When Villanova men’s soccer coach Larry Sullivan looked out the team bus window after dinner last night, he saw more than just raindrops. He also saw an opportunity for a possible upset of Syracuse.

‘When we were driving to the field, I told the team as it was pouring rain, ‘God is on our side today, boys,’ ‘ Sullivan said. ‘I told our guys before the game that we could steal this one.’

Rain drenched the Syracuse Soccer Stadium field throughout most of the first half. Even when it subsided, the atmosphere was damp and the field slippery and wet. Those conditions helped Villanova to a 3-1 victory, its first Big East win.

Though both teams dealt with the weather, it seemed to especially affect SU. The Orangemen pressured the Villanova defense throughout the first half, but after getting past Wildcats defenders, were unable to score.

‘(Syracuse) has bigger guys,’ said Sullivan, in his 12th season as Wildcats coach. ‘In the mud, bigger guys have a disadvantage on littler guys who are quick. It seems when big guys get planted, they tend to slip and fall more.’

Though Villanova came in with just one goal in its last 473 minutes, it took advantage of its six shots.

‘Rain is always going to help a team that’s not as credible,’ Syracuse defender Chris Aloisi said. ‘It’s always to their advantage. We know we should have buried this team.’

Though the field caused the Orangemen to blow a number of offensive opportunities — they had 21 shots — its most direct effect came on defense midway through the first half.

After Wildcats forward Dan Massimini beat Matt Chew, he found himself in a foot race with Orangeman defender Ryan Hall. While sprinting to the ball, Hall hit some rough turf, fell and left Massimini with a clear view of the net. He put the ball past SU goalkeeper Alim Karim for a 2-0 lead.

‘There were just some unlucky bounces,” Chew said. “A couple people fell, the ball would slip through. Nothing bounced our way.’

‘It’s embarrassing for other teams to see that we lost to two of the (Big East’s) worst teams (Providence and Villanova),’ Hall said. ‘It’s more shocking than anything because these kids don’t deserve to be on the field with us.’

Though the weather caused some problems, SU players and coaches still shouldered much of the blame.

‘The surface, rain and playing conditions are the same for both teams,’ SU assistant coach Jaro Zawislan said. ‘We really can’t use that as any type of explanation for our performance.’

‘The weather’s not an excuse,’ Aloisi said. ‘This game should have been ours regardless.’

Published on October 2, 2002 at 12:00 pm