Villanova took the field Wednesday against national powerhouse St. John’s, falling 2-0 to the second-ranked team in the country.

The ‘Cats put forth a strong defensive effort in the opening half, holding the Red Storm scoreless, thanks to the fine play in goal of senior keeper Sean Teesdale. St. John’s broke out in the second half, however, when Chris Wingert headed in a pass from teammate Angel Rodriguez.

Later in the game, Chris Corcoran rounded out the scoring by placing a shot in the back of the net, to solidify the 2-0 win for his squad and improve their record to 5-1 overall. With the loss, ‘Nova fell to 2-5 overall and 0-2 in the Big East.

Prior to facing St. John’s, the Villanova men’s soccer team traveled to State College, Penn. this weekend for the annual Penn State Nike Classic, matching up against two good teams in Ohio State and Penn State for the mini-tournament.

Opening up Friday night against the traditional national powerhouse Nittany Lions, Villanova lost 2-1, despite a strong second half effort.

Chad Severs put Penn State on the board in the 20th minute, finishing a pass from Joe Zowe to the left corner of the goal, beating Villanova goalkeeper John Williams, who finished the game with four saves.

Penn State added a second goal in the 62nd minute of play when freshman David Walters connected on a pass from Severs.

“Our defense played well in the second half, but Penn State is a real good team,” senior defender Ron Durham said.

Villanova cut the deficit in half just six minutes later when junior striker Chris Edgar scored on an unassisted goal.

In a rainy and windy Sunday afternoon game against another team from the Big Ten, Ohio State, Villanova played a tough first half against a bigger and more physical Buckeye team.

“They were a pretty physical team, which took some of our players out of the game,” senior defender Steve Leaman said.

Ohio State opened up the scoring in the 67th minute when Andy Rosenband buried a shot in the left corner of the goal off a breakaway. Only five minutes later, junior Justin Cook banged home a penalty, making the score 2-0.

Taking the loss in net for the Wildcats was Sean Teesdale, who made several good saves on the day.

“Sean played nasty against the Buckeyes,” Leaman said.

Next up for the ‘Cats is an away match against Virginia Tech Saturday.