Sept. 7, 2008
Final Stats
PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Villanova head coach Tom Carlin knows well the bottom line. On this Sunday afternoon here it indicated that Brown University got a pair of early goals and held off the Wildcats for a 2-0 victory. The `Cats thus fall to 2-2 on the season after a near miss loss to No. 2 Boston College on Friday night.
"The ironic thing about this game is that overall it was probably the best effort we have had all season," Carlin said. "We moved the ball better than we have at any other time thus far this season, held our possessions and didn't turn it over in the midfield as we have at times in our first three games. But we saw why Brown is nationally ranked - they took advantage of a couple of early chances."
The Black Bears struck at the 13:13 mark in the first half off a corner kick. Nick Elenz-Martin scored his first goal of 2008 off feeds from David Walls and Rhett Bernstein to stake Brown to the early edge. Just more than a minute later Jon Okafor got a touch on a loose ball in the Villanova box and nudged it past Wildcat goalkeeper Chris Bresnahan (McLean, Va/Gonzaga High School) to extend Brown's edge to 2-0.
Villanova spent the rest of the afternoon fighting back. It did so with flair too, outshooting the Black Bears 19-13 on the day. There were as many as seven quality chances over the course of the afternoon that Brown goalie Jarrett Leech, who made five saves, managed to stave off.
"We were pleased with the kinds of chances we had," said Carlin. "It's unfortunate we couldn't finish them."
Carlin remains upbeat, however, after four games.
"The results weren't what we wanted but we improved here," Carlin stated. "We like the progress we've made. We're doing the little things we need to do to have success in the Big East. Now, we've got to convert our chances. We have to finish plays and put the ball in the back of the net.
"We saw two nationally ranked teams this weekend and were with them every step of the way. These experiences have given us a pretty good taste of the kind of skill we are going to face in the Big East."
Next up for Villanova is a date Saturday evening at Fordham (7:00 p.m.)
Notes: Seniors Farris Fakhoury (Parlin, N.J./St. Joseph's Regional High School) and Adam Brazitis (Lititz, Pa.) were named to the All Tournament team ... Boston College and St. John's were declared tournament champions.
