Final Stats

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. ââ'¬" A fast start keyed by goals from junior captain Zach Zandi and senior midfielder Miguel Polley in the first 25 minutes helped boost Villanova to a 2-1 win over the Penn Quakers on a chilly evening Tuesday at Rhodes Field. The victory in the Wildcats' final non-conference clash of the regular season leaves Villanova's overall record level at 7-7-0. VU is 2-3-0 in BIG EAST action.

"For us to be able to establish a tempo early was important," stated Villanova head coach Tom Carlin. "We got two goals and probably could have had one or two more because of how we attacked. As it turned out, we needed every bit of what we did in the first half because Penn's intensity made a huge impact on the game."

After being shut out in Friday night's BIG EAST contest with No. 9 Georgetown, the Wildcats got their offense rolling in this matchup of Philly Soccer Six rivals. Sophomore back Andres Camacho got the advantage along the left side and fed a sharp pass to Zandi, who deposited the ball into the back of the net at 20:52. The goal was Zandi's second of the campaign.

It didn't take long for the Wildcats to strike again.

In the 24th minute senior Andreas Bartosinski generated the opportunity for goal number two when he sent a ball in from the right side of the box to Polley, who sent it past Quakers' goalkeeper Scott Forbes at 23:27 for his first goal of 2017.

"We talked in the locker room before the game about doing what we do well," stated Carlin. "When we are at our best, we are possessing the ball and Miggy and Zandi have a lot to do with that. For them to help us get the tempo we needed and end up rewarded on the score sheet gave us a nice lift."

The Wildcats took the 2-0 edge with them into the intermission at halftime.

The Quakers (2-9-1 overall) turned up the heat in the final 45 minutes, generating nine shots to the Wildcats one. Penn drew to within a goal after the Wildcats were whistled foul in the 18 yard box that produced a penalty kick for Joe Swenson. He converted the opportunity at 76:34 for his fourth goal of the season.

Penn moved forward in the final minutes chasing the equalizer but the Wildcats held firm to come up with an important win heading into the critical four game home stretch of BIG EAST competition. The quest for a postseason berth resumes on Saturday evening, when the Wildcats visit Butler at 7 p.m. (BIG EAST Digital Network).

"I thought our decision-making was off in the second half and the credit for that goes to Penn," said Carlin. "But we were able to grind it out and get the result on the road."

Senior goalkeeper Will Steiner made two saves in posting his seventh win of the season for the Wildcats.