VILLANOVA, Pa. – Another stout defensive effort and a timely goal from senior Evan Vare helped Villanova post a significant win Tuesday, as the Wildcats knocked off No. 17 James Madison 1-0 at the Higgins Soccer Complex.

The shutout was Villanova's sixth at home this season, where the Wildcats have yet to concede a goal. Goalkeeper Carson Williams again shined through in a critical moment, making a huge save on Dukes' standout midfielder Manuel Ferriol as JMU made a push to get the equalizer in the final 30 minutes.

 "It was a whole team effort," stated senior back Sean Teixeira, who assisted on the Vare goal in the 44^th minute.

The victory was the 100^th at Villanova for head coach Tom Carlin.

"He's a great coach, great to be around him every day," noted senior captain Luca Mellor. "Congrats to him. Well deserved."

The Dukes (8-3-1 overall, 3-0-1 Colonial Athletic Association) demonstrated some of the skill that had helped them climb into the national rankings over the first 20 minutes. But slowly the Wildcats turned the tide and as the period neared its close, Vare collected a feed from Teixeira and sent a low ball from the right side that eluded Dukes' starting goalkeeper T.J. Bush at 43:05.

The second half remained tight and then came a pivotal moment. Dukes forward Lewis Long IV collided with Williams as he drove with the ball towards goal. Williams made the save but Long was shown a red card at 56:29, putting the Dukes a man down the rest of this partly sunny autumn afternoon.

"Soccer's funny," noted Carlin. "When the other team goes down a man, you get just a little more conservative and they get on their front foot. The same thing happened to us when we went down a man at Creighton. JMU created some chances and Carson came up huge a couple of times."

Indeed, the Wildcats needed to be sharp as JMU turned up the heat. Ferriol – who entered the match with 11 goals on the season – generated seven shots, including two on frame. A pair of set piece opportunities were especially dangerous but each time Williams made the save and his teammates made sure there were no rebound opportunities.

In the end, the Wildcats had improved to 6-0 at home in 2019, outscoring the opposition 10-0 at the Higgins Soccer Complex.

Carlin has the second highest win total Nova Soccer history behind his predecessor Larry Sullivan (113). He is now 100-96-23 in 12 seasons. He previously served as the head coach at his alma mater Arcadia.

"It's been a long time coming," he said. "I had 99 in six years at Arcadia so it took me double the time here. It means I'm working at a great place with great leadership and great players and great people. That's what it means to me."

Villanova resumes BIG EAST action on Saturday at No. 14 St. John's. The Wildcats and Red Storm will meet at 7 p.m. at Belson Stadium in a match that will be live streamed via the BIG EAST Digital Network on You Tube TV.