Providence, R.I.- The Villanova Wildcats 8-6-3 overall and 4-3-1 in BIG EAST picked up a win on Sunday afternoon by a final of 1-0 at Providence.

"We are in!" Shared head coach Chris McLain. 

With their first shot on goal Villanova got on the board.  Chloe O'Neill got a pass through to Brice McInroy who was in the center of the box.  McInroy got a strong shot off and put the Wildcats up 1-0 in the 22^nd minute.  Conner Huggins got another shot on goal for the Wildcats in the first half put the score remained 1-0 at halftime.   Villanova defense was able to not allow the Friars to get any shots on goal in the first 45 minutes. 

Providence came out in the second half and took 10 shots and placed four shot on goal but Rebecca Gartner was able to save all of them including one in the final minutes. 
McInroy took a team high four shots on the day while Jane Olcott and Huggins each took one. 

McLain sarid, " Providence is a very good team and always very well organized and do a great job keeping the ball. It was not easy to get the win today especially in the conditions. Great work by or backline and another great shutout for Rebecca Gartner."

"The credit goes to the players today. This team believed, trusted and played for one another today," McLain continued.  "The grit these players showed was unbelievable. Heart and desire from the first second to the final blow of the whistle. Extremely proud of the resilience of this squad. Anytime a team is missing 4-5 impact players, most would count this team out. Our players stepped right in all season long to show that we are growing as a program. We know that we have left a lot of points on the table this season, games that we should have finished off.  The last one was tough to swallow, but we took our medicine and moved forward. The sign of a great team. To go out today and know the plan, commit to it and execute Ed fantastic."

Villanova will close out the regular season at Creighton on Thursday, October 31^st.  Kickoff is schedule for 8:00 P.M. and can be seen on BEDN.    

With the win the Wildcats qualified for the BIG EAST Tournament.  This will be Villanova's first to the postseason since 2014.  Following Thursday's final game, the seeding will be announced.  The quarter finals will be played at campus sites on Sunday, November 3^rd with the 3 and 4 seeds hosting the 5 and 6 seeds.  The winners will go on to the semi-finals and take on the 1 and 2 seeds which will be host at Creighton University.  The Blue Jays will also host the championship on Sunday, November 10^th. 

" We are happy to have made the tournament. This playoff berth has been three years in the making. But we are not done yet. We will make a long trip out to Creighton with the opportunity to host a first-round playoff game. That is massive for our program. We will enjoy tonight but we'll get back to work first thing tomorrow to ensure we get all three points on Thursday," said McLain.