The start of the Mark Fetrow era of Villanova’s men’s soccer remains winless after the Wildcats played to a 1-1 draw with Lafayette at Higgins Soccer Complex on Saturday. The team is 0-3-2 through the first five games of the season.
Senior forward Vincent Petrera evened the game with a goal in the 74th minute to salvage a draw for the ‘Cats. Villanova was outshot, 19-13.
Fetrow, who took over in November after long-time head coach Tom Carlin retired, made it clear after the match that a draw is not a result to celebrate.
“I think we saw some of the same things we saw in the first four games today,” Fetrow said. “We can’t give up soft goals. We’ve got to be clinical in the final third. We’ve got to create more chances out of our possessions. We’ve got to do a better job of connecting passes. We had way too many unforced turnovers for a team that wants to focus on possession.”
The game was fast paced and featured a number of tackles, counterattacks and defensive recoveries from both teams.
Villanova’s defense was anchored by graduate defender Cole Knapp. In just six games for the Wildcats, Knapp has already emerged as one of the most vocal members of Fetrow’s lineup.
Despite a strong start, the Wildcats defense eventually lapsed.
In the 33rd minute, freshman midfielder Cade Maglione put away the game’s opening goal for the Leopards.
The Leopards launched five shots on goal in the first half, four of which freshman keeper Alex Yagudayev saved. He finished the match with five saves.
At halftime, Fetrow made two tactical changes. Graduate midfielder Jorge Garcia came on for sophomore forward Jevon Daniels, and sophomore midfielder Josh Oladele was dropped deeper in the team’s formation.
“We just made a change of keeping [Oladele] a little deeper and letting [Garcia] be more of a free flowing role,” Fetrow said. “[Garcia] on his own was coming in on deeper pockets, which really helped our possession because he’s really confident on the ball and playing forward.”
Coming out of the break, the game’s intensity picked up.
Senior midfielder Jordan Canica who had been dangerous in the first half, continued to be a threat on the left wing.
Canica nearly scored in the 55th minute but his shot was saved by Lafayette senior keeper Griffin Huff. The ‘Cats shot on frame four times throughout the match.
The Wildcats would have several more chances to score, eventually capitalizing in the 74th minute with a goal from Petrera.
After a quick check for offsides the goal was confirmed. Graduate midfielder Jason Bouregy was credited with the assist to Petrera.
“We knew after going down in the first half that we had to make a strong response in the second,” Petrera said. “We had a lot of chances before it and I think it was just the resilience to keep going, to keep making runs. It was a beautiful ball from Jason and once I was one-on-one with the keeper and saw him step off the line, all I had to do was just flick it over and I had him beat.
Petrera also had high praise for Knapp, whose performance helped secure the draw.
“The hardest worker today was Cole Knapp at center back,” Petrera said. There wasn’t a play when he wasn’t sprinting 100% and even in the 86th minute he’s chasing one of their fastest players around and beats him to the ball.”
Along with Yagudayev, Knapp’s performance proved to be a big difference maker as toward the end of the game there were nervous moments for both teams. Lafayette had two chances to take the lead but both were snuffed by the Wildcat defense.
Towards the end of the game, Fetrow made an adjustment. As the Wildcats pushed to find the winning goal, Fetrow brought on freshman midfielder/forward Karson Vasquez in the 82nd minute. The Florida native is a player to watch for the future and one who is already making an impression on his coaches.
“Karson… he has the ability to have electric moments,” Fetrow said. “He’s very creative when he’s in front of goal, he’s got a quick trigger and he’s got an ability score. For us it’s him continuing to build confidence, so that he has consistency in his performances. He’s obviously a guy that we believe a lot in, because at the end of the game when we’re trying to win and score a goal he’s a guy that we feel comfortable going to.”
Following Saturday’s draw, the Wildcats will be back on the road, matching up on Sept. 14 with Fairleigh Dickinson at 7 p.m.
In the days ahead, the Wildcats will look to improve from their draw with Lafayette with the hopes of securing the first win of the season.
“Anytime you concede first and you can come back to tie things up, that’s always a positive and it shows the fight and the belief you have in your guys,” Fetrow said. “That was good but it wasn’t enough. We’re here to win games, we’re here to compete in the Big East and we’re still working towards being a team that’s gonna do that consistently.”
