Sept. 10, 2002

PHILADELPHIA - A well-balanced offensive attack spearheaded by a fair of freshman lifted the Villanova Wildcats to a 3-0 victory over the Temple Owls on a warm afternoon here today.

Both head coaches substituted liberally. Villanova head coach Larry Sullivan employed 18 players on the 92 degree afternoon and received strong contributions from his entire unit. The defense continued its solid play - it has held the opposition to three goals in four games in 2002 and posted a pair of shutouts - and got a boost from its offensive attack.

Sophomore Chris Edgar (Mahwah, N.J.) notched the first goal for the Wildcats in the 34th minute. It was Edgar's first goal in two seasons. As a freshman in 2002 Edgar led the 'Cats with five goals before being sidelined by injury and accepting a medical redshirt in 2001. Edgar now has three points on the season.

Freshmen Charlie Rowan (Livingston, N.J.) and Brett Strassfurth (Gahanna, Ohio) each contributed goals as well. Rowan's first half tally was his second of the season while Strassfurth picked up his first career points.

Goalkeeper Jon Williams (Westfield, N.J.) earned the shutout in net for Villanova. It was Williams' first career shutout.

The win lifts Villanova's record to 2-2 overall, 0-1 in the Big East while Temple falls to 0-3 on the season. In addition, Villanova is now 1-1 in the Philadelphia Soccer Seven.

The Wildcats return to action on Friday at Penn State University. Villanova meets Penn State at 7:00 p.m. and follows that up with a Sunday afternoon match in State College against Ohio State.