INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. –Butler rode a strong first half to a 2-1 victory over Villanova in a BIG EAST Men's Soccer game played here on a windy night that included intermittent rain.
The 'Cats got a Luke Martelli goal midway through the second half but were unable to find the equalizer over the final 27 minutes.
On its second shot of the match, Butler grabbed the early lead. Finn Moran scored for the Bulldogs at 4:52 with assists credited to Lou-Kent Bosc and Luca Raso. The score came a short while before a light rain began to fall at Sellick Bowl.
Butler generated the first seven shots of the night.
"We pride ourselves on playing with grit, tenacity and attitude," said Villanova head coach Mark Fetrow, "but we didn't have those things working for us in the first half tonight. We got outworked and, credit to Butler, they were the aggressors and had us on the back foot. We weren't organized defensively and didn't win many first or second balls."
The Wildcats' first major scoring bid came in the 30th minute. It was a blast from the right foot of junior midfielder Karson Vazquez. It bounced off the right post and led to Nova's first two corner kicks of the night. Neither, however, led to a score.
Bosc set up the Bulldogs' second goal of the evening a short while later. Rosa sent a sharp cross from the left side to find Moran on a run on the opposite side. Moran re-directed the ball into the net past Alex Yagudayev at 31:07.
Yagudayev came up with a brilliant save in the final minute as the Bulldogs found Rosa open in the middle of the 18-yard box. The junior was able to cut the angle down and stop a bid that could have put the Bulldogs up by three at the break.
Butler owned an 11-2 edge in first half shots, with four of those on frame.
"We talked about those things we didn't see in the first half at halftime," Fetrow said. "We did a better job in the second half and won the period. But you can't put yourself in that kind of hole in a Big East game."
Left back Bar Netanel found himself in the right place at the right time early in the second half. Butler's Trent Lindsey appeared ticketed for the lower right side of the net but Netanel blocked the bid to keep the score at 2-0.
With the game clock ticking into the 63rd minute the Wildcats needed a boost, and they found one courtesy of redshirt junior Luke Martelli. Jayse Rand won a ball in the midfield and sent a feed to Martelli on the left side. The Kinzers, Pa., native took the ball and fired a short that grazed the left post and banked into the net to cut the deficit to 2-1.
Time of the goal was 62:58.
Martelli nearly got the Wildcats an equalizer in the 82nd minute, winning a ball near the top of the 18-yard box and firing a shot towards net that Butler goalkeeper Brooks Boersma got a glove on to make the save.
The Wildcats would not get closer across the final minutes.
"It wasn't a good night," Fetrow stated.
Villanova returns to the Higgins Soccer Complex to host No. 3 Georgetown on Saturday, Oct. 24 p.m. at noon (ESPN+).
