VILLANOVA, Pa. – A pair of Wildcats newcomers combined for a goal in the 90^th minute to help lift Villanova past Saint Joseph's 1-0 at the Higgins Soccer Complex on Monday afternoon. Freshman Matthew Klann deftly tapped the ball to Sam Nyenka near the top of the 18-yard box and Nyenka did the rest, blasting a shot into the net at the 89:31 mark of this Philly Soccer Six clash.
 
Villanova improved to 2-0-1 while the Hawks fell to 1-1-1 overall.
 
"Matty has been coming off the bench for us, getting about 15 minutes a game," said Villanova head coach Mark Fetrow. "We had a conversation last week that if he wants to expand that role, he had to improve the defensive side of things. He did that extremely well today. You got to see his quality on the ball. He's very comfortable in tight spaces, has a high pass completion percentage and when he gets into the final third that's really when he helps us.
 
"I was very happy with Matt. My plan was to get a spell from him, about 15 minutes again, but he was playing so well there was no way I was taking him off the field."
 
On a day afternoon filled with sunshine and temperatures in the 70s, the Higgins Soccer Complex stands were packed from one end to the other. Saint Joseph's applied substantial pressure in the first 25 minutes, attacking and putting the 'Cats back on their heels.
 
Sophomore goalkeeper Alex Yagudayev was sharp, however, and came up with a trio of key saves over the first 45 minutes that kept the match level at zero as the two teams headed off for the halftime break.
 
"We have two very talented keepers and when his number was called today, Yagu came through with the saves when we needed him to," Fetrow stated. "They had us on our back foot at times, but we were sound defensively."
 
At halftime, the Wildcats tweaked their approach after being outshot 6-2 in the first half.
 
"We made a couple of tactical adjustments that I thought helped us," Fetrow stated.
 
Indeed, Villanova turned the tables in the second half, building a 14-3 edge in shots over the final 45 minutes. As the half moved on, the Wildcats' scoring chances were of increasingly higher quality, leading to a frantic final stretch of action with the crowd often on its feet.
 
In the 84^th minute, a Brody Crampton blast seemed headed for the goal before bouncing off the crossbar and over the goal.
 
The match appeared destined to end in a scoreless draw before the theatrics of the final minute.
 
"I wasn't sure Sam made the right decision when he first played that," said Fetrow with a smile, "but it was exactly the right call."
 
The play began on the left side by sophomore Fynn Lahrsen. Lahrsen got the ball ahead of Klann, who drew a defender to him and simultaneously touched the ball to Nyenka. From there, Nyenka converted his third goal of the season to put the Wildcats on top.
 
"Sam has a handful for them all day," said Fetrow. "He was tough holding the ball against their pressure and then he did a great job in that final sequence."
 
Villanova is idle until Friday when it heads to New York City for its first regular season road match at Columbia.