The Pirates dropped two consecutive Big East matches at home over the weekend to Villanova, 4-1, and Rutgers, 2-1, leaving their record at 4-4-1 on the season and 1-2-1 in conference play.
"Soccer can be rewarding and it can be very cruel," head coach Manny Schellscheidt said. "One day you know you got your butt kicked and you move on, and another day you scratch your head and wonder why you couldn't win, but that's the Big East. Any given day, anything can happen."
After suffering the overtime loss against Rutgers on Friday, the Pirates came out flat in Sunday's game against the Wildcats, who improved their record to 5-3-1 on the season and 2-2-0 in Big East play.
Villanova senior Mike Seamon, a New Jersey native, had quite a return to his home state.
Seamon put the Wildcats on the board early with a shot from 20 yards out to beat Pirate goalkeeper Paul McHenry in the 12th minute.
Seamon did not stop there, ending the night with two goals and two assists.
Villanova's second goal came in the 42nd minute of the first half after Seamon's corner kick into the box found senior Adam Amann's head.
This put the Wildcats up 2-0 going into halftime.
Villanova carried the momentum from the first half into the second by scoring two more quick goals to seal the deal.
Seamon tallied his second of the night in the 58th minute.
Freshman Kyle Soroka buried Seamon's cross in the 59th minute, giving the Wildcats a 4-0 lead.
Seton Hall avoided the shutout in the 78th minute as a cross deflected off a Villanova defender into the net for an own goal.
Three Pirates recorded two shots each, as Seton Hall ended with nine shots on the night, but only four on net.
The Wildcats recorded 13 shots, six coming from Seamon.
Freshman keeper Michael Kuzan relieved McHenry late in the game.
He recorded two saves in his collegiate debut.
"Villanova was ready and sharp that game and we just got outplayed," Schellscheidt said. "It was a deserving win for Villanova."
On Friday, the Scarlet Knights took the early lead in the 15th minute, 1-0.
Junior Sal Fusari's corner kick was headed into the back of the net by junior Andrew Cuevas for his first career goal.
McHenry kept the game close for the Pirates with multiple key saves, eight total.
In the 89th minute the Hall tied it up.
Junior Andrew Welker dribbled down the middle past several Rutgers defenders and snuckone by sophomore Adam Klink with 23 seconds left in regulation. This sent the game to overtime.
In the second overtime period, sophomore Ibrahim Kamara scored the game-winning goal for the Scarlet Knights, topping the Hall 2-1.
The Pirates recorded 21 shots, eight on goal.
Rutgers tallied 22 shots, with 10 on goal.
The Scarlet Knights improved their record to 5-2 on the season.
The win kept them undefeated in Big East play, 3-0.
"We've had some very strong games, but we've also had a few where our concentration could have been better." Schellscheidt said. "We need to play more focused and make sure that the little slip ups don't cost us. The readiness and commitment will always be there."
Seton Hall will travel to South Bend, Ind., to face Notre Dame on Oct. 2, who are 4-1 on the season
Matthew Bryant can be reached at matthew.bryant@student.shu.edu.
