NEWARK, Del. – A goal in the 88th minute from senior Zach Zandi helped lift the Villanova Wildcats past Delaware 1-0 at Grant Stadium in the regular season opener here Friday night.
The match was tight throughout but the evening's decisive sequence began innocently. Junior midfielder Andres Camacho won a possession in a left sideline battle with a Blue Hens defender. That gave Villanova a throw in. Sophomore Richie Schlentz heaved a toss into the 18 yard box that Villanova's Enda O'Neill managed to flick with his head across the goalmouth. Standing there was Zandi, who calmly put it into the net at 87:12 behind Delaware keeper Todd Morton.
"Richie has a long throw and that can be pretty useful," stated Zach Zandi. "All credit to Enda – he was able to get the ball to the near post and I kind of drifted in unmarked thankfully. I scored against a guy I have played my whole life against basically. It was a nice feeling."
Villanova went on to close out the win to move to 1-0.
"We have Andres on there for his toughness, to step and make plays and be aggressive," stated Carlin. "He did that – and then we stole one. Let's be honest. Z was in the right spot. I can't even say we've worked on it because we haven't. We played hard, Z got to the spot, and we got one."
These two teams have staged entertaining, back and forth affairs in each of the prior three seasons but tonight's battle was more methodical in the early going. Each team generated a single shot on goal – one by Theo Quartey came for the Wildcats. Villanova goalkeeper Carson Williams had to be sharp to make the save on a Blue Hen bid off the foot of David Vavrous in the 16th minute, extending his right arm to deflect a bid ticketed for the upper left corner of the net.
Luca Mellor nearly got his toe on a re-direction off a free kick feed from Zach Zandi and Kian Zapata nearly broke in on goalkeeper Todd Morton before the Blue Hens defense rode him off the ball.
The game remained level at zero at halftime. Delaware produced the only three corner kicks of the first 45 minutes.
"It felt like we were on our back foot in the first half," stated Carlin. "That's not what we wanted to have happen but Delaware does a good job of forcing you into that."
Both defenses continued to snuff out scoring chances in the early stages of the second half. Delaware began to apply some pressure in the 67th minute, creating a free kick and corner kick. But Villanova – with Williams punching one bid out of harm's way – kept the Blue Hens off the scoreboard.
Williams made his second save of the night on a bid along the natural grass surface in the 71st minute.
"Carson's a rock star," noted Carlin. "He was there when we needed him."
"It's a good start and good way to set the tone," said Zandi of the win.
The Wildcats open the home portion of the 2018 regular season on Monday at 4 p.m. when William & Mary visits the Higgins Soccer Complex.
