Nov. 3, 2010
Final Stats
VILLANOVA, Pa. - For the third time in as many years, the Providence Friars proved to be Villanova's nemesis in the BIG EAST Tournament. Senior Matt Marcin scored a pair of second half goals to help lead the Friars (10-5-2 overall) to a 3-0 victory over Villanova in the opening round of the BIG EAST Tournament on a beautiful fall afternoon at the West Campus Soccer Complex. It marked the third straight season in which the Friars eliminated VU in the opening round of this event.
Providence, winners of five straight, advances to a quarterfinal meeting on Saturday at Georgetown. The Wildcats dropped to 8-8-3 overall.
"It's disappointing to all of us," stated Villanova head coach Tom Carlin. "We just came out flat. With eight freshmen and sophomores we didn't have a good understanding of the intensity level you need from the first whistle against a quality veteran team like Providence in these playoffs. All the credit goes to Providence."
The Wildcats actually had several opportunities in the game's first 25 minutes to seize the lead. Villanova received a pair of free kicks just outside the Friars' box but the first attempt by sophomore Kyle Soroka was blocked by the defensive wall and the second sailed wide of the goal.
The best Villanova chance came in the 23rd minute when freshman Dylan Renna made a nifty move on the right side to clear space to unleash a blast from 25 yards out. The ball curled slightly, however, and caught the right post, caroming out of harm's way.
"We had a great chance there," Carlin noted. "If we get that one, then they have to chase the game a bit."
Instead, Providence got the all-important first goal. A Wildcat defender slipped near midfield and that allowed Greg Davis to make a run past the defense after receiving a feed from Walter Arboleda. Davis then lofted a shot above Wildcat goalkeeper Chris Bresnahan that dropped in just beneath the crossbar at 42:34 to give the Friars the 1-0.
"Coming so late in the half," Carlin said, "that one hurt. It put us into a position where we had to chase the game."
The Friars capitalized again just 90 seconds into the second half. Marc Cintron sent a cross through the box that Marcin re-directed with his left foot alongside the near post to make it 2-0. It was Marcin's booming blast from 40 yards out that stunned Villanova with 2:45 remaining in a 1-1 game in the 2009 meeting between these two teams at the West Campus Soccer Complex in the BIG EAST opening round contest and vaulted Providence to the quarterfinals.
The final goal was the result of a marvelous individual effort by Marcin, who took a feed from Cintron and fended off three Villanova defenders to send a low shot into the net at 63:17.
The Wildcats pushed everyone forward in the final 27 minutes but were unable to get one past Friar goalkeeper Jhojan Obando. The task became that much tougher at 74:44 when Villanova's Sean Mergenthal was whistled for a red card, forcing the Wildcats to play the final 15:16 down a man.
"We really wanted to give this program its first BIG EAST playoff win," Carlin stated. "Unfortunately, we ran into a team that is playing extremely well today. We learned a lot this year, though, and we'll grow from this."
