VILLANOVA, Pa. – A pair of second half goals by junior forward Vincent Petrera helped Villanova earn a 3-3 draw with the Seton Hall Pirates (5-3-2 overall, 1-2-1 BIG EAST) Saturday afternoon at the Higgins Soccer Complex.
 
On a blustery day with conditions that seemed to shift by the minute, no goals were scored over the first 45 minutes before six scores were registered over the final 45 minutes.
 
"I'm proud of the way our guys fought," stated head coach Tom Carlin. "We made some mistakes and were unlucky at several points, but we persevered and got a point."
 
Petrera's second goal of the day, at 83:57 gave Nova a 3-2 advantage. Freshman Belmar Joseph fed Petera, who fired a shot past Mats Roorda of the Pirates to put the Wildcats in a seemingly commanding position.
 
But less than three minutes later, Villanova (1-4-4 overall, 1-2-1 BIG EAST) was whistled for a foul inside its own 18 yard box. Andrea Borg scored his fourth goal of the campaign for the Pirates on the ensuing penalty kick at 86:19.
 
And there may have been a case for another golden opportunity for the 'Cats. During a scrum inside the Seton Hall 18-yard area in the final two minutes, a Villanova shot appeared to clip the hand of a Pirates' defender. No foul was called however, and the match ended level at three.
 
"We had some situations where we didn't take care of the first ball and when you don't do that, you leave yourselves open to some things," Carlin said.
 
Villanova scored the game's first goal in the 50^th minute when touches by Gray Ricca and Balthi Saunders set up Dominic Cyriacks approximately 22 yards in front of goal. The senior stepped into a blast that wound up in the back of the net at 49:21.
 
Less than a minute later, though, Seton Hall answered by converting a corner kick. Jared Smith re-directed the service from James Boote to pull the Pirates even at one.
 
Mikhail Zaretser found Petrera on the left side at 61:39 and Petrera drilled a shot just inside the right post to push the 'Cats back on top at 2-1.
 
Petrera's ability to finish loomed large in this one.
 
"I'm happy for Vincent," Carlin stated. "He's been working really hard and doing all the little things right. He's been putting himself in good situations to score goals. It hadn't come for him yet but today he was feeling it. You could tell."
 
Seton Hall answered at 82:17 with an Agustin Resch goal off a pass from Tomas Nunez.
 
That set up the theatrics in the closing moments.
 
Saturday's weather certainly played a role on an overcast day with intermittent periods of rain. Winds gusted up to 25 miles per hour at kickoff and impacted both teams' ability to connect on long passes. In the second half, the wind gusts diminished, allowing better precision for both sides.
 
"It was a weird day," noted Carlin. "The winds were swirling, going one way and then the other way. We had a bit of rain. I think the conditions played to our favor. We had the wind at our back in the first half and it was greater in the first half than it was in the second.
 
"But I can't say enough about the fight the team had. Things aren't going exactly the way we had planned them. We keep staying in the moment and battling. Who knows, this point might help us in the end."
 
This kicks off a busy week for the Wildcats during the University's fall break. The Wildcats travel to meet Maryland on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. and then return home to host St. John's on Oct. 14 at 1 p.m.