Kyle Soroka's return to the lineup was immediately felt on Thursday as his 2 goals lifted Villanova to a 2-1 win over local rival La Salle at the West Campus Soccer Complex.
Soroka made his presence known to the visitors before 2 minutes were gone. Dylan Renna fed a ball to Soroka, whose initial shot rang off the left post. The ball fell kindly to him on the way back however and he was able to slot home to stake 'Nova to an early 1-0 lead.
"It's important to get the first goal," stated Villanova head coach Tom Carlin. "We work on creating those chances early and we got one today. When you do that, it takes a little bit of the pressure off."
'Nova would go on to out shoot La Salle 10-3 in the remainder of the 1st half, but would have to be content with their 1-0 lead heading into the break.
Soroka would strike again in the 66th minute, this time using a clever move to wiggle free on the edge of the box before being brought down, where a free kick was awarded. Soroka would step up and lift a ball over the wall and into the top right corner to give Villanova the cushion it would need.
La Salle wouldn't go away though as they would pull one back shortly after in the 68th minute, as Rob Friskey would latch on to a loose ball in the box and head one past goalkeeper John Fogarty to get the game back to 2-1.
The Wildcats' D would hold strong in the closing minutes to secure the 2-1 victory. The win pushed Villanova's record to 6-2 on the season.
They'll next face Temple at home on Tuesday afternoon. Kickoff is at 4:00 pm ET at the West Campus Soccer Complex.