Oct. 19, 2011
Final Stats
VILLANOVA, Pa. - Junior Kyle Soroka scored a pair of goals and sophomore Dylan Renna added another as the Villanova Wildcats (5-6-4 overall, 2-3-1 BIG EAST) upended the ninth ranked St. John's Red Storm (9-4-2 overall, 3-3-0 BIG EAST) in a BIG EAST match played at the West Campus Soccer Complex here today.
"Our mindset coming in was to make sure we give ourselves a chance to get two wins and get back into it," stated Villanova head coach Tom Carlin. "It is definitely nice to beat St. John's. They do a great job and they are a team that has been to the Final Four and won a national championship, so it is significant for us to beat them today."
The Wildcats wasted little time on a rainy afternoon here in setting the tone. Villanova earned a corner kick that saw freshman Oscar Umar serve the ball in to junior Kyle McCarthy. McCarthy headed the ball towards the net and Soroka was able to tip the ball into behind the Red Storm goalkeeper to stake the `Cats to a 1-0 lead at the 2:23 mark.
Then, in the 25th minute, the Wildcats took advantage of some transition offense.
Freshman Aaron Dennis found Dylan Renna in the middle of the field and Renna's shot eluded Red Storm goalkeeper Rafael Diaz at 24:06 to give Villanova a two-goal cushion.
St. John's pulled to within a goal after a corner kick was served into the Villanova box. The ball ricocheted in off a Wildcat defender and was credited as an own goal at 31:24 to shave VU's lead to 2-1.
That's where the game stood at intermission.
Early in the second half, though, Villanova rebuilt its two-goal edge.
Renna sent a ball into the middle that Soroka headed into the goal at 51:01 to push the lead to 3-1.
"Late in the game we were up two goals and we just wanted to have the mental toughness to fight to keep alive," stated Carlin. "We knew that St. John's was going to get their chances and we just wanted to be there to disrupt them."
VU senior goalkeeper John Fogarty made eight saves on a day when the Red Storm owned a 19-7 edge in shots. St. John's also owned an 8-1 advantage in corner kicks - the Wildcats only corner was the one in the third minute that resulted in the game's opening score.
The Wildcats will look to build on this impressive victory on Saturday night when they visit BIG EAST Red Division leader USF in Tampa.
