Oct. 22, 2011
Final Stats
TAMPA, Fla. - The No. 8 ranked USF Bulls held off the Villanova Wildcats by a count of 2-1 in a BIG EAST Red Division match played here on Saturday night. The `Cats are now 5-7-4 overall, 2-4-1 BIG EAST, while USF improves to 11-2-2 overall, 6-0-1 in conference action.
"I thought we played very well in the first half," stated VU head coach Tom Carlin. "We had the tempo where we wanted it, got the first goal and realistically could have had one or two more."
The Wildcats took the momentum they seized in Wednesday's 3-1 win over No. 12 St. John's into the match here in Florida. Against St. John's, VU nabbed an early goal to take control when Kyle Soroka scored in the third minute.
On this night Villanova created some early pressure with a pair of corner kicks and a shot off the foot of junior Kyle McCarthy. Then, in the 18th minute, they were awarded their third corner kick of the night and made USF pay.
Freshman Oscar Umar's serve into the box found its way to senior Kevin Garcia who put a shot into the goal past USF keeper Chris Blais to give VU the early lead for the second time in as many games.
The Wildcats kept the lead for the rest of the first half, leaning on solid defense and the work of senior goalkeeper John Fogarty.
"As it turns out, we needed to get more than one goal in the first half," said Carlin. "USF did a very good job of being more aggressive and taking us out of what we wanted to do with their athleticism. We saw why they are the No. 8 team in the country."
Soroka had an early chance in the second half but Blais was equal to the test and made the save. Not long after, USF capitalized on a chance of its own on a corner kick. Ben Sweat sent the ball into the box and Dom Dwyer elevated and headed the ball into the net for his 14th goal of the season at 50:09 to knot the contest at one.
A bid by Aaron Dennis to give VU the lead back in the 67th minute was stopped by Blais. A short while later, in the 72nd minute, came the decisive play of the evening. That's when Brenton Griffiths picked up his second goal of the season off of assists from Ashani Fairclough and Morten Benestad at 71:12.
"We were a bit unlucky on that one," noted Carlin. "(Fogarty) went up to punch the ball out and it ended up hitting the back of a USF player's head and rolling into the net."
The lead belonged to the Bulls and they held it firmly for the duration of the match. Villanova generated two corner kicks in the final 18 plus minutes but no shots and the red-hot Bulls, who came in off a 3-1 win over Louisville, took home the three points.
Garcia led VU with three shots on the night while Fogarty made seven saves in net for the Wildcats. USF outshot the Wildcats 16-10 on the night.
The Wildcats have two more regular season matches, both this week. They visit Syracuse on Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m. before returning home to host Louisville at the West Campus Soccer Complex next Saturday at 1:00 p.m.
"We have to take the good out of this week," stated Carlin. "We beat the No. 12 team in the country and were right there with the No. 8 team tonigh. Our record is now what we want it to be but we have an opportunity this week to finish strong and solidify a playoff spot."
The first six teams in the BIG EAST Red and Blue Divisions qualify for the conference tournament. With two games remaining, VU presently sits in fifth position in the Red Division pending the outcome of other matches tonight.
