VILLANOVA, Pa. –  A first half goal from Anthony Dragisics and a stellar defensive effort helped carry Villanova past Penn State 1-0 Wednesday in a non-conference match before a packed grandstand at the Higgins Soccer Complex.
 
The Wildcats (4-2-2 overall, 1-0-1 BIG EAST) limited Penn State to just seven shots over the 90 minutes of action today on Villanova's West Campus.
 
"That felt like an NCAA Tournament game," stated Villanova head coach Tom Carlin. "We knew coming in that it would be that kind of game. To us, it felt like a barometer of where we'll need to be at in November. We also talked about setting the tone for October today with our fundamentals, intensity, the intangibles and the dirty work.
 
"We also talked about not beating ourselves. Even though we won the game at St. John's, it felt like there were so many moments where we were going to beat ourselves. We learned from that and I thought we really neutralized what they wanted to do."
 
The decisive goal came in the 18^th minute off a nifty feed from sophomore Balthi Saunders. His feed Dragisics on a run and the senior threaded a shot into the net past a sliding Kris Shakes at 17:29.
 
"This team's got fight," stated Dragisics, whose work on the outside of the back wall was lauded by Carlin. "That's something we have instilled over the last four years. We've been through a lot together and I think it shows on the field.
 
"I can't say enough about my teammates. It's a complete team effort. It's not like we have one guy that is at the center of everything. We rely on each other. That's what we've been working for, to bring it to this point."
 
The win was Villanova's second in a row, coming on the heels of a 4-0 BIG EAST triumph last Friday night at St. John's. The victory also added to the 'Cats success at home, bumping their record on the home pitch to 3-0-1 overall with a 10-1 goal differential.
 
Penn State never was able to generate consistent pressure, generating just three first half shots. Wildcats goalkeeper Kent Dickey made one save in posting his fourth clean sheet of the 2022 campaign.
 
Dragisics' partners on the back wall, center backs Jack Bonas and Viktor Benediktsson along with the other outside back, Gray Ricca, played a key role in keeping the heat off Dickey as the Nittany Lions pressed for the equalizer in the second half.
 
"We saw on tape that Penn State did a really good job of establishing its outside mids," noted Carlin. "Drags and Gray in particular did a great job today. They both did an unbelievable job at St. John's and they continued that today. When you have those two guys defending like they are on the sides and today moving up to score the game-winner, that's huge."
 
"We're glad that we still have them and glad that they're coming back for another year."
 
Carlin added there was another element that mattered in this win.
"This was huge," he said. "We hadn't won two in a row this year and we need to be able to build on the success we've had."
 
The Wildcats visit Creighton for a BIG EAST matchup Saturday evening at 7:30 p.m. The match will be streamed via the BIG EAST Digital Network on FloSports.