Villanova and St. Peter's played to a 2-2 draw in the regular season opener for both teams here Thursday afternoon at the Higgins Soccer Complex.
           Jordan Canica and Jorge Garcia scored the goals for the Wildcats. Sebastian Cutler DeJesus made three saves in goal for Villanova (0-0-1).
           "It's really hard to win college soccer games when you give up two goals," stated Villanova's Mark Fetrow, who made his regular season debut as the program's head coach on this sun-splashed breezy summer afternoon at the Higgins Soccer Complex.
           "I thought we created enough opportunities to win the game, regardless of the defensive mistakes we made. But we weren't clinical enough in the final third. No matter how much possession time you have, at the end of the day if you aren't good enough in both boxes it's going to hurt you. We need to improve with that."
           The Peacocks registered the first goal of this one when Conlan Paventi sent a cross that Tim Strele deposited into the net at 9:24.
           Villanova, however, responded quickly. Michael teDuits and Jorge Garcia made smart passes, setting up Canica for a finish on a cross at 12:03. The goal was Canica's first of his college career.
           The Wildcats had the better of the action over the remainder of the first half but the match remained deadlocked at one at the break.
           Some nifty work on the right side by Vincent Petrera and Luke Haggerty led to the Wildcats collecting their second goal. This one came at 56:07 as Garcia finished the play, firing the ball past St. Peter's goalkeeper Pedro Alves.
           Villanova held the better of the play and would ultimately end the afternoon with a 16-7 edge in shots. But St. Peter's took advantage of a moment in the 81st minute, netting the equalizer on a goal by Charlie Hare. The assist went to Paventi.
           The Wildcats now look to Sunday night's match in Philadelphia against Soccer Six rival Temple. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
