Oct. 13, 2010
Final Stats
VILLANOVA, Pa. - Freshman Dylan Renna scored an early goal and a solid defensive effort made it stand up for Villanova as the Wildcats defeated Rutgers 1-0 in a BIG EAST men's soccer match played on a gorgeous afternoon at the West Campus Soccer Complex here. The `Cats are now 3-0-1 in BIG EAST action thus far (7-4-2 overall), their best start in conference play in this decade.
VU gained control of the game in the 19th minute with a bit of nifty passing through the midfield. Freshman Joseph Schmid collected the ball near the center circle and sent a crisp feed to junior Kevin Garcia in the middle of the field. Garcia dribbled briefly and then found Renna on a run and deftly touched the ball to him. Renna collected the pass in stride and then released a low shot from 12 yards out that eluded Rutgers goalkeeper Adam Klink at the 18:28 mark. Schmid and Garcia were credited with assists on the play.
"We got some good touches going in the midfield and it got us a goal," stated Wildcats senior back Nick Rouzier. "It would have been nice to get a second one to give us some breathing room but we were able to make it stand up."
Rutgers owned a 10-7 advantage in shots in the first half but the Wildcats were never seriously threatened. That changed in the second 45 minutes as both teams created quality scoring chances.
In the 56th minute Bresnahan had to be sharp when Ibrahim Kamara sent a hard blast on net. A little later, Todd Webb appeared poised to tie the game after a nifty feed from Kamara but his shot sailed over the crossbar. And Bresnahan made his best save of the afternoon in the 82nd minute when he stifled Webb's shot on goal.
Renna nearly picked up a second goal midway through the half but a charging Klink forced him to loft the ball over the net.
In the end, Villanova held off the Scarlet Knights (3-7-1 overall, 0-4-0 BIG EAST) to post the shutout.
"It feels really good," said Rouzier. "As a defense we're all communicating and pulling for one another. Our keeper, Chris Bresnahan, has been great and we've done a good job concentrating in practice and staying focused on the game plan."
Bresnahan stopped all six shots sent on net by the Scarlet Knights. Villanova owned a 19-17 edge in total shots while Rutgers held a 7-4 advantage on corner kicks.
The Wildcats look to extend their excellent start in conference play when they travel south to meet Georgetown on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. in Washington, D.C.
