Sept. 22, 2010
Final Stats
VILLANOVA, Pa. - Junior midfielder Kevin Garcia notched a pair of first half goals to help lead Villanova to a 3-0 victory over Saint Joseph's in a Philadelphia Soccer Six match played here today. The win improves the Wildcats record to 4-2-1 overall while the Hawks fell to 0-6.
Villanova took control of this one before the game was two minutes old.
After Saint Joseph's was whistled for a foul just outside the box, Garcia sent a low kick that sailed into the right side of the net, eluding goalkeeper Yiannys Dgermentzidis at the 1:28 mark before most of the fans on this sweltering 90 degree afternoon had a chance to settle on to the bleachers at the Villanova West Campus Soccer Complex.
"We got one early off a set piece and it really allowed us to establish our tempo to the game," noted Villanova head coach Tom Carlin.
The Wildcats applied continuous pressure through the first half. They took eight of the game's first nine shots and four of those were on net. At 17:43 Garcia struck again with a low blast that ricocheted into the net off of a Hawk defender to push the lead to 2-0.
Saint Joseph's best pressure came late in the half when Colin Baker helped initiate a pair of scoring chances but the Villanova defense, anchored by goalkeeper John Fogarty, held up. The start was Fogarty's first of his career and he would finish the day with a pair of saves and zero goals allowed in 78:26. Senior David Sauerhoff preserved the Wildcats' third straight shutout with spotless work in his 11:34 in goal.
VU's Sean Mergenthal tapped in a rebound for an apparent score that was taken off the board when it was ruled the Wildcats were offsides. Then, in the 55th minute current BIG EAST Rookie of the Week Dylan Renna nearly notched his third goal of the season with a shot that hit the left post and bounced away.
The Wildcats got their third and final goal when freshman back William Cason launched a blast on a free kick that got past Michael Moulton, who took over in net in the second half and made six saves. That goal came at 88:08.
The final was 3-0 and VU owned a 21-9 edge in shots. Carlin used 19 players on a warm afternoon in the midst of a busy stretch of home games.
"We talked about our depth at the beginning of the year and today was a day where we needed it," Carlin noted. "We played tough games on Friday and Sunday and then came right back here today with another game coming on Saturday. We got some terrific contributions from our seniors and some of the younger guys."
Villanova will host the third of four straight at the Soccer Complex on Saturday at noon when Seton Hall arrives for the BIG EAST Conference opener.
"We can't wait," stated Carlin. "We didn't start out the way we wanted to this season but feel like we've played better lately. It's exciting to get into BIG EAST play and see where we stand."
