STORRS, Conn. – A goal near the end of the first half was the difference Friday night, lifting Connecticut (6-3-0 overall, 2-1-0 BIG EAST) past Villanova (1-4-3 overall, 1-2 BIG EAST) on a rain-soaked evening at Joseph Marrone Stadium.
 
UConn picked up its goal off a loose ball in the 44^th minute and then held off the Wildcats, who held the edge in shots on the night, 14-13.
 
"It was pouring," stated Villanova head coach Tom Carlin. "It certainly made the game sloppier than it would have otherwise been. Unfortunately, we gave one up just before halftime and we weren't able to get it back."
 
Both teams grappled with the driving rain as the match got underway. The first shots on frame didn't come until the 19^th minute when Marcus Brenes and Balthi Saunders sent a pair of shots that were saved by UConn goalkeeper Jayden Hibbert.
 
A few moments later the Huskies had their best chance of the opening minutes. Pierce Baetson fired a shot that eluded Wildcats' goalie Kent Dickey but hit the left post and rolled out of harm's way in the 24^th minute to keep the match level at zero. A short while later Dickey used his left hand to turn away a blast by Eli Conway.
 
The Wildcats earned a few more quality chances in the final 10 minutes of the first half but bids by Jorge Garcia and Balthi Saunders were saved by Hibbard. But a counter bid from UConn resulted in the first goal of the night at 43:59 on a goal by Kieran Chandler from the left side.
 
"It was just a broken play," Carlin said. "It was tough because I thought we had three or four high-quality chances just before that which obviously could have been huge in these kind of conditions."
 
That is where matters stood at intermission. Each team generated 10 shots in the period, with four from Villanova on target.
 
As play resumed in the second half the rainfall had eased from the downpour that took place in the opening 45 minutes.
 
Dickey came up with a massive save in the early minutes of the second half when he stonewalled Nicolas Tomerius in the 52nd minute.
 
The rain picked up its pace midway through the second half as both teams dealt with the slippery ball. UConn maintained its advantage as the scoring chances were fewer than in the final minutes of the first half. Saunders got a chance in the 68^th minute but he wasn't able to generate full power behind his left-footed bid and Hibbard was able to scoop up the roller without difficulty.
 
The Wildcats generated a corner kick in the 86^th minute and Saunders sent a ball in the direction of Brenes, who scored a goal on a similar play last week. Brenes re-directed the ball but it went just past the right post.
 
Not long after Branden Johns and Belmar Joseph nearly connected for a quality chance inside the 18-yard box but UConn was able to knock the ball away. Then Johns nearly won a footrace for a loose ball near the goal but Hibbard grabbed the ball to end the bid.
 
"Our possessions were better in the second half, and we created some chances there at the end," said Carlin. "We could have been a little more aggressive and we didn't have as much quality as we would have liked in the final third, to finish a couple of those chances. We battled. It just wasn't enough."
 
Villanova is idle until next Saturday when it hosts BIG EAST rival Seton Hall at 1 p.m. at the Higgins Soccer Complex.