VILLANOVA, Pa. - Freddie Braun scored two goals and added an assist as the fifth ranked University of Louisville men’s soccer team defeated host Villanova 5-0 and secured its place atop the BIG EAST Conference Red Division Saturday afternoon. The Cards (13-2-2, 8-2-1 BIG EAST) set a new school record for wins and earned their first conference regular season title in program history.

“We started the game very well. We never let up and were able to score five very good goals,” said U of L head coach Ken Lolla. “I am very happy for our seniors and all the hard work they have put in.”

The Cardinals struck early when Paolo DelPiccolo fed a ball across the field just outside the box to J.T. Murray, who was making a run from his left back position. Murray took the pass in stride and fired a low blast into the net, past Wildcat goalkeeper Chris Bresnahan, to stake U of L to a 1-0 lead at 8:52.

Louisville struck again at 24:20 when Colin Rolfe sent a shot from inside the box towards Bresnahan. The rebound came to teammate Mark Knight, who pushed the ball into the net to give the Cards a 2-0 edge.

Exactly one minute later, the Cards were on the board again. This one came off a corner kick that DelPiccolo lofted into the box. Braun got his head on the ball and guided into the net to increase the lead to 3-0 at the 25:20 mark.

Villanova gathered itself late in the half and generated a flurry of shots in the final 10 minutes of the period. But the Cardinals kept VU off the board and the halftime count remained 3-0.

Louisville increased the lead to 4-0 with a gorgeous individual move by Colin Rolfe in the box. He shook off a Wildcat defender with a nifty dribble and sent a low shot past Villanova’s John Fogarty into the right corner of the net at the 54:42 mark.

The Cardinals closed the scoring at 71:56 when Braun headed in a DelPiccolo serve on a free kick to make the final score 5-0.

Villanova  outshot Louisville 19-18 but couldn't match the number of quality scoring chances the Cardinals generated. Cardinal goalkeeper Andre Boudreaux made three saves the shutout, which insures Louisville
(13-2-2 overall, 8-2-1 BIG EAST) will be at home next weekend for a quarterfinal round match. The Wildcats fall to 9-7-2 (5-5-1 BIG EAST).

Portions of this release provided by Villanova Sports Information