Sept. 4, 2010
Final Stats
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - The Drexel Dragons (2-0 overall, 0-0 Colonial Athletic Association) scored with just 3.1 seconds remaining in the first half and went on to defeat Villanova 2-0 in a Soccer Six match played here on Saturday afternoon at Vidas Field in West Philadelphia. The Wildcats fall to 1-1 overall, 0-0 BIG EAST, with the loss.
"We just never found our tempo all day long," stated Villanova head coach Tom Carlin. "We were back on our heels and they did a good job of making plays in key situations."
The first half produced relatively few quality scoring chances and it appeared the contest would be scoreless at intermission. But a foul called on Villanova directly in front of the Wildcats bench resulted in a free kick for the Dragons with 7.8 seconds left on the first half clock. Tal Bubil served the ball into the box and the Dragons' Ben Miller got a head on the ball. It caromed to Andrew Goldberg who headed the ball into the back of the net with just 3.1 seconds left before the break to catapult the Dragons into the lead.
"If we had not stood in front of the offensive player there probably isn't any foul called and the clock runs out," noted Carlin. "Then we got a piece of the ball on the first header but were able to win the second ball and it cost us."
Drexel owned a 7-2 edge in first half shots. Another blow for Villanova was the loss of senior center back Chris Christian who sustained a right leg injury in the 18th minute and did not return.
"That hurt us because Chris is such a key part of what we do," said Carlin.
Villanova applied its most intense pressure of the afternoon early in the second half. Freshman Joseph Schmid fired a ball that glanced off the crossbar in the 50th minute in what was the Wildcats' best scoring opportunity of the day. In the 58th minute sophomore Kyle Soroka and freshman Daniel Gonzalez just missed connecting on a nifty passing play inside the Drexel box.
Meanwhile, Chris Bresnahan came up with a pair of big saves midway through the second half to keep the deficit at one. But a turnover in the midfield forced Bresnahan to come far out of the box to attempt to beat Goldberg to the ball. Goldberg won the foot race, dribbled around Bresnahan and sent a low shot into the right side of the net at 70:57 to give the Dragons a two goal lead.
Despite VU's best efforts to push forward, it was unable to crack the Drexel defense and the final was 2-0. The Dragons out-shot Villanova 12-7 on the day, though the `Cats owned a 5-1 edge in corner kicks.
"We're disappointed but there is a lot of soccer to be played," stated Carlin. "We've got a few days to go back and look at the tape so that we get better for our tournament at home next weekend."
VU hosts Lafayette at 4:00 p.m. on Friday and follows that with a battle against George Mason on Sunday, Sept. 12, at 1:00 p.m.
