'Nova tops La Salle in soccer

Kyle Soroka's return to the lineup helped lift the Villanova men's soccer team (6-2-0) to a 2-1 victory over La Salle (5-2-1) on Thursday at the West Campus Soccer Complex.

Soroka, who sat out the Wildcats' two games last weekend with a sprained knee, made an impact before the game was two minutes old. Junior Dylan Renna fed a ball into the box in front of the La Salle net to an open Soroka. Soroka's blast banged off the left post but rolled right back to him.

Slippery Rock dropped its first game of the season, falling, 1-0, to Mercyhurst in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference action at James Egli Field.

With the loss, Slippery Rock fell to 3-1-3 overall. Mercyhurst, which lost its first three games of the season, improved to 4-3 overall and 3-0 in league play.

Dylan Ross scored his second goal of the game in the 84th minute to provide the game-winner for Caldwell in a 3-2 victory over East Stroudsburg in a nonconference game. Caldwell is 1-4-1 on the year while Stroudsburg fell to 1-6.

Women's soccer. Junior Karen Thomas notched her second career two-goal game and added an assist for Widener (2-3-1) in a 4-0 victory over Delaware Valley (2-5).

Field hockey. Haverford College's upset bid fell short as the Fords (5-1) dropped a 2-1, nonconference decision to Messiah (5-1).

Widener (1-5) hung tough before falling, 7-3, to Cabrini (3-4).

No. 6 Penn State gears up for a homestand this weekend, hosting Indiana and Michigan to open the Big Ten season. The Nittany Lions take on the Hoosiers on Friday for a Big Ten Network game. The Wolverines will then visit the Lions on Sunday for a noon contest.

Cross-country. La Salle's Meghan McGlinchey won the Main Line Invitational, finishing the three-mile race in 16 minutes, 16.30 seconds.