Men’s soccer team emerges victorious

The men's soccer team defeated rival LaSalle on Saturday night by a score of 2-1 in their final preseason game. LaSalle's Ryan Richter opened the scoring in the first half on a counter-attack from a Villanova corner kick, giving the Explorers an early 1-0 lead.  With just under 10 minutes remaining in the first half, 'Nova senior Anthony Griffith equalized to send the game into the half tied.  Senior Sean Mergenthal assisted on the play, getting by his defender and crossing it into the box where Griffith was there to put it away.  

The second half was hard fought, and with just under two minutes left in the game, sophomore Kyle Soroka put away the game winner.  Freshman Joe Schmid passed the ball to junior Matt Margiotta, who was just outside of the box. Margiotta crossed it to Soroka, whose goal would give the 'Cats the 2-1 win.  

Head Coach Tom Carlin credited the midfield with excellent play through the game, although it was not until the end of the second half that the team started to play with the urgency to win.  Villanova finished the preseason 1-0-1 after a scoreless draw against Northwestern last Saturday and will open the season this Wednesday night against the Bucknell Bisons, which is being played at Bucknell.  

The Wildcats have high hopes for the team this season, as preseason polls have them picked to finish fourth in the Big East's Red Division, the team's highest preseason ranking since 2006.  The team will be returning nine starters from a team that was 9-8-2 last season.