Oct. 23, 2010
Final Stats
VILLANOVA, Pa. - Both teams entered the BIG EAST Red Division match with identical records and after 110 minutes of hard-fought soccer neither team had gained ground - Villanova (8-5-3 overall, 4-1-2 BIG EAST) and Cincinnati (6-4-5 overall, 4-1-2 BIG EAST) played a 0-0 draw on a sun-splashed afternoon at the Villanova West Campus Soccer Complex.
"Our guys were excited to be in a game like this against a quality opponent at this point in the season," stated Villanova assistant coach B.J. Callaghan. "Both teams competed hard and we'll take the point. Neither team gained ground."
The Wildcats - who clinched a berth in the BIG EAST playoffs with Wednesday's 2-1 win overtime victory over Syracuse - owned a 7-3 edge in shots in the first half but the closest thing to a score came near the end of the half. The Bearcats knocked the ball into the net but the officials ruled that a foul had been called on the Bearcats' Tristan Watson before the ball crossed the goal line, negating the score.
The chances were somewhat more abundant in the second half. Villanova freshman Dylan Renna and sophomore Kyle Soroka created a couple of quality opportunities in the second 45 mintues but the best chance of the day came in the 88th minute. Cincinnati nearly got the game-winner off a corner kick. The ball arched into the box, where Mark Konitsch sent a shot that Villanova keeper Chris Bresnahan saved. The rebound rolled to Watson, whose blast from the middle of the box over Bresnahan banged off the crossbar and fell in front of the net, where Villanova was able to clear it.
Neither team was able to mount much in the way of scoring threats in the overtime periods.
Cincinnati's Matt Williams had to be sharp to stop a low blast off the foot of Jake Heyer that probably represented the Wildcats' best shot of the day to break the deadlock.
"We thought Nick Rouzier did a terrific job of keeping our defense organized and limiting Cincinnati's opportunities," stated Callaghan of the senior, who was honored in pre-game ceremonies along with classmates Heyer, Sean Mergenthal and Anthony Griffith prior to the their final regular season home game.
Both the Bearcats and Wildcats are tied for second in the Red Division behind second ranked Louisville with 14 points.
"We're happy to be playing for seeding at this point in the season," stated Callaghan. "Now we go on to St. John's and prepare to compete in a tough road environment."
Villanova closes out the regular season with a pair of tough road battles. The first comes on Wednesday night at perennial power St. John's (7:30 p.m.) in Jamaica, N.Y., and then comes a trip to Louisville next Saturday night (Oct. 30, 7:00 p.m.)
