Oct. 24, 2009
Final Stats
TAMPA, Fla. - The USF Bulls (11-2-2 overall, 5-2-2 BIG EAST) rallied for three goals after a Villanova red card in the second half to claim a 3-1 victory over the Wildcats (8-6-2 overall, 4-4-1 BIG EAST) in a critical BIG EAST Red Division match played here under the lights on Saturday night before a crowd of 928 here.
"Before the red card," stated Villanova head coach Tom Carlin, "we were exactly where we wanted to be."
In the early stages of the contest, it was the Wildcats who were getting the better scoring chances and keeping the Bulls' potent offensive attack in check at the other end. Villanova got the lead when senior Mike Seamon continued to build upon his sizzling October, notching his fifth goal of the season, and second in as many games, to stake VU to a 1-0 lead at 6:38 off an assist from freshman Kyle Soroka.
"Mike got us the lead and we really thought there were chances for it to be a two or three goal lead," noted Carlin. "We were playing that well. I thought we disrupted their rhythm and bottled up their midfield."
In an instant, though, the momentum shifted. Seamon and one of his USF counterparts became tangled up and the whistle blew in the 60th minute. The Villanova senior was hit with a red card, which carries with it an automatic ejection and leaves the team that receives it one man short for the rest of the contest.
The Bulls wasted little time in capitalizing on the advantage. Over the course of the final 30 minutes, USF put the ball into the net three times.
"It's unfortunate," stated Carlin, "but that's the way it goes. We tried to hold on down a man but they're a very good team and they found ways to put us back on our heels."
The red card also carries with it an automatic one-game suspension, which means Seamon, VU's leading scorer and one of the conference's top assist men, will not be in uniform when Villanova visits Rutgers on Wednesday night in another BIG EAST match with critical post-season implications.
"I feel badly for Mike that he won't get a chance to play in that game," said Carlin of his senior, whose hometown of Rahway, N.J., is near Rutgers. "He was looking forward to playing in his home area one last time as a college senior and now that isn't going to happen. But we'll go home and figure out a game plan on how we can succeed without Mike in the lineup."
