This Saturday, the Villanova Wildcats fell on the road to the Stony Brook Seawolves, 29-27 in their second CAA game of the season.

Both teams entered the game at 3-1 and looked to carry momentum from big victories the week before.

The Wildcats controlled the game early, as a Stony Brook fumble was recovered by safety Rob Rolle. The Wildcats took advantage of this turnover by responding with a 65-yard drive which culminated in a five-yard Zach Bednarczyk touchdown pass to Todd Summers. Following a Stony Brook three-and-out drive, Villanova’s offense began a drive which would end in the second quarter. The 14-play, 7:42 effort would end scoreless, however, as Drew Kresge failed to convert a 33-yard field goal.

Villanova’s offense shifted gears in the second, as they scored on both of their second-quarter drives. A nine-play, 80-yard drive by the Wildcats would be capped off by a two-yard touchdown run by Aaron Forbes, his third rushing touchdown on the season. Following a fourth down stop by the Villanova defense on the following drive, the Wildcats scored on a trick play, as Adeyemi DaSilva received a backward pass in the backfield, then threw the ball once more for a 56-yard touchdown to Changa Hodge. The Seawolves closed out the 2nd with a Joe Carbone touchdown pass to Julius Wingate. Stony Brook’s kicker missed the PAT and the teams headed back to the locker rooms with the score at 21-6. 

In the second half, it seemed as if two entirely different teams stepped onto the field. Villanova could barely move the ball, being held to -13 rushing yards and 21 passing yards in the third quarter. This offensive ineptitude allowed the Seawolves to score twice in the third, first on a Donald Liotine three-yard rush, followed by a 26-yard pass, once again to Julius Wingate. After converting the two-point conversion on a Donavin Washington reception, the score was tied up at 21-21.

The fourth quarter continued to be full of offensive struggles for the Wildcats, as Zach Bednarczyk’s intentional grounding penalty in his own end zone led to a safety. With the Seawolves up 23-21, the Wildcat defense would make stops on two consecutive drives. With the offense unable to take advantage of these stops, Stony Brook took the ball back and eventually scored a five-yard pass to Cal Daniels. Finally, on their final drive of the game, the Villanova offense returned to form. They moved 75 yards down the field in 10 plays, as Zach Bednarczyk would throw to Jarrett McClenton, who danced his way into the end zone for a 25-yard touchdown. Down two, the Wildcats would fail to convert the 2-point conversion, which resulted in the score being settled at 29-27.

With the come-from-behind, the Seawolves are elevated to 4-1 overall and 2-0 in the CAA. Meanwhile, the Villanova Wildcats are now 3-2 overall, and still winless in CAA play. The Wildcats will look to gain their first CAA victory on the road against Maine next weekend.