Villanova Gets First NCAA Tournament Win in Program History
November 20. 2021 –
The Villanova Wildcats advanced to the second round of the tournament with a 1 – 0 win at Vermont, and meets 4th seeded Notre Dame on Sunday in South Bend.
Lyam MacKinnon scored the lone goal in the road win over Vermont. He leads the team in scoring with 8 goals and 5 assists for 19 points. His 8 goals were the first for a Wildcat player since Sean Sheridan got that number in 2015.
The win was the 12th of the season for the Wildcats (12 – 7 – 1), and awaits playing a former Big East foe in the Fighting Irish. The winner advances to the Round of 16.
“It’s nice to get that first NCAA victory for the program,” said Coach Tom Carlin. “I feel like for us it’s been a long time coming. We’ve ben through some ups and downs. This group deserves it. They’ve been resilient all year. I’m so proud of them. We look forward to the chance to compete against Notre Dame.”
The Irish went 12 – 5 – 3, 4 – 2 -2 in the ACC. Notre Dame holds a 10 – 3 advantage in the series. But Villanova won the last one 1 – 0 in the opening round of the 2011 Big East Tournament over ND, who was nationally ranked at that time.
The Big East had five teams get a tournament bid; Georgetown, Providence, St. John’s, Creighton, and Villanova. All earned a shutout victory except for Georgetown who earned a first-round bye as the #3 overall seed.
Written By: Glenn Papazian
Contact: Glenn@phillycollegesports.com
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