VILLANOVA, Pa. – With four games falling in the first 10 days of its 2018 regular season schedule, there is no more handy tool for a head coach to have than roster depth. So it is for Villanova head coach Tom Carlin, whose squad's deep bench helped lift it to a 1-0 victory over Delaware Friday evening in Newark, Del.
Among those who weren't in the starting 11 but offered strong contributions Friday were senior Kian Zapata, junior Sean Teixeira, and sophomores Tommy Nealon and Max Zandi.
"Kian and Tommy Nealon were big for us," noted Carlin. "Max Zandi changed the game for us in the second half. All of those guys got a lot of good minutes in the spring and have carried that over to the fall. It was very important for us to get them on the field in the preseason because we knew we were going to need them.
"Tommy Nealon was fantastic. That was just a great game for him."
The Wildcats second game in this busy period comes Monday, when they open the home portion of their regular season slate Monday at 4 p.m. against William & Mary, also 1-0. The preseason Colonial Athletic Association favorite downed Saint Joseph's 2-0 in its first game of 2018 on Friday evening. The Tribe return eight starters from its 2017 CAA championship side and have received votes in the United Soccer Coaches preseason Top 25 poll. Midfielder Antonio Busamante is the preseason CAA Player of the Year pick.
 "They're all quick turnarounds for us at this point," stated Carlin. "William & Mary is a quality team, the favorite t and we don't have a lot of time to prepare. That's why we played Virginia Tech and Syracuse in a quick turnaround in the preseason. We knew this was going to come at us fast and furious and we have to be ready.
"We're deep, though, and we'll continue to rely on that."
This is the first of two contests this week for the Wildcats on the home pitch at the Higgins Soccer Complex. Villanova hosts Loyola (Md.) on Friday at 4 p.m. before heading off to South Carolina to meet No. 11/12 Clemson on Monday, Sept. 3.
Both of this week's home games will be live streamed via the Nova Nation All-Access Pass at villanova.com. Nick Magtegna will provide the play by play on the broadcast.
