Sept. 24, 2011

Final Stats

BRYN MAWR, Pa. - Villanova (2-4-2 overall, 0-1-0 BIG EAST) carried the play early but it was Georgetown (5-1-2 overall, 1-0-0 BIG EAST) that produced a pair of first half goals and the two scores held firm as the Hoyas defeated the Wildcats 2-0 here on Saturday afternoon.

Heavy rain in the Delaware Valley on Friday and early on Saturday forced a site change. Instead of opening BIG EAST play on the familiar natural surface at the Villanova Soccer Complex, the contest was played here on the new synthetic surface at Applebee Field on the campus of Bryn Mawr College.

The Wildcats looked like they were very much at home in the game's early minutes. Villanova generated the first five shots of the match and had a couple of near-misses around the Hoyas net. Georgetown goalkeeper Tomas Gomez was forced to make three saves in the first 20 minutes, including stops of a pair of dangerous shots off the foot of Wildcats sophomore Dylan Renna.

"We came out and got the start we wanted to have," stated Villanova head coach Tom Carlin. "There were some chances to score and if we had been able to do that, the whole tenor of the game changes."

Georgetown's first significant scoring chance, though, altered everything. Tom Skelly fed a ball along the ground from the right side and found Tyler Rudy at the end of his run. Rudy knocked the ball into the net and the Hoyas led 1-0 at 22:09.

"Once we fell behind, we had to chase the game and that's always a challenge against an opponent as strong as Georgetown," noted Carlin.

A little over eight minutes later, the Wildcats' task grew exponentially. The Hoyas' Skelly sent a ball to Steve Neumann, a few yards above the top of the box. Neumann lofted a high shot that slipped in just underneath the crossbar at 30:44 and Georgetown had upped its lead to 2-0.

The Wildcats ended the first 45 minutes with a 12-6 edge in shots but in a hole nonetheless.

"This was very similar to the Penn game last weekend in that I thought we played a pretty solid first half but found ourselves down two goals," Carlin stated. "We have to tighten up defensively and I think we may be trying too hard offensively. We haven't scored much lately other than penalty kicks and I think it causes you to press a little bit."

Villanova was unable to alter much substantially in the second half. Freshman Oscar Umar had a couple of chances but Georgetown was very efficient in clearing rebounds and keeping trouble away from Gomez.

Gomez made five saves in posting the shutout for Georgetown while Villanova's John Fogarty was credited with three saves on the overcast afternoon. The Wildcats owned a 19-13 advantage in shots on the day.

"The thing we have to do is keep plugging along," stated Carlin. "We haven't gotten the results we wanted but we have been creating chances. I think once you get one goal, everyone relaxes and then they tend to come in bunches. Our focus now turns to Saint Joseph's."

The Wildcats meet the Hawks on Wednesday night at 7:00 on Hawk Hill in a Philadelphia Soccer Six match.