Final Stats

NEWARK, Del. -- A pair of second half goals lifted the Villanova Wildcats to a 2-1 victory over the No. 22 University of Delaware Blue Hens on Sunday afternoon.

Senior Padraic McCullaugh and junior Miguel Polley scored the Villanova goals. Sophomore Zach Zandi added an assist on the game-winning goal and junior Will Steiner made seven saves, including a stop on a Blue Hen penalty kicks, in net for the Wildcats.

Villanova won its third straight to improve to 3-2 overall. Delaware (4-1) suffered its first loss of the campaign and surrendered its first goals of 2016. It had outscored its previous four opponents by the margin of 7-0.

The Wildcats were forced to dig out of an early hole.

At 1:16 Guillermo Delgado notched his fourth goal of the campaign off an assist from Dani Laguno.

"We kind of gifted them one early," stated Villanova head coach Tom Carlin. "We made a mistake. But we didn't panic and stuck with the process. As the first half went along, we saw that we were creating some chances and sensed that eventually we'd get one if we stuck with it."

For the second consecutive Sunday, Villanova found a way to upend a ranked opponent. One week ago the Wildcats took down then No. 11 Boston College, also by the count of 2-1.

A key moment arrived in the 47th minute. Delaware's Carlos Perales was awarded a penalty kick that could have increased the Blue Hens' advantage to 2-0. But Steiner made the save of the day and the shift in momentum was felt almost instantly.

"Coach (Mike) Montross gets a big assist on that one," stated Carlin. "He went back and watched every PK Delaware took last season. Before he hit it, Montross gave Steiner the tip and that's exactly where it was hit. Steiner made a great stop."

A mere 35 seconds after Steiner turned away the PK, Villanova's McCullaugh came up the equalizer. The goal was McCullaugh's second of the season -- he also found the back of the net in the win at Boston College.

"We were a little more physical and pressed some more in the second half," Carlin noted. "That helped us create some good opportunities."

Later in the period Zandi and Polley combined on a sharp play in the Blue Hens' box. Zandi fed a cross to the middle of the 18 yard box, where Polley was waiting. The junior sent the ball into the net from eight yards out at 61:48.

"Zandi started the play and did a great job of drawing the defender to him before he sent it over to Miguel," said Carlin. "Miggy just buried a great shot."

From there, Villanova clamped down and held off several late bids from Delaware to record the triumph.

"This has been a good response to our start," stated Carlin, whose Wildcats dropped their first two contests to Rider and Harvard. "We haven't been perfect but we've kept working, stayed together, and our attention to detail has been good."

The Wildcats will have five days to prepare for their BIG EAST regular season opener against Butler. That contest is set for Saturday at 1 p.m. at the Higgins Soccer Complex.