VILLANOVA, Pa. – Junior Karson Vazquez notched a pair of goals and added an assist on a Fynn Lahrsen goal that helped Villanova post a 3-3 draw with Providence (5-4-2 overall, 0-2-1 BIG EAST) on a splendid fall afternoon at the Higgins Soccer Complex Saturday.
The Wildcats held a 2-0 lead at halftime on Vazquez goals, conceded three goals to the Friars in a span of 13 second half minutes, and then rescued a point when a Vazquez shot was blocked by the Friars and wound up on the toe of Lahrsen, who deposited the ball into the net past goalkeeper Ryan Carney at 88:34.
"I thought we were following the game plan to a T in the first half," said Villanova head coach Mark Fetrow. "It was working continuously – over, and over, and over. In the second half, we got away from it."
The Wildcats got on the scoreboard in the sixth minute off a well-placed corner kick from Luke Martelli – one of six seniors honored prior to the match on 'Senior Day'. It found Vazquez, who re-directed the feed from Martelli past Carney at 5:17.
"It hit me square in the back," Vazquez said. "That was a bit of good luck for us."
Midway through the half, Vazquez got another one. This one was the product of a brilliant feed forward from senior Sam Nyenka. Vazquez collected the ball on the right side, took three dribbles and sent a low shot past Carney at 30:24 to build the lead to 2-0.
"Sam sent a great entry towards me," Vazquez stated. "Their right center back kept me onside, and I kept driving at the goal and fired."
The Wildcats owned a 9-6 edge in shots over the first 45 minutes and mostly kept the Friars out of dangerous situations, limiting them to one corner kick.
But the tenor of the contest shifted midway through the second half. A goal by Fernando Garcia Gil at 68:38 seemed to inject new life into the Friars' attack. Villanova appeared to answer with a Lahrsen goal to move on top 3-1 but a video review overturned the call due to a Wildcats' foul before the ball found its way inside the 18-yard box.
Withing two minutes, the Friars had converted their own set piece goal, this one from Steban Lopera to level matters at two at 73:27. Then Garcia Gil grabbed a rebound in front of 'Cats goalkeeper Alex Yagudayev and tucked it into the net.
It was suddenly 3-2 in Providence's fair.
Some good work by Nova in the final minutes helped generate the score that allowed the Wildcats to register their first BIG EAST point of the 2026 campaign.
Yet the sense of an opportunity lost was palpable for the 'Cats when the referee's whistle blew after 90 minutes.
"It was a good fight to get a point back," Fetrow said. "but we left two other points on the table. It should never have been a game that was close to a 3-3 game."
The Wildcats are idle until Friday night when they play a BIG EAST game at Butler (7 p.m./ESPN+).
