WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – Villanova scored a goal in the 39th minute and made it stand up as it blanked the William & Mary men's soccer team, 1-0, in the Tribe's homer opener on Tuesday night at Martin Family Stadium at Albert Daly Field.
 
After getting the better of the shots in the first half, Villanova (2-0) finally converted on its 10th attempt of the opening 45 minutes. On the right side of the field, Liam Mackinnon pushed a ball just outside of the top of the 18-yard-box to Marcus Brenes. The Wildcats' freshman midfielder took a touch and then curled his shot inside the far post to give the visitors a 1-0 just six minutes before the intermission.  
 
The Tribe (0-2) had a handful of chances at the equalizer, but its best chance came in the 66th minute. Senior Julian Ngoh was one-on-one with the keeper at the mouth of the goal, but Carson Williams made the stop. The rebound bounced right to freshman Diba Nwegbo, but his shot was blocked wide.
 
After Villanova held a 63% to 37% advantage in possession in the first half, the Tribe had the better of play in the second, closing the gap to 53% to 47% for the game. W&M generated five corners in the second half and held 5-4 advantage in shots, but could not find the equalizer.
 
W&M Starters – #22 Baskett (GK), #3 Bozalongo, #4 Bradley, #5 Golan, #8 Hosseinian, #9 Nwegbo, #13 Shane, #15 Levengood, #16 Bustamante, #21 Trott, #24 Ngoh
 
Villanova Starters – #1 Williams (GK), #4 Bradley, S., #5 Mellor, #8 Vare, #9 Shamsudeen, #11 Schlentz, #18 Belluz, #21 Benediktsson, #22 Mackinnon, #26 Dragisics, #27 Quartey
 
Goals
39' | Marucs Brenes (Nova) (Assist: Liam Mackinnon)
 
Inside the Numbers
- Villanova outshot the Tribe, 14-7, thanks to a 10-2 margin in the first half.
- The Wildcats placed five shots on, frame to just one for W&M.
- W&M took eight corner kicks compared to five for Nova.
- Freshman Kieran Baskett made four stops as he made the start for the Tribe in goal.
- Villanova held a 53% to 47% advantage in possession.
 
Notes
Freshman Diba Nwegbo made his first career start for the Green and Gold … The game was the second meeting between the two programs, both in the last two seasons … Rookie goalkeeper Kieran Baskett made a career-best four saves.
 
What's Ahead
- The Tribe continues its homestand with the first Colonial Athletic Association match of the season against Delaware on Friday, Sept. 6.
- Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. from Martin Family Stadium at Albert-Daly Field, and the match will be streamed for free in HD on Tribe Athletics TV.