This past Saturday, Sept. 27, Villanova men’s soccer took down No. 22 ranked University of Connecticut, 2-1, in front of a sold-out Morrone Stadium in Storrs, CT.
During the final three minutes of play, the Wildcats scored two goals in the span of just 1:25 minutes to take home the upset victory.
“After [the two goals], it was just bunkering down and making sure that for the last minute of the game, we didn’t do anything silly,” head coach Mark Fetrow said. “The guys just did an unbelievable job from start to finish.”
Villanova (3-3-3, 1-0-1 Big East) was in a one-goal deficit for the majority of the second half due to a UConn (6-2-3, 1-1-0 Big East) goal in the 57th minute. According to Fetrow, UConn’s opportunity to score originated from a lack of a free substitution for the Wildcats after a player sustained a head injury.
“There was a bit of a bad decision from the ref where we had a head injury,” Fetrow said. “They didn’t allow us the free sub. And then we got the player back on, which led to a throw-in, which led to the goal. We were a little disappointed at that moment, and that fed into some pointless turnovers that we really weren’t having throughout the game.”
Freshman defender Brody Crampton’s equalizer at 87:11 was followed by a second goal from sophomore defender Lorenzo Avalos at 88:36.
“UConn changed its shape and started sitting back a little bit more, and that allowed us to get into the attacking half a bit easier,” Fetrow said. “Michael teDuits was hitting services and putting them in spots so that we could expose their shape, and Brody Crampton got the first goal. It was a great header. About a minute and a half later, we had another set-piece opportunity…and Lorenzo Avalos had a great final header to beat his guy on the back post.”
After last Tuesday’s 3-0 loss to Penn, the Wildcats wanted redemption.
The UConn match featured a new lineup. Villanova welcomed sophomore defender Luke Haggerty back after his injury-related absence from Penn’s game. Freshman Matthew Klann and junior Mikhail Zarterser saw their first minutes this season.
With the win, Villanova now stands third in the conference’s East Division.
“We want to be a team that can compete for a Big East Championship,” Fetrow said. “So we know we have to do really well in the regular season. Coming off that Penn game, it was a great opportunity to bounce back, get on the road and play against a team ranked in the top 25.”
Villanova now prepares for a conference matchup against Providence (3-5-1, 1-1-0 Big East). The Friars are currently ranked fifth in the East Division.
“The nice thing about going from UConn to Providence is we have almost a week between the games,” Fetrow said. “We’re looking forward to getting back on the bus together and getting away from campus and limiting our distractions. If we can compete the way we did against UConn, we can compete with anyone in the country.”
Hoping to build on this win, the Wildcats will go on the road again this weekend to play the Friars (ESPN+, 3 p.m.) at Anderson Stadium this Friday.
