVA, Pa. - Seton Hall's Dritan Sela drilled a low shot into the left corner of the net in the 98th minute to lift the Pirates (5-4-0 overall, 1-2-0 BIG EAST) past Villanova (4-3-1 overall, 1-1-1 BIG EAST) 1-0 in a match played in a steady mist here at the Soccer Complex.
"We did a lot of good things today," stated Villanova head coach Tom Carlin, "but if you're going to win games you have to score goals. We just weren't able to finish and Seton Hall did a great job of making us pay for that."
The first half produced only 11 total shots, six from the Pirates and five from the Wildcats. But with the footing slick, prime scoring chances were hard to come by. The best chance of the half came off the foot of the Hall's Brayan Martinez, who sent a 28 yard blast towards the net that freshman goalkeeper Chris Bresnahan (McLean, Va./Gonzaga High School) made a terrific leaping save on.
At the other end, Pirates goalkeeper Paul McHenry was just as sharp, especially in the second half when the Wildcats produced a series of wonderful opportunities.. Sophomore Sean Mergenthal was in behind the defense midway through the half and his low shot sailed just wide to the right of the net. Then in the final minute of regulation, senior Joe Taylor (Southampton, Pa./Archbishop Wood H.S.) appeared set to notch the game-winner with the ball on his foot and McHenry out of position. But a Pirate defender managed to get in front of the shot just as it was released and get enough of it to block it.
With time winding down in the first overtime, Seton Hall gained possession. Jerry Saintil and Steven Rose created an opportunity just inside the top of the box. A Villanova defender got a piece of the ball but it rolled to Sela, who calmly drilled a shot along the grass just inside the left post that got by the outstretched arm of Bresnahan.
The score came at 98:54.
Bresnahan made six saves in net for the Wildcats while McHenry equaled that total for the Hall. Seton Hall owned a 19-16 edge in shots while Villanova had one more corner kick than the Pirates (6-5).
"It's a quick turnaround for us," Carlin said. "We'll break the tape down tonight and then meet with the guys about it. We have a good Georgetown team coming in so we have to learn from this and move on quickly."
