March 15, 2005

Box Score

VILLANOVA, PA - Quick starts to both the first and second half spotted Saint Joseph's (1-5) leads, but Villanova (4-1) netted six unanswered goals to finish the game and used stifling defense in the fourth quarter to defeat SJU, 9-4, at Villanova Stadium.

After falling behind 1-0, the Hawks scored three unanswered goals in a span of just under eight minutes in the first quarter, and led 3-1 coming out of the opening period. Freshman Steve Varga opened the scoring for the Crimson and Gray and juniors Keegan Wilkinson and Andrew Four added tallies.

Villanova evened the score with two goals late in the second quarter, but the Hawks took back the lead right after halftime with a score at the 12:25 mark of the third period on a goal by Frank Abruzzini.

SJU heldthat 4-3 lead for eight minutes, until VU scored an unassisted goal with 4:32 left to tie the game. The Wildcats added the game-winning goal with 2:08 remaining in the third quarter, giving the Wildcats the lead for good at 5-4.

With the outcome of the game hanging in the balance early in the final period, Villanova struck for two goals in the first 3:38 of the fourth quarter to extend the lead to 7-4. The Hawks maintained pressure on that lead throughout the remainder of the period, but a pair of Wildcat goals that came just 58 seconds apart late in the quarter put the game out of reach.

Villanova limited the Hawks to 13 shots. However, nearly all of SJU's shots were on the mark, as four turned into goals and eight were saved by Wildcat goalie Joe Canuso. Villanova, meanwhile, racked up 31 shots, and had a 35-19 edge in ground balls.

Four had a goal and two assists to lead the Hawks, while Keegan Wilkinson had one goal and one assist. Morrissey played the entire game in the net, making 11 saves.

The victory was the fourth in a row for Villanova, which also stretched its home field winning streak to 14 games over the past three seasons.