VILLANOVA, Pa. – The setting was different than originally planned, but by day's end that mattered little to the No. 15/18 Villanova Wildcats. After enduring a postponement Friday, the 'Cats picked up a 2-1 victory Saturday over Penn State (1-4 overall) in an entertaining match played under overcast skies – but no significant rain – at the Higgins Soccer Complex.

The two sides were scheduled to meet Friday evening at Talen Energy Stadium before severe storms forced the postponement.

"It was probably a little easier for us being at home," stated head coach Tom Carlin, whose team improved to 3-0 this season on campus and 4-1 overall. "I think that familiarity probably helped us get off to the start we did."

Indeed, the Wildcats quickly gained an advantage thanks again to the nifty work of senior midfielder Zach Zandi. The match was not yet three minutes old when Zandi buried his fourth goal of the season after collecting a loose ball to the left side of Nittany Lions goalkeeper Josh Levine.

The Wildcats were in control in the game's early minutes but Penn State soon found its footing. VU goalkeeper Carson Williams made two superb saves in the period to keep the Nittany Lions off the scoreboard for 35 minutes before they broke through at 35:17. Christian Sload sent a cross to Jeremy Rafanello who finished with the goal.

"Credit to Penn State – they're a great team and they were hungry," noted Carlin. "We had to defend a little bit more there than we would like to but the thing about it was that we created chances in the second half out of that."

The contest was deadlocked for the next 36 minutes, deep into the second half, before the game-winner was put into motion. It was initiated by a pair of Wildcats – senior Enda O'Neill and junior Conor Bradley – whose primary responsibilities lie on the defensive side. But O'Neill created a chance and the ball came directly to Bradley, open inside the box on the right side 12 yards out, off a blocked shot. The product of Havertown, Pa., sent a low shot into the left corner of the net at 72:33 to push the Wildcats in front.

"Conor's been plugging away and really the only way he's going to get the chance to score is off a scrum, which is pretty much what happened," stated Carlin. "That's Conor. It's how he plays. He's had a few chances so it's good to see him get one."

Despite surrendering 12 corner kicks on the day – to Villanova's two – the Wildcats shut the Nittany Lions down the rest of the way.

Villanova will take a 4-1 overall record – and that national ranking – into BIG EAST play in one week, on Sept. 15 at Marquette. They have amassed some valuable RPI victories in this stretch that could be quite helpful when post-season evaluation comes in November.

"For us, the big thing is we got stronger through the last five games," said Carlin. "We talk about the results whether we were 1-4 or 4-1. We just have to continue becoming a stronger team and get further along in our defensive schemes."