Final Stats

VILLANOVA, Pa. ââ'¬" In its second full season as the home of Villanova Men's Soccer, the Higgins Soccer Complex has become a refuge of sorts for one of its main tenants. The Wildcats turned in another memorable effort Wednesday on their home pitch, scoring a pair of late goals to rally past Providence (5-5-1 overall, 1-3-0 BIG EAST) 2-1 in a key BIG EAST match.

Senior Sean Sheridan capped the rally when he scored on a penalty kick in the 88th minute for Villanova. Earlier, junior Lucas Hodges had picked up the equalizer for the 'Cats in the 79th minute. The win pushes Villanova's record to 7-5-0 overall, 2-2-0 in the BIG EAST. The Wildcats are now 5-1 on the season and have produced second half rallies in three of those triumphs, including the last two in a row (VU upended Marquette by an identical 2-1 margin in its last home match on Oct. 3).

This was also an important bounce-back win after Villanova had fallen on the road Saturday at DePaul by a score of 3-2 after having built a 2-0 edge in the game's first 20 minutes.

"When we talk about endurance and a relentless pursuit of striving for our best, that's what you saw there," stated Villanova head coach Tom Carlin. "We went down a goal and obviously had a little adversity.

"What we were talking about after the DePaul game, after the DePaul loss, was discipline. That was our theme and you saw the discipline in our approach and in all of the little things to manage the game. It was awesome. They did a great job."

All of the scoring action in this one took place in the second half. Providence owned a 5-3 advantage in shots over the first 45 minutes but neither team was able to create a score.

At 74:41, Providence got the upper hand when Julian Gressel sent a cross in from the left side that found Alex Vigliotti inside the six yard box. Vigliotti sent the ball inside the near post and the Friars seemed well-positioned in what had been a tight defensive battle.

Yet the Wildcats found a way to get the equalizer at 78:52. Junior Andreas Bartosinski sent a cross in from the left side that found Hodges, who was near the goal line and finished the play. The contest was suddenly deadlocked at one.

The Wildcats were awarded a penalty kick at 87:21 and Sheridan was given the opportunity. In his last PK attempt at Higgins against Marquette, Sheridan's bid had ricocheted off the right post but the senior buried this one and the Wildcats gained the lead for the first time on the day.

The goal was Sheridan's fifth of the season and he now has 12 points to lead Villanova in that category. Sophomore Will Steiner made two saves in posting the win in goal for the Wildcats after being forced to the sidelines by injury in the first half at DePaul.

Villanova hopes to extend its Higgins magic Saturday when it returns to the Soccer Complex to host Xavier at 3 p.m. (BIG EAST Digital Network on Fox Sports Go). That will be the second half of a soccer twin-bill, with the Villanova women set to host Xavier at noon Saturday.