Final Stats

VILLANOVA, Pa. -- A return to the Higgins Soccer Complex after three straight road games proved just the elixir for the Villanova Wildcats, who rolled past Penn 4-0 on an unseasonably warm and sunny October afternoon. Junior Lucas Hodges scored a pair of goals for the Wildcats while classmate Miguel Polley added a goal and an assist.

"I didn't like our tempo early," stated Villanova head coach Tom Carlin, "but we got two set piece goals. The message to the team at halftime was not to be deceived by the scoreboard because I didn't think we were where we left off at Xavier. In the second half I thought the back line and Will Steiner really battled. If there were any turnovers or situations we found ourselves in, the back line cleaned them up."

The first set piece goal came off a free kick along the left side. Polley (West Bloomfield, Mich.) served a ball into the box near the right post. Senior Eric McKenna got a boot on the ball and re-directed it past Quakers goalkeeper Nick Savino at 11:05 to stake VU to an early lead.

Another Penn foul led to a second set piece, this one just beyond the 18 yard box on the right side. Polley served the ball towards net and his feed was re-directed on a header by Hodges at 18:15 to build the two goal advantage.

Those were two of the three shots Villanova took in the first 45 minutes. Penn generated eight shots but trailed by two at the break.

Polley and freshman Jacob Anderson executed a nifty give and go inside the 18 yard box in the 61st minute to provide the Wildcats a three goal cushion. Polley started the play, fed a ball to Anderson, who tapped it back to Polley streaking toward goal on the left side. The junior buried the shot inside the right post.

Hodges scored his second goal of the afternoon, this one off a feed from senior Padraic McCullaugh in the 70th minute to round out the scoring.

"When Miggy's running through and making things happen, as he was in the second half, we're very effective," noted Carlin.

Steiner stopped all five Quakers' shots he faced to record the shutout.

With this Philly Soccer Six victory, the Wildcats are now 7-5-2 overall and have completed their non-league regular season schedule. Four BIG EAST games remain and the first of those comes Saturday when league leading Creighton, ranked No. 10 in the nation, will be on West Campus to meet the Wildcats. Kick off is slated for 1 p.m. as part of Homecoming Weekend at Villanova.