After a 3-0 start to the season with wins over Albany, Drexel and Delaware, the Wildcats (3-1-0) fell to Monmouth University (2-3-0) on Saturday night by a score of 3-1. Junior midfielder Andreas Bartosinski scored the lone goal for ’Nova off a blocked shot in the 40th minute.

Villanova came into the game ranked number 25 in the Top Drawer Soccer Top 25 poll and having received votes in the NSCAA National Poll.

“We had a week off and were coming in off a national ranking and we ran into a team that was desperate for a win,” Villanova Head Coach Tom Carlin told Villanova.com. “They were determined, especially early, and we couldn’t find a flow.”

Freshman midfielder Anderson Aseidu opened the scoring for Monmouth in the 36th minute by finding an opening near the top of the 18-yard box and fired a shot past Wildcat redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Will Steiner at the left post.

Villanova responded well by knotting the score only one just minutes later. A shot from junior forward Max Kroschwitz was blocked by a Monmouth defender, and the rebound fell to Bartosinski, who slotted the ball inside the right post.

A curling free kick from Monmouth junior midfielder Miguel Alves gave the Hawks a 2-1 lead just a minute into the second half.

Villanova possessed the ball well and generated a number of chances as it searched for an equalizer.

“We really had a lot of the possession after that, and had four or five quality chances, but we couldn’t get the one we needed,” Carlin said.

The best opportunity came in the 54th minute, when Kroschwitz and redshirt sophomore Miguel Polley were able to get off a couple shots inside the box, but he was turned away by Monmouth’s junior goalkeeper, Eric Klenofsky.

In the 79th minute, the Hawks sealed the win when senior defender John Egan sent a through ball to sophomore midfielder Andrew Gee, who settled it and finished it inside the far post to make it 3-1 Monmouth. 

Villanova was close to finding its second goal of the night a couple of minutes later, but a strike from redshirt senior Randy Falk hit the post and the score remained 3-1 in favor of Monmouth.

The Wildcats outshot the Hawks, 16-13, and Monmouth had nine corner kicks, compared to Villanova’s four. 

Steiner recorded three saves for Villanova, and Klenofsky made seven to notch the win for Monmouth.

The Wildcats will host Stony Brook on Sunday at 1 p.m. at the Higgins Soccer Complex.