Villanova scores four in win over DePaul; Temple held to scoreless draw

Miguel Polley had a goal and an assist to lead Villanova to their biggest goal output of the season in a 4-2 win over DePaul at Higgins Soccer Complex on Saturday afternoon.

Polley scored 10 minutes into the game off a pretty play with Padraic McCullaugh and Philadelphia Union Academy grad Conor Bradley, who whipped in a perfectly placed cross while falling down to McCullaugh, who then tapped it to an open Polley in front of the goal. Bradley was credited with his first career assist on the play.

The Wildcats (6-3-1) doubled their lead nine minutes later on an own goal created by right back Sean Teixeira. Nova continued to dominate even with the two-goal lead, but Zach Zandi was denied an opportunity in front of goal by Blue Demon keeper Quentin Low, one of four saves he made on the day. Low also got a finger-tip on Shane Bradley’s bid for his first career goal.

DePaul cut the lead in half heading into halftime when Hans Wustling cleaned up a rebound off a penalty kick save by Will Steiner, one of six saves the Villanova keeper had on the day.

Trying to avoid a similar fate last year when Villanova blew a two-goal lead and lost to the Blue Demons, Polley linked up with Zandi (West Chester, Pa.) in the 53rd minute to restore the two-goal lead. It was the third goal of the season for the sophomore Union Academy grad and the first from the field after converting two penalty kicks.

Left back Christopher Bared’s first career goal off a clever pass by Lucas Hodges made it 4-1 with eight minutes to go and secured an important three points in the Big East standings for Villanova despite a Simon Megally free kick goal in the 88th minute.

Temple held to scoreless draw

Temple’s high-powered offense was held in check for 110 minutes by visiting Memphis on Saturday night at Temple Sports Complex.

The Owls (6-3-1) generated 25 shots on the night, but were unable to solve Tigers goalkeeper Jake Leeker, who finished with seven saves, including a would-be game-winner late in the second overtime period off the head of defender Matt Mahoney.

Mahoney and Jorge Gomez Sanchez led the offense with seven shots each and Joonas Jokinen had another strong showing creating plays like the one Mahoney nearly turned into a game-winner.

Playing in their new home facility for the first time under the lights, Temple barely looked rattled going into overtime down a man with Albert Moreno being sent off in the 89th minute. What little offense Memphis generated in the two extra periods was dealt with well by goalkeeper Alex Cagle, who made four saves on the night to pick up his fifth clean sheet of the season.

With the draw, the Owls improve to 0-1-1 in American Athletic Conference, but their five-game win streak on their new home field was snapped. The match marked the first time this season the Owls haven’t scored at least two goals at home.

Saint Joseph’s win on the road; La Salle fall at home

Matt Crawford (Bensalem, Pa.) scored a goal in each half and Greg O’Connell picked up another clean sheet to lead the Hawks to a road win over St. Bonaventure on Saturday night.

The Hawks (4-5-1) were outshot 9-3, but Crawford made the most of both of their shots on goal with his fourth and fifth goals of the season.

Max Karcher’s goal in the 57th minute broke a tie and led Saint Louis to a 2-1 win over La Salle in the Atlantic 10 opener.

The loss is the fourth straight for the Explorers (5-5-0) after a 5-1-0 start to the season.

Conor Nichols scored his second of the year to tie the game in the 40th minute off an assist from Greg Henry to cancel out Jair Hernandez’s 24th minute goal for the visitors.

Delaware edged in vital CAA match; Evan Vare lifts Lafayette

Freshman Frede Prieto scored his third goal in two games but it wasn’t enough for the Blue Hens to overcome conference rival Hofstra in Newark on Saturday.

Danny Elliott’s 58th minute goal held up as the winner for the Pride, which improved to 4-0-0 in conference play. Delaware fell to 8-3-0 and 3-1-0 in conference play while conceding two goals in a game for just the third time on the year.

Guillermo Delgado’s assist on Prieto’s equalizer put him in second place for most career assists in program history with 17. Mark Haggerty set the program record 18 in 1983-85.

Freshman Evan Vare (Jamison, Pa.) scored his sixth goal of the season to lead Lafayette to their first Patriot League victory over Army West Point.

Ryan Egan added an insurance goal and goalkeeper Brad Seeber made eight saves to record his second clean sheet of the season. Vare’s goal was his third game-winner of the season.

Drexel edged by No. 24 UNC Wilmington

Goalkeeper Tyler Afflerbach (Harleysville, Pa.) kept the Dragons in it, but a 72nd minute strike by Julio Moncada proved to be the difference for 24th-ranked UNC Wilmington in a 1-0 win at Vidas Field Saturday.

The Dragons (1-7-2) were limited to just three shots on goal as they were shut out for the fifth straight game and the seventh time this season.

Lehigh doomed by early goal; Rider shut out Niagara

Lehigh conceded a ninth minute goal that ended up being a game-winner to Colgate in a 1-0 loss on Saturday.

Goalkeeper Will Smith (Devon, Pa.) made four saves and Philadelphia Union Academy grad led the team with four shots on goal, but the Mountain Hawks fell to 3-6-1 on the year and 0-2-0 in Patriot League play.

Jose Aguinaga assisted a pair of goals, including Clement Bourret’s 53rd minute winner to lead Rider to a 2-0 win over Niagara.

Goalkeeper Ryan Bair had to make only one save to record the clean sheet and Elliott Otmani scored an insurance goal in the 68th minute to lead the Broncs (6-2-1).