Men’s soccer tops Drexel in home opener

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Zach Wetzler

Fresh off a 3-0 victory over Albany the Villanova men’s soccer team pulled off an amazing comeback to steal away victory, winning 4-3 over the Drexel Dragons. The victory puts the Wildcats at 2-0 on the season and in good position to string together some quality wins before Big East play begins. 

At the start, the Wildcats were as hot as the turf they played on. The team got out to an early lead as Junior Max Kroschwitz put away his second goal of the season in the 12th minute. However, from that point, the game opened and became a wild free-for-all. Almost immediately following the Villanova goal, Drexel striker Francisco Palma put away a goal of his own on a well-deserved penalty kick. 

The teams were tied after the first half, but it was clear that the when the Wildcats held possession in their midfield, they were the superior team. 

In the second half, some fatigue seemed to set in for both teams. Midway through the second half, Drexel took the lead after securing a loose ball off of some back and forth inconsistent play. It was a short lived lead, but Head Coach Tom Carlin had this to say about the sloppy play: “When you make defensive miscues that lead to goals for the other team and then you’re pushing to get that next goal and then no one separates themselves by two goals… the match can become a track meet and that’s what happened today.”

Tied at two with only 13 minutes left, Drexel defender Jameson Detweiler put away what seemed to be the decisive goal in the game on a greatly placed head ball. However, the Wildcats persevered and miracously tied it up with nine minutes to go.  Senior Sean Sheridan netted his second goal of the game to completely flip the momentum. As it had been all day, the match was one of runs, each team had its turn at success and then it flipped acting like a sine curve, up and down throughout. 

Finally, on what was the best possession of the day, the Wildcats strung together almost a dozen passes down the right side culminating in the game-winning goal scored by Padraic Mccullaugh and assisted by sophomore Chris Bared. It made for quite a dramatic and exciting finish. Carlin rightly called the match a “Philadelphia slugfest.”

Although it may not have been what the Wildcat’s had in mind, coaches and players remain optimistic after the victory. Up next for the team is a face off against the Delaware Blue Hens, the runner up in the CAA last season. It should be a good test for a team now somewhat further into the season. 

With little time to train prior to the beginning of the season, the Wildcats look poised to make some noise this season.