Final Stats

NEWTON, Mass. -- Villanova's Californians helped lift it to its first victory of the season Sunday, a thrilling 2-1 win over No. 6/10 ranked Boston College. Freshman Jacob Anderson (Sacramento, Cal.) netted the game-winner with his first college goal off a scramble in front of the Eagles net at 86:47.

Fellow Californians Lucas Hodges (assist) and Padraic McCullaugh (goal) combined to net Villanova's other score in the first half.

Junior Will Steiner backstopped the Wildcats to the victory in net, making seven saves, including several enormous stops in the second half after Boston College had forged a deadlock in the 51st minute.

"We had a game plan where we wanted to neutralize their top scorers and we were able to execute that," stated head coach Tom Carlin. "Our possession was good and that helped too. The back line stayed organized and across the board, from Sean Teixeira to Shane Bradley to Nikkye DePoint to Christopher Bared, did a tremendous job. And Will Steiner made a couple of ridiculous saves in the second half for us.

"This was a great team win."

The Wildcats (1-2 overall) entered the action here hoping to build on the momentum they created late in Friday's 2-1 loss at Harvard. Head coach Tom Carlin altered his starting 11, with senior John Jlopleh, sophomore Zach Zandi and Anderson all making their first appearance in the starting lineup of the young campaign.

"It's nice when you have depth," stated Carlin, "Having played a tough game on Friday, we felt like we had a chance to rotate some guys to stay fresh and it paid off. We got a lift from the guys we inserted and also got good minutes from those who came in as reserves."

Hodges and McCullaugh entered the match midway through the first half and paired up to stake the Wildcats to a first half lead. Hodges found an open McCullaugh, who then sent a low shot from 15 yards out Eagles goalkeeper Cedric Saladin at 31:19.

"Getting the first goal is always helpful, especially on the road," Carlin noted. "It kind of takes the edge off things, especially when you have already lost the first game of the weekend."

Later in the period, Hodges nearly scored to give VU a 2-0 advantage.

Villanova retained that lead through halftime. Boston College owned a 5-4 advantage in shots over the first 45 minutes.

The Wildcats anticipated an Eagles surge early in the second half and that's what they got. Boston College (3-1 overall) broke through on a set piece, when Callum Johnson's corner kick was re-directed on a header by Maximillian Schulze-Geisthovel at 50:26. The goal was Schulze-Geisthovel's fourth this season in as many games.

The pressure on the Wildcats never relented. Boston College outshot Villanova 14-3 in the second half but the young back line, anchored by freshmen center backs Nikkye DePoint and Shane Bradley, held firm. Steiner stepped up to make five critical saves in the second period in net.

A match which appeared headed to overtime took a sudden detour in the 87th minute. That's when Anderson came up with a ball in the box off a corner kick and and calmly delivered his first collegiate goal.

"This game was kind of a coming out party for Jake," stated Carlin. "He really played well and was so composed when the ball came to him in the box. It was a nice strike into the goal."

That proved to be enough for the Wildcats to earn their first win of 2016.

Villanova returns to the Higgins Soccer Complex on Thursday when it hosts Navy in a non-conference match that is set to begin at 4 p.m..

"Hopefully we can take this momentum into Thursday against Navy," Carlin stated. "It's nice to get a road win back after dropping the home opener to Rider. We've only played three games so far but we're battled tested. We've faced some quality opponents and kept our composure."