Umar's Goal Hands 'Nova Soccer 1-0 Win Over Cincinnati

The 'Nova men's soccer team continued it's push towards the Big East playoffs with a 1-0 win on Saturday afternoon over the visiting Cincinnati Bearcats at the West Campus Soccer Complex. Another stellar defensive effort wrapped around Oscar Umar's first half strike proved to be the difference.

"This was a good team win for us," stated Villanova head coach Tom Carlin. "We were able to get some chances in the first half. We got one goal and I thought we had enough chances to get one or two more. I thought this was the best we've played defensively all year."

Villanova took the lead in the 31st minute when Kyle Soroka sent Umar clear on goal on the right side of the pitch. Umar calmly collected himself before slotting his shot inside the far left post to give his team the lead.

"We've been working on that a lot in practice with me and Soroka," stated Umar. "He saw me and gave me a great ball. It was a good opportunity for us to execute."

Umar continued to be a menace all afternoon, finishing the game with 6 shots. However it was the Wildcats' defense that truly shined on this day. John Fogarty had a relatively easy day, only having to make 4 saves, but all 4 of them required him to be at the top of his game.

Villanova will host Syracuse on Wednesday at 3:00 pm ET at the West Campus Soccer Complex where they will look to extend their unbeaten run in conference play.