VILLANOVA, Pa. – On a day it celebrated its six seniors – Jordan Canica, O'Neil Dawes, Kyle Dixon, Tommy Johnson, Vincent Petrera and Balthi Saunders – Villanova played Drexel to a 1-1 draw on a gorgeous late fall afternoon at the Higgins Soccer Complex.

Jordan Canica set up Jason Bouregy for a goal in the 58^th minute that staked the Wildcats to a 1-0 lead and the Wildcats seemed on track to posting a clean sheet. But a red card in the 72^nd changed the tenor of an evenly played contest, giving the Dragons a man advantage that they took clear advantage of.

"Any time you go a man down you are hoping you can weather the storm," said Villanova head coach Mark Fetrow, "It's a challenge. Our ball retention at times let us down. We just needed to be more clinical in the final third. We lost track of markers and it led to a goal. That part was disappointing."

Sebastian Perez-Gasiba re-directed a cross from Giancarlo Vaccaro at 81:28 to level matters at one.

"I thought we started out slow in the first half," Fetrow stated. "We lacked some discipline in our re-pressing moments. We were a little too urgent at times with our possessions. We tried to jam balls in seams that created a transitional game.
"But in the second half I thought we picked it up a bit and scored the first goal of the game. I thought we were going to get the clean sheet and hold them off. Unfortunately, we gave one up there."

This marked the second straight game the Wildcats held their opponent to a single goal after enduring a stretch where they had surrendered three in consecutive BIG EAST matchups with Akron, Creighton and Georgetown.

"Without a doubt, it's progress," said Fetrow. "We have continued to try to focus on our structure because it has to be the foundation of everything for us. We looked at our stats and the number of goals we have given up this year. It's something that we have continually tried to change. As the year has gone on, guys have had better perspectives and understanding exactly what we're asking from them.

"It's a little too late but it's a good building block for us."

Goalkeeper Sebastian Cutler DeJesus made nine saves in net for Villanova, continuing a string of strong outings for the transfer from Charlotte. The junior was especially critical late as Drexel owned a 9-1 edge in shots over the final 18 minutes after the Wildcats went down a man.

"Seb was great," said Fetrow.

Bouregy's fourth goal of the season came off a nifty feed from Canica. It is the fourth goal of the campaign for the transfer from Rutgers.

"They started to get into a real good rhythm, and we started to get some momentum," Fetrow said. "Those two were the maestros when we had that momentum."

As the sun began to set on the day, Fetrow was most grateful for the efforts of the seniors.

"As a student-athlete when you're somewhere for four years you dedicate so much time and sacrifice so much to be part of a program," said Fetrow. "It's not an easy thing to do. There are benefits that come with it and it's a great opportunity to grow.
"What I said to them at the end of the game is that this day is about understanding the relationships you've built. They're going to have those relationships for the rest of their lives and when times get tough, those are the people you're going to lean on. That's what this is all about."