Despite being down 1-0 at the end of the first half, the Villanova
men's soccer team came back with four unanswered goals to defeat Marist 4-1 on Wednesday, Oct. 1,
at the Villanova Soccer Field on the campus of Villanova University.
The game began as a defensive struggle, with both teams unable to
capitalize on several scoring opportunities. Marist broke open the scoring just over 30 minutes
into the game on a penalty kick by Peter Kitpatrick to give the Red Foxes a 1-0 lead at intermission.
The second half was all Wildcats, however, with senior Barry Smith
getting Villanova started with his second goal of the season, off an assist by sophomore Tom
DiGuilio. Nine minutes later, sophomore Donavan Hornsby punched in his team-high fourth goal on a David
Bradford assist to extend the Wildcat lead to 2-0. Just three minutes after Hornsby's
goal, freshman Chris McKenna scored his first collegiate goal lofting a floater over the head of Marist goalie Gary Ricini (six
saves). Smith closed out Villanova's offensive display by scoring his second goal of the game at
the 74:20 mark off sophomore Conor Porter's assist.
After the Red Fox goal at the 30:15 mark in the first half, the
Villanova defense stepped up and held the Marist offense scoreless for the remainder of the game.
Freshman goalie J.D. Allen, making his first collegiate start, saved six shots for his first career
victory. Strong defensive games were also had by senior Paul Miraglia and junior Lew Domke, each helping
shut down the Marist defense.
Villanova travels to Georgetown on Saturday, Oct. 4, to resume their
Big East schedule against the Hoyas at 2 pm.
