Men’s soccer battles poor conditions, beats DePaul

Kate McAvey

The gloomy weather didn’t stop the Wildcats from dominating the field this weekend against DePaul when the men’s soccer team beat DePaul 4-2, giving the Wildcats a chance in the next few games to secure a spot in the Big East Tournament.

The weather forced the game to be moved from the West Campus Soccer Complex to Eastern University, but the change of venue didn’t stop the ‘Cats from coming out strong to earn the key victory with only four league games remaining.

The Wildcats set the fast pace of the game as soon as it was underway. During the first 45 minutes of play, ‘Nova capitalized, taking five of the games first six shots on goal.

With 5:35 on the clock Villanova was able to net their first goal. Sophomore Will Ogden headed the ball to the back of the net off of a pass from sophomore Nick Rouzier.

The Wildcat lead stayed intact until the 17th minute of the contest when DePaul’s Nathan Feltz dribbled the ball, deflected from a Villanova defender, to the corner and pass cross the field to Steffen Vroom who headed the ball to the back of the net.

Neck and neck with DePaul, Villanova knew they needed to grab the lead once again and respond quickly to the Blue Demons. After a foul was called on the Blue Demons., at the 20:37 mark, Villanova was granted a free kick. Taking advantage of the situation junior Chris Christian sent a soaring shot above the DePaul wall of players to the left corner of the net.

Villanova’s third goal was scored in a similar fashion. After a free kick was granted to the Wildcats, the ball was set outside the box on the left wing of the goal.

With the clock reading 36:08 freshman Kyle Soroka sent the ball to the back of the net, bringing Villanova’s lead to two.

After halftime, it was Odgen who was able to score the fourth and final goal for the ‘Cats with an assist from Senior Mike Seamon after a fast break by Junior Anthony Griffith moved the ball quickly downfield.

DePaul tried to respond to Villanova’s dominating offense by out-shooting the Wildcats 12-8 in the second half of game play.

The Blue Demons scored their second goal of the game with 65:13 on the clock, but they weren’t able to find the back of the net after that, securing the 4-2 ‘Nova win.

The Wildcats will travel on the road again for their next match up when they take on South Florida in Tampa, Fla. on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.