Villanova grabbed an early 1-0 lead against the nation's top-ranked team Saturday but saw Georgetown rally on its "Senior Day" to post a 3-1 triumph at Shaw Field.
 
This contest, originally listed as a 1 p.m. kickoff, began instead at 11:30 a.m. as officials took note of a forecast of thunderstorms expected to hit the District of Columbia region by mid-afternoon.
 
The Wildcats (8-5 overall, 4-3 BIG EAST) struck first thanks to the work from junior Lyam MacKinnon after a miscue by the Georgetown goalkeeper Giannis Nikopolidis. The native of Switzerland sent a low shot into the vacated net at 5:51 to give the 'Cats a 1-0 advantage on their first shot of the day.
 
"They gifted us one early," stated Villanova head coach Tom Carlin. "It put us into a great spot."
 
Georgetown, however, found the equalizer at 10:57 as Kenny Nielsen's shot found the back of the net for an unassisted goal on a play that began with a corner kick. Carson Williams punched the ball away where Nielsen got possession.
 
"We've defended set pieces well all season," noted Carlin, "but we fell asleep on that one."
 
Not long after, the Hoyas scored again to take a 2-1 lead. This time the Hoyas' Zach Riviere collected a loose ball and fired a shot just underneath the crossbar at 25:59. An assist on the score was credited to Stefan Stojanovic.
 
That was the margin when the two teams reached halftime.
 
"I thought we were on our back foot for too much of the first half," Carlin said. "We missed on some passes and just weren't as crisp as we needed to be."
 
Georgetown owned a 15-2 edge in shots (7-1 in shots on goal) and a 5-0 margin in corner kicks.
 
The Wildcats generated some early pressure in the second 45 minutes. Sophomore Akinjide Awujo found MacKinnon with a pass in the middle part of the six-yard box but a Georgetown defender knocked the ball away just as the Wildcats' junior appeared poise to redirect the ball on frame.
 
"We went in at halftime and really regrouped," stated Carlin. "Our belief was there. We had a bunch of chances early in the second half. If we hit one of those we're tied and it's a very different game."
 
Villanova generated six shots in the first 13 minutes of the second half and had the more meaningful possession for that stretch. But a pair of yellow cards assigned to Villanova outside back Anthony Cousins Jr. resulted in an automatic red card, putting the 'Cats down a man for the final 30 minutes of regulation.
 
"The game kind of stalled for us when we got the red card," said Carlin.
 
Georgetown (11-1 overall, 5-1 BIG EAST) stretched its lead to 3-1 in the 73^rd minute. The sequence began with a Villanova tackle just inside the 18-yard box that was ruled a foul, setting up a penalty kick. Dante Palvora's penalty kick was saved in spectacular fashion by Williams but the rebound came directly to Stojanovic, who put home the rebound at 72:39.
 
"I thought we continued to defend well down a man for the most part," Carlin said. 
 
The Wildcats inserted David Ogbonna, Jordan Canica and Vinente Petrera over the final 25 minutes as that group got its chance to face the nation's No. 1 side.
 
The final was 3-1. Georgetown owned a 28-8 advantage in shots on the day.
 
Next up for Villanova is a home match this Wednesday at 3 p.m. when DePaul visits the Higgins Soccer Complex. Kickoff is set for 3:05 p.m. in a contest that will be streamed on the BIG EAST Digital Network presented by Flo Sports.
 
"Even when we were 4-0 we talked about not getting too caught up in the results," Carlin said. "It's the same approach now. If we continue to progress and grow, I know we have what it takes to get where we want to go."