WSOU

Pirates Close Season with 2-0 Victory over Villanova on Senior Night

Date: November 2, 2017

senior night

(Photo: SHU Athletics)

By: Dalton Allison

On senior night at Owen T. Carroll field, the Seton Hall Pirates defeated the Villanova Wildcats 2-0.

Head Coach Gerson Echeverry knew the significance of the match for the seniors entering the match.

"We wanted to make sure the players left on the right foot," Coach Echeverry said. "It was important to us."

The urgency of the Pirates showed early in the first half, as they opened the match with an intense brand of physicality. Within the first minute, Andres Arcila put a header on net, but it was deflected away by Nova keeper Will Steiner.

In the 11th minute, the persistence of the Pirates would pay off. After a number of early free kicks, Jonathan Jimenez headed a ball past Steiner to put Seton Hall at a 1-0 advantage.

In the 33rd minute, Chris Martinez dove to save a shot off of Villanova striker Zach Zandi. This was just one of five saves for Martinez, as he got the shutout in his first and final match for the Pirates.

With time winding down in the first half, the Wildcats began an offensive attack that appeared dangerous, but the play was broken up by Nick Najera on a fantastic slide tackle. The Pirates held onto their 1-0 lead into the half.

To open the second half, Villanova knew they had to come out and attack Seton Hall to try and level the game. This attacking mindset led to high tensions on the pitch, which lead to shoving by both sides after a yellow card was presented to Lukas Pangonis.

Seeming to rally from the shoving, the Pirates started to mount a consistent offensive attack against the Wildcats. This put Villanova on their heels, and they committed a handball in the box to give the Pirates a penalty shot in the 72nd minute.

Arcila stepped up to take the shot, and he did not let down the large crowd in attendance for the match. He buried the shot, and secured his ninth goal of the season in his final match as a Pirate.

Nova had a chance to cut the lead in half in the 75th minute on a corner kick, but Martinez controlled the ball to end any Wildcat threat.

As the buzzer sounded to end the match, there was a bitter-sweet atmosphere as the Pirates are graduating 11 seniors from the team. The Pirates finished the season 6-10-1 overall, and 3-6 in Big East play.

When asked about the state of the team moving forward, Coach Echevery sounded confident.

"Besides the defense and Andreas, everyone is coming back," Coach Echeverry said. "I think we are going to be just fine."

The Pirates finish the season 6-10-1 overall, and 3-6 in Big East play.

 

Dalton Allison can be found on Twitter @DaltonAllison4 and can be reached by e-mail at Dalton.allison@student.shu.edu

Posted in: Sports, WSOU

 

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