Men’s soccer finished the regular season strong on Saturday, Nov. 2 at Owen T. Carroll Field, prevailing 1-0 over Villanova in their last conference appearance before the Big East Championship. This win was on Senior Night, and it placed the Hall in the upper echelon of the Big East.
The Wildcats were on the attack, with an early goal attempt from Jorge Garcia that flew west of the netting. The Pirates were held at bay until Jared Smith broke the silence with a shot on goal saved by Villanova keeper Sebastian Cutler-DeJesus. The Pirate offense followed up with a beautiful pass from senior Mans Saebbo redirected by junior Hugo Gerbore, placing the ball in prime position for senior Sam Bjork to score the first and only goal of the game.
The rest of the half was dominated by the Pirate offense, their shots outnumbering the Wildcat offense, 11-5. The Wildcat offense showed signs of life in the final 10 minutes of the half with a corner kick attempt that led to two close calls from graduate student Cole Knapp and sophomore Diego Valles, protected by a staunch Pirate defense.
The Pirates took their own corner kick opportunity, with two shots in quick succession from freshman Til Kauschke and senior Tim Ströbeck that would be saved by a pressured Cutler-DeJesus. The Pirates would hold possession until the half, with a shot from Kauschke at 40 minutes and junior Agustin Resch just north of the target at 41.
The Villanova offense once again made an early start, with a shot from junior Foday Bangura just high of the mark. The Pirate defense held strong, protecting against the Wildcats’ advance in the opening stages of the second half. Despite taking three more shots than the Pirates (4-1) in the early second, the ball would not grace the Pirate netting although there were strong efforts from Jason Bouregy and Tommy Johnson. Pirate goalie Matias Molina notched a key save at 62 minutes against Johnson.
Sophomore Thomas Sellwood broke up a 26-minute offensive drought on both sides, with a ball up top over Villanova iron. The Wildcats were allowed one more chance at tying the Pirates, with Branden Johns firing to the top right of the Pirate goal at 82 minutes. After a denial from Molina, the Villanova offense did not find a shot opportunity before time expired, and the Hall emerged victorious.
The win puts Seton Hall at 4-3-1 in conference play, and 11-5-1 overall. The Pirates climbed back from a negative 2-3-1 in the conference to a respectable .571 Big East record and the sixth seed before the postseason.
Christian Hui is a writer for The Setonian’s Sports section. He can be reached at christian.hui@student.shu.edu.
