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The Villanova men's soccer team went into the regular season finale knowing that only a win over Pittsburgh would keep their season alive. Being that it was also Senior Day, there may have been some extra motivation to perform well. Villanova controlled its own destiny after DePaul defeated USF, getting the help it needed to know that a win would mean they kept playing.
Ryan Whalen proved he came ready to play when he opened up the scoring midway through the opening half when on 22 minutes he took a feed from Kyle McCarthy at the near post.
"We got the early goal, which was good, but felt like we needed another to feel comfortable," stated Villanova head coach Tom Carlin. "That was our message to the team at halftime. Continue to be aggressive and try to get that second goal. We didn't want to be in a position where a fluke play can tie the game, which would not have done the job for us."
It was mostly quiet from there until late in the game when Villanova's offense, long dormant since the early part of the season, exploded. First in the 84th minute Hayden Harr's shot caromed off the post and fell to Ryan Quane, whose effort rocketed into the upper corner for a 2-0 lead.
In the 85th minute it was Harr again whose mazy run down the left side freed himself up for a shot that he sent in for a 3-0 lead.
Finally, Adetomiwa Adewole registered his first career goal in the 90th to complete the scoring and send the Wildcats to the playoffs.
With the win, Villanova secured the #4 seed in the Red Division, and will host Seton Hall on Wednesday afternoon at the West Campus Soccer Complex. The winner will face Connecticut on Saturday. UConn is currently ranked #3 in the country.