STORRS, Conn. – Villanova scored two goals in a span of 1:25 in the final minutes to stun No. 22 Connecticut 2-1 at Morrone Stadium here on Saturday night.
 
Backs Brody Crampton and Lorenzo Avalos were the goal scorers with assists going to Michael teDuits on the equalizer and Gleb Bogdanov on the go-ahead score at 88:36. The first goal came off a corner kick expertly served into the box by teDuits. The Avalos score came on a sequence that began with a Villanova throw in at 88:09.
 
"The effort from our guys tonight was incredible," said Villanova head coach Mark Fetrow. "We gave up that goal early in the second half and I thought we lost our way for a stretch there and got frustrated. But we didn't stop believing and were able to take advantage of a couple of service moments late. The guys weren't satisfied to just get the point.
 
"We had some great leadership tonight."
 
The win levels the Wildcats overall record at 3-3-3 overall and ups the BIG EAST mark to 1-0-1.
 
The Wildcats featured a new lineup for this one, welcoming sophomore midfielder Luke Haggerty back to the starting 11 after he missed the Penn game due to injury and with junior Mikhail Zarterser and freshman Matthew Klann earning their first starts of the regular season. Villanova generated the first corner kick of the night and the first shot, as freshman Zach Miles sent a header over the net off the corner from teDuits.
 
The Wildcats' second corner kick of the night resulted in a flurry of activity in front of the Huskies net. teDuits shot was blocked but the 'Cats had a couple of other chances to get control inside the 18 yard box but were unable to do so.
 
Former Wildcat Balthazar Saunders had UConn's best early chance on a counter attack but sent a shot high and wide of Nova goalkeeper Alex Yagudayev in the 17^th minute.
 
Fynn Lahrsen generated Nova's first shot on frame, but UConn goalkeeper Kyle Durham made the save in the 24^th minute.
 
A tackle on Haggerty led to a lengthy official review that led to a UConn yellow card and an excellent free kick opportunity for the 'Cats to Durham's right just outside the top of the box. But Villanova was unable to punch one in and the match remained scoreless, where it would remain into the halftime break.
 
UConn held an 8-6 edge in shots. Yagudayev and Durham each recorded one save over the first 45 minutes.
 
The Huskies grabbed the lead in the 57^th minute. The play began with a long UConn throw in that a Wildcats' defender was able to get his head on. But the ball found its way to Max Gummeson near the end line to the left of Yagudayev. He turned and fired a high shot from a tough angle into the left side of the net.
 
Charlie Holmes was awarded an assist on the play.
 
Over the final 20 minutes Villanova regained some momentum. They began to generate more attacking pressure on the Huskies. Ultimately it led to two goals that helped erase the sting of a subpar effort at Penn on Tuesday night.
 
"We're so young and it's so new to so many of these guys that I thought we were trying to find ourselves," Fetrow stated. "We were shooting ourselves in the foot and we talked this week about not beating ourselves. I thought we did a good job of being committed to executing the game plan and that helped us get off to a good start.
 
"I think this is a huge step for us in building an identity. We were on the road in a tough atmosphere against an outstanding team. Yet we persevered and came away with three points. The guys did a great job."
 
The Wildcats next look to build on this momentum Friday at 3 p.m., when the 'Cats head back to New England to face Providence (ESPN+).