OMAHA, Neb. – A strong late push while playing down a man wasn't enough to lift Villanova out of an early hole, as the Wildcats dropped a 1-0 decision to Creighton in a BIG EAST soccer match Saturday night at Morrison Stadium. A goal by the Bluejays' Charles Auguste in the ninth minute proved to be the evening's only score.
But it wasn't for a lack of effort.
The Wildcats – down a man after a red card absorbed in the 50th minute – applied near constant heat in the attacking third of the pitch over the match's final 25 minutes. Yet the equalizer did not materialize.
Villanova drops to 5-3-1 overall, 0-1-1 BIG EAST. Creighton is now 6-2-1 overall, 2-0-0 BIG EAST.
"We got off to kind of a slow start and gave up the early goal," stated Villanova head coach Tom Carlin. "It's always tough to put yourself in that position on the road.
"We finally started to get an edge on the game early in the second half and then the red card came. At that point we grabbed even more of a hold of the game. The guys battled, competed and we had the better of the play. But we couldn't find one."
The Bluejays got the early advantage. In the ninth minute a cross into the box was deflected by a Villanova defender and found its way to Charles Auguste. August then deposited a shot into the back of the net on the left side at 8:47. Assists on the scoring play were awarded to Musa Qongo and Yudai Tashiro.
"We overplayed it," stated Carlin. "They crossed it into the box and we didn't find the runners."
On a damp night with an occasional light drizzle after heavier rains earlier in the day , chances for the remainder of the first half were rare.
A sharp attacking move by Lyam MacKinnon produced the first shot on goal of the night for the Wildcats but Creighton goalkeeper Collin Davidia was equal to the challenge and made the save.
Creighton had another strong chance late in the period, but Wildcat center backs Luca Mellor and Shane Bradley combined to deflect a shot that seemed ticketed for the net.
The Bluejays took the 1-0 lead into the halftime break. Creighton owned a 6-2 edge in shots for the first 45 minutes.
The challenge for the Wildcats grew more daunting in the 50th minute when freshman Marcus Brenes was assessed a red card. With Brenes sent off, Villanova was forced to play down a man for the remaining 40 minutes of regulation time in the match.
Wildcats goalkeeper Carson Williams made a clutch save on a bid from the Bluejays' Nico Engelking in the 54th minute to keep the deficit at one.
Despite facing a manpower disadvantage, Villanova placed substantial pressure on the Bluejays, generating eight shots and four corners in the final 25 minutes. Somehow, though, Creighton withstood the heat and escaped with its 1-0 lead intact after 90 minutes.
"When you shoot yourself in the foot early," Carlin said, "you end up chasing the game. I thought we battled and had them on their heels for a lot of the second half. But we just put ourselves into a tough spot on the road."
The Wildcats are now idle until Friday when they host their first BIG EAST match of 2019 at the Higgins Soccer Complex. Xavier will come to West Campus for a contest that kicks off at 4 p.m. (Nova Nation All-Access).
