Wednesday, November 10, 2021
The Villanovan | 13
SPORTS
SPORTS
Wildcats Dominate in Season Opener, Win 91-51 Colin Beazley Co-Sports Editor (Continued from p.1) He’s playing with great confidence, and we need it.” The Wildcats jumped out to a 10-0 lead, blitzing the Mountaineers with an early full court press. Villanova turned three turnovers into a pair of threes from Moore and a layup from Gillespie, stunning the Mountaineers . “I thought we started well defensively and we want to do that every game,” Wright said. “Sometimes we don’t start as aggressively as we like defensively, but I thought we did a good job tonight.” After the initial run, the Wildcats continued pushing the pace. With eight minutes left in the half, the Wildcats went on an 8-0 run punctuated by a three from Brandon Slater, and the Wildcats finished the half on a 10-2 run to enter the break with a commanding 45-21 lead. Moore led the ‘Cats in scoring with 17 points in the first half, while Samuels was just behind with 13. Villanova shot 57% from the field in the half, including 44% from beyond the arc, while the Mountaineers were forced into nine turnovers and shot just 39% from the field. “I thought Justin also did a great job,” Wright said. “We’re trying to teach him, you gotta stay aggressive and be a killer, even though you want to get everybody else involved. If it’s there, you gotta take it. And that’s
Graduate point guard Collin Gillespie scores over Mount St Mary’s Jalen Benjamin. Courtesy of Olivia Pasquale/Villanovan Photography
what I thought he really did a good job [of] tonight.” After the half, the Mountaineers looked to get back into the game with six straight points, but Villanova quickly began extending the lead again. Redshirt sophomore forward Eric Dixon and Moore hit threes to increase the lead, but each time The Mount cut the lead back to 24. With ten minutes remaining in the game, the Wildcats renewed their defensive intensity, holding the Mountaineers without a basket for over four minutes. Villanova went on a 14-2 run to stretch the lead even further, punctuated by freshman
guard Jordan Longino’s first points as a Wildcat. “They’re a good team,” Wright said. “They’re an NCAA Tournament team from last year with a lot of veteran players ... we think we played well if we played defensively like that against them... so that was a good start for us. “Mount St Mary’s is a better team than that score, I promise you.” Three freshmen played valuable minutes for the Wildcats, including Longino and forward Nnanna Njoku, both of whom made their Villanova debuts. Longino played 14 minutes off the bench, while Njoku
played nine minutes. Njoku recorded four rebounds in his limited gametime, adding a block as well. “They just came in and brought great energy off the bench, played really hard,” Gillespie said of the freshmen. “I think that’s something that we didn’t really have to teach those guys... I think that’s super impressive of those guys.” The Wildcats were also helped by a return of the home fans to the Finn, as the team played in front of their home fans for the first time since February 2020. The student section made their presence known throughout the game, both with the return of several Villanova traditions and in relentless booing of Mountaineer junior guard Jalen Benjamin, who committed six turnovers. “It was definitely exciting, finally getting to have the fans out there,” Moore said. “But really it’s just exciting to be back playing with my guys, my teammates out there together, that’s what was most exciting.” After Tuesday’s initial tuneup game, Villanova faces an immediate test on a national stage, as the fourth ranked Wildcats travel to Los Angeles Friday to take on second ranked UCLA. The Bruins, led by junior guard and Preseason All-American Johnny Juzang, present a vastly different test than the Mountaineers, but Wright believes that the Wildcats are prepared for the early season battle. “I think we’re ready to play a team like that,” Wright said. “It’s gonna be a good test for us.”
Men’s Soccer Advances to Big East Semifinals Owen Hewitt Staff Writer Villanova men’s soccer advanced to the Big East tournament semifinals on Saturday night with a 2-1 win over Creighton in Omaha. It’s the squad’s first win in the tournament since its last appearance in 2016. Sophomore forwards Akinjide Awujo and Luke Pompliano scored the goals for the Wildcats, with Awujo finding the back of the net in the 76th and Pompliano scoring in the 83rd. The win was head coach Tom Carlin’s 115th at the helm of the program, making him the program’s all-time leader in wins. The first half was largely uneventful. The ‘Cats were able to get off to a good start, as they dominated possession for roughly the first 40 minutes of the match. Then in the final five minutes of the first, the Bluejays’ offense came to life, applying heavy pressure to the Wildcats’ back line. The ‘Cats’ defense was able to hold up, and the two teams went into the half in a scoreless gridlock. “I thought the first 40 minutes may have been the best soccer we have played all season,” Carlin said to Villanova Athletics. “We had good possessions and movement. But in the last five minutes we got stuck in our end.” Out of the half, the Bluejays carried forward the offensive momentum they had managed to find in the closing minutes of the first, as they produced a flurry of chances in the
first 10 minutes of the second. The Wildcats were able to respond with some chances of their own, with one becoming the most dangerous of the night to that point. Junior midfielder Josh Belluz headed a ball toward the frame off a corner that junior defender Viktor Benediktsson was able to redirect with a foot, but Bluejays’ senior keeper Paul Kruse made a stunning effort to block the ball, keeping the game level. Kruse’s efforts were quickly rewarded, as a cross in from the right off the foot of junior midfielder Dominic Briggs found senior midfielder Daniel Espeleta, who was able to slot the ball home past ‘Cats senior keeper Carson Williams in the 63rd minute. After the goal, the Bluejays continued to apply pressure, forcing Williams to step up and make some major saves to keep the Wildcats within striking distance. One such save came in the 67th minute, when Williams dived out to his right to get a hand on a Creighton shot that seemed destined for the back of the net. “Carson made a bunch of big saves,” Carlin said to Villanova Athletics. “That was a big one. If it goes to 2-0 there it might have been game, set and match.” Shortly after, Carlin made an aggressive substitution, bringing on Pompliano to try and insert some offense for the ‘Cats into the match. The substitution paid off, as the Wildcats started to gain some attacking momentum. “[Pompliano] changed the game,” Carlin said to Villanova Ath-
letics. “He gave us energy and we just became more aggressive.” The aggression paid off in the 76th, as sophomore defender Jack Bonas found Awujo on a long throw. Awujo was able to redirect the ball from the left inside the post past Kruse to bring things level. After the goal, the ‘Cats continued with their offensive pressure, which led to their victory. Junior forward Lyam MacKinnon dribbled in from outside the 18-yard box, and after eluding a Bluejays defender, found Pompliano, who took the pass and smashed it home in the 83rd minute. The ‘Cats were able to hold on to their lead for the rest of the match, earning them their first outright victory in the Big East tournament since 2012 (the 2016 win against DePaul came on penalties). It earns the team a chance to take on the Big
East No. 1 seed and No. 4 nationally ranked Georgetown on Thursday at 11 a.m. in Washington D.C. The two squads have already met once this year in a match that resulted in a 3-1 Georgetown victory. The squad improves to 11-6-1 on the year with the win, with an RPI rank of 32 before the win over the Bluejays is calculated. That gives the Wildcats a reason to be hopeful for securing a bid in the NCAA’s 48team College Cup regardless of what transpires on Thursday, although a win over the Hoyas would elevate the Cats’ resume and give them a chance at their first ever Big East conference title. The winner of Thursday’s match between the Hoyas and the Wildcats will go on to battle against the winner of the other semifinal between Butler and Providence on Nov. 14 for the Big East title.
Sophomore Luke Pompliano celebrates after scoring what proved to be the winning goal. Courtesy of Villanova Athletics
