Box Score Nov. 11, 2014 Final Stats
PROVIDENCE, R.I. - A high-scoring first half determined the contest as No. 23 Providence (11-4-2 overall; 5-2-2 BIG EAST) came from behind and registered a 2-1 victory over the visiting Villanova Wildcats (8-8-3 overall; 3-4-2 BIG EAST) on Tuesday night in Rhode Island in the quarterfinals of the BIG EAST Tournament.
With tonight's defeat, Villanova concludes their 2014 season and finishes the year with an 8-8-3 overall record and 3-4-2 mark in conference. The result mirrored the regular season matchup on Oct. 11th where the Wildcats also fell to Friars by a 2-1 margin on Providence's home pitch.
Following tonight's result, 4th-seeded Providence will play No. 1-seeded Creighton in the semifinal of the BIG EAST Tournament set for Friday, Nov. 14th at PPL Park in Chester, Pa. Earlier in the day, No. 3-seeded Georgetown defeated Marquette and will face No. 2 Xavier in the second semifinal match.
Head coach Tom Carlin states, "I thought we played well and it was one of our better games of the year. Our emotional intelligence was very good and we carried out our game plan. We had chances and we had some tempo. We knew they were going to get their looks. They're very good at what they do and we were able to neutralize what they do, but they got their chances and that's always going to happen."
The match began with each side seeing early opportunities and solid defending by the Villanova backline. In the 12th minute, senior Hayden Harr (Morris Plains, N.J.) streaked up the right flank and put a shot towards near post to force PC goalkeeper Keasel Broome to make a diving save.
The Wildcats broke through in the 25th minute when Harr played a chip to the right side of the box which was collected by sophomore Max Kroschwitz (Pipersville, Pa.). Kroschwitz settled the ball and finished low to the far left post to give Villanova a 1-0 lead with 20 minutes left to play in the stanza.
Despite the Wildcat lead, the Friars kept pressuring on offense and saw chances on attack. Just over 10 minutes later, PC's Markus Naglestad scored on a free kick from just outside the 18 to the high left of the net for the 1-1 equalizer in the 38th minute.
The Friars registered what would be the game-winner less than 10 minutes later when Julian Gressel scored high right from seven yards out on the weak side of the box off an assist from Jimmy Petruccelli at the 41:33 mark. The score would serve as the final of the contest despite 45 minutes left to play in the second half.
"The last seven minutes of the first half has kind of been our Achilles heel; finishing out halves and finishing out games," said Carlin. "They caught us with a good free kick and a ball on the weak side that was a very good finish. At the end of the day we didn't have enough in the second half to find that second goal deep. We made a change to push forward in the last 10 or 15 minutes but we looked a little spent at that point."
The second half favored Providence with an 8-4 advantage in shots and 5-3 advantage in corner kicks. Villanova registered two shots in the 67th and 82nd minutes, respectively, by Kroschwitz and junior Sean Shreridan(Levittown, Pa.) but both attempts were saved by PC's Broome.
The Wildcats were led by Kroschwitz's three shots and two shots on goal while Providence's Gressel registered six attempts for the evening. Defensively, Villanova's Will Steiner (Point Lookout, N.Y.) and PC's Broome each tallied three saves in net.
"It's been a fun year," stated Carlin. "We started out 0-3 and we finished pretty strong. We attacked and we fought and we had the spirit of things. I thought we did a great job. It's unfortunate we don't come out with a result but I feel good about our effort."
Villanova concludes the season with an 8-8-3 overall record and a 3-4-2 mark in the BIG EAST. Tonight's contest also marked the final contest for Villanova seniors Colton Bryant (Marietta, Ga.), Aaron Dennis (Elmont, N.Y.), Hayden Harr (Morris Plains, N.J.), J.T. Maurer (Marlton, N.J.), Oscar Umar (Accra, Ghana) and Matt Wiltse (Belle Meade, N.J.).
