VILLANOVA, Pa. – A goal in the 76^th minute carried Connecticut (5-6-2 overall, 2-3-2 BIG ESAT) to a 1-0 victory over Villanova on windy, mostly overcast afternoon at the Higgins Soccer Complex Wednesday.
 
The Wildcats several opportunities to pull level in the final minutes. The best of those was a Viktor Benediktsson shot on frame in the 88^th minute off a corner kick that Huskies' goalkeeper Michael Stone tracked and saved. Benediktsson led Villanova with three shots on the day.
 
"I thought our effort was good," stated Villanova head coach Tom Carlin. "We carried out our game plan. They played well. They had a little bit of urgency and desperation to them. They were trying to get things to turn for them. Unfortunately, today was the day that it happened.
 
"I liked our approach to things. We just needed to make a play and we didn't make it."
 
The outcome swung on a sequence that began along the left side of the Huskies attack with the game level at zero. Frantz Pierrot fired a low shot on goal that Villanova goalkeeper Kent Dickey knocked away from trouble. But Eli Conway was there to collect the carom and deposited it into the back of the net at 75:48 to give UConn the lead.
 
"It was a good shot," said Carlin. "It was just a rebound goal."
 
As the coaching staff reviews the game tape of this one, it's likely it will focus on the final third of the Nova attack.
 
"There were just a bunch of times when we were in the final 25 where it felt like we should have gotten more out of it," Carlin noted. "We should have gotten some combination out of it or a 1 v 1 opportunity. We just needed to be better."
 
Dickey made three saves on the day for Villanova.
 
Villanova resumes BIG EAST action on Saturday night when it visits Seton Hall at 7 p.m. in South Orange, N.J. The game will be streamed via the BIG EAST Digital Network on Flo Sports.