NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Kai Moos won't soon forget his first career goal. Moos broke a scoreless tie in the 77th minute when he finished a nifty feed from
Kahveh Zahiroleslam which helped lift the Yale men's soccer team to a 1-0 victory over Villanova at Reese Stadium.
The win capped a terrific and long weekend for the Bulldogs, who won at West Virginia on Friday, made a nine-hour bus ride home on Saturday before edging the Wildcats on Sunday. The Mountaineers were ranked No. 10 in the nation by Top Drawer Soccer and reached the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament last year, while Villanova won 12 games a year ago and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
"What a performance from the guys," said
Kylie Stannard, the 5K Corral Head Coach of the Bulldogs. "That was Yale men's soccer. We showed great discipline, we were tough to play against, and we played some really good soccer and created some great chances and executed when we needed. We also got better as the game went along and shows our fitness level is growing even more. It is pretty amazing to have such a quick turnaround after Friday night and then to drive back yesterday and have the performance we had tonight against a very good Villanova team. What an effort from the group!"
Goalkeeper
Elian Haddock played a key role in Sunday's win, making six saves to post his first shutout of the season. His best save came when he dove to his left to deflect away a Branden Johns shot that appeared headed into the far corner midway through the second half. A majority of Haddock's stops came with a high degree of difficulty.
Haddock also received help from his mates. Zahiroleslam made a kick save just in front of the goal line to keep the game scoreless late in the first half.
Zahiroleslam also had a big hand in Moos's game winner, dribbling toward goal from near midfield, drawing three Villanova defenders and then making a no-look pass to Moos, who fired a shot inside the far post.
Yale (2-0-2) is unbeaten through the first two weekends of play.
The Bulldogs will now rest up before traveling to Milwaukee to play Marquette next Saturday. Kickoff is slated for 8 p.m. EDT.
"I will continue to say that I believe we can be even better and that's the most exciting part," Stannard said. "We are all looking forward to getting a little rest and also having time for some proper training this week to keep making improvements."
