Radnor PA: There is a certain buzz when you get to play in front of the home crowd, especially on Homecoming weekend and that is what we saw on Saturday as the Villanova Wildcats took on New Hampshire Wildcats from Villanova Stadium.
Villanova comes into the game off a loss to Maine while New Hampshire made their way to Main Line after a loss to Rhode Island.
How the game went:
Villanova won the toss & deferred to the 2nd half
Both Villanova & New Hampshire looked very sluggish on offense in the first quarter especially Villanova which included multiple fall start penalties, New Hampshire got the scoring started with a 21-yard FG for an early 3-0 lead.
Villanova got on the board with a 25-yard touchdown on 4th down as Connor Watkins connected with Lucas Kopecky for the 7-3 lead early in the second quarter.
Connor Watkins finds Lucas Kopecky👏@CAAFootball | @NovaFootball | #CAAfb pic.twitter.com/jFOlji6Vc0
— FloFootball (@FloFootball) October 26, 2024
The score would remain 7-3 for Villanova at Halftime
If you liked defense, this was your type of game as Villanova would make not 1 but 2 huge Goal-line stands to New Hampshire from inside the 5-yard line. Villanova would add to the lead in the 4th quarter as Watkins connected with Devin Smith which ended a 99-yard drive. New Hampshire would try to make things interesting late but they would run out of time. A crowd of 5,015 would see Villanova win the battle of the wildcats as they take down New Hampshire 14-6 & With the win, the Wildcats are now 6-2, 3-1 in conference play while New Hampshire falls to 4-4 & 2-2 in Conference play.
Postgame:
Villanova Coach Mark Ferrente:
Villanova Shane Hartzell:
What I asked to @NovaFootball Shane Hartzell about his 20 Tackles & overall play of defense in their win over New Hampshire #Villanova #UNHvsNova pic.twitter.com/LjQTTpYc2P
— David Malandra Jr (@DaveMReports) October 26, 2024
Final Numbers:
What is next:
Villanova is now 6-2 & 3-1 in the CAA & will now head on the road next week for a battle at Hampton.
