Final Stats

VILLANOVA, Pa. ââ'¬" On Wednesday night, after dropping a 2-0 decision at Princeton, Villanova head coach Tom Carlin was convinced the Wildcats had taken a step forward. On Saturday, his instincts proved on target as Villanova put together perhaps its most impressive win of 2017, a 2-1 victory over Xavier (7-3-2 overall, 2-2 BIG EAST).

Seniors Lucas Hodges and Christopher Bared tallied goals for the Wildcats, who moved back to .500 overall (6-6-0) and in BIG EAST action (2-2-0).

"That's a heck of a team," stated Carlin of the Musketeers. "For us to be able to stay on our front foot and keep our possessions tight was just a really good effort.

"I felt we found our identity at Princeton even though we lost the game. It's kind of weird that we found it in a game we lost. But we came out today and we fought. We needed this because we were up against it."

The Wildcats were strong from the start on a breezy and warm summer-like late afternoon at the Higgins Soccer Complex. It was Villanova's first appearance on its home pitch in nearly three weeks and the comfort level was clear. VU held the better of possession and the shots over the game's first 30 minutes.

The breakthrough after a more than 310 minute scoring drought came near the end of the first period. Sophomore Sean Teixeira gained possession on the right side and dribbled past a Xavier defender. He then sent a cross that found a cutting Hodges, who sent the ball into the net at 42:02 to give the 'Cats the momentum heading into halftime.

"I just told the guys before the game ââ'¬" don't worry about stuff like that (shutout streak)," Carlin said. "We wanted them to worry about working hard. It was important to focus on effort and execution. They're really wasn't a monkey on our back in our minds ââ'¬" we just needed to keep attacking and playing on our front foot."

With Xavier possessing a potent attack, the second Wildcats goal of the day, scored at 60:53 loomed large. This time, the play began with the left outside back Christopher Bared. He dribbled in from the left, eluded a Musketeer defender and sent a shot at a tough angle that caromed off a defender and into the net.

That upped the lead to 2-0, which became enormous when Xavier got on the scoreboard at 76:20 off a corner kick. The assist wen to Simon Hestes with the tap in goal credited to Matt Vasquenza.

"You know they're going to get chances so you're just happy to get that extra goal to give you a little cushion," stated Carlin.

The Wildcats will now have a bit of a respite before turning their attention to another critical BIG EAST clash, when they host No. 10 Georgetown Friday night at Talen Energy Stadium.