It was another home victory for the Wildcats, who improved to 7-3-1 on the season with a 1-0 victory against the James Madison University in a non-conference matchup on Tuesday at Higgins Soccer Complex. ‘Nova was coming off its first Big East conference win against Xavier and looking to continue their unbeaten home record. The Dukes were looking for a win after tying against Northeastern, a conference rival, snapping their eight game winning streak.

The first half remained scoreless until a late goal by senior midfielder Evan Vare in the 43rd minute. The play developed on a pass by senior Sean Texeira where Vare received and shot the ball from the top of the box. It was Vare’s third goal of the season and the only score of the game. The Wildcats kept it aggressive in the first half, outshooting James Madison 9-5.

The second half saw the Dukes scrambling to score, firing 13 shots as opposed to ‘Nova’s 6. However, James Madison was not able to capitalize on any opportunity largely in thanks to the Wildcats’ junior goalkeeper Carson Williams. With four out of his five saves coming in the second half, Williams disallowed any chance for the Dukes to tie the game, earning his seventh clean sheet of the season.

The win is the sixth at home for Villanova. The team has yet to allow a goal on its home turf.  

The ‘Cats travel next to Queens for a conference matchup against the St. John’s Red Storm who lead the Big East with a 9-1 record. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. on Saturday.