Oct. 2, 2010
Final Stats
CHICAGO, Ill. - The Villanova Wildcats were down a goal at halftime but used a trio of second half goals to post a 3-1 victory over DePaul in a BIG EAST match played on a rainy afternoon in the Windy City. The `Cats are now 6-3-1 overall, 2-0-0 BIG EAST while the Blue Demons drop to 3-5-2 overall and 0-2-0 in the BIG EAST.
DePaul generated the better scoring chances in the first 45 minutes and built a 1-0 lead at 26:46 when Antonio Aguilar beat Wildcat goalkeeper Chris Bresnahan.
"DePaul did a better job than we did of possessing the ball and playing at the tempo they wanted in the first half," noted Villanova head coach Tom Carlin. "I thought we didn't play that well in the first half and we challenged our guys to be better at halftime."
The Wildcats have been in this spot before, though. They rallied from a 1-0 deficit to defeat Patriot League favorite Bucknell on Sept. 1 and Carlin liked his team's response.
"We weren't afraid to be down 1-0," he stated. "We have been in this position before and this team has good camaraderie and trust in one another. We believed we would win this game." The breakthrough came in the 68th minute when sophomore back Ryan Whalen drilled a long range bomb from 30 yards out into the back of the Blue Demons net, past goalkeeper Joe Ferrari.
"It was an incredible shot," said Carlin of the goal that came at 67:36. "Once we had that goal, we felt we had the momentum."
The game-winner came at 81:25 off the foot of freshman Joseph Schmid, another long range blast that put the Wildcats in front. Freshman Dylan Renna added an insurance goal at 84:26 to put the wraps on a 3-1 victory and a perfect start in conference play.
"This was a good test for us and I liked the way we responded," stated Carlin.
Villanova owned a 10-1 advantage in shots in the second half.
Next up for the Wildcats is a visit to No. 24 Penn State on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m.
"We're in the routine of Wednesday and Saturday games the rest of the way and Penn State will be another challenge," stated Carlin. "We have a lot of tough BIG EAST games after that starting with USF at PPL Park next week."
Villanova will meet Red Division rival USF at the home of the Philadelphia Union, PPL Park, on Oct. 9 at 7 p.m. Tickets can be purchased for $5 by calling 1-800-298-4200.
