VILLANOVA, Pa. – A match that was air-tight and produced zero goals over the first 45 minutes opened up in the second half, as Creighton scored four times to outlast Villanova 4-2 in a BIG EAST contest played on an overcast afternoon at the Higgins Soccer Complex.
 
The Bluejays scored a pair of goals just 6:28 apart early in the second half only to see Villanova rally to level matters at two after a Jack Bonas goal off a corner kick at 73:45. But Duncan McGuire scored for the Bluejays at 78:46 and Creighton added a late goal as the 'Cats pressed forward to make the final 4-2.
 
Villanova falls to 8-4-0 overall, 4-2 BIG EAST while Creighton improves to 4-6-1 overall, 1-4 BIG EAST.
 
"The game opened up in the second half," stated Villanova head coach Tom Carlin. "It became a game of transition. I told the guys, we were making decisions in our back third after we had gained possession that weren't intelligent. Rather than just clearing things or extending things, I thought we were trying to be cute. They made us pay.
 
"Our back line and keeper have kept us in so many games. They were taking a lot of pressure in this one. Credit goes to Creighton. They really unlocked us and created some chances. They got into pockets against us and showed they're a good attacking team."
 
Goalkeeper Carson Williams made four first half saves to help keep the match scoreless through the first 45 minutes of action. The complexion of the match changed at 50:45 when the Wildcats were whistled for a foul inside their own 18 yard box, setting up a penalty kick which was converted by Creighton's Diego Gutierrez to make it 1-0.
 
A short while later the Bluejays' Diego Dutihl connected with Manu Toledano on a give and go exchange on the right side that led to a Toledano goal at 57:13.
 
Yet the Wildcats came right back and drew a penalty kick opportunity of their own, which Lyam MacKinnon finished to cut the deficit to 2-1 at 57:41.
 
Villanova kept pressing and found the equalizer off a corner kick in the 74^th minute. Dominic Cyriacks sent a ball into the box that Viktor Benediktsson got a head on that found Bonas, whose shot went in under the crossbar to tie the game at two.
 
But the Wildcats were unable to capitalize on the momentum. Creighton got a goal from McGuire at 78:46 off a feed from Gutierrez and then Gutierrez notched his second of the day at 83:26 on a fine individual effort as the 'Cats were caught pushing forward in search of the tying score.
 
"We had the momentum changed after we tied it," stated Carlin. "I think when we were down two goals we played a little bit more directly and with purpose. When we tied it up we kind of took our foot off the pedal a bit. I thought there was a foul in the box that could have been called that would have helped us but outside of that we fell back into what got us into trouble earlier in the half."
 
Villanova now gets set to meet Georgetown Saturday at 1 p.m. in Washington, D.C.