VILLANOVA, Pa. - The Villanova Wildcats got back to work Monday as they resumed training ahead of Wednesday's Philly Soccer Six home date with La Salle.

The focus of that session was on the gritty elements of soccer, according to head coach Tom Carlin. This comes on the heels of a 1-0 loss to nationally ranked Creighton in the BIG EAST Conference opener played last Saturday afternoon at the Higgins Soccer Complex.

"After watching the tape of Creighton, we felt we needed to emphasize the hard-working plays," stated Carlin of the Wildcats, who are now 3-4-1 overall.

"Creighton is a very good team and credit to them on the result. But when we looked at how we performed, we didn't think we did the kind of job we needed to on first and second balls. So that's what we spent a lot of time on (Monday)."

Saturday's outing was a physical match and Carlin expects a similar battle Wednesday when the Explorers (3-4-1 overall) make the short ride here from Philadelphia.

"In one sense, this game comes at a perfect time," Carlin said. "The Soccer Six games are always tough and are kind of like a mini-conference for us. These are local rivalries and carry the same kind of intensity we see in the Big East. They are fun games to be a part of."

Villanova will be without the services of one of its key performers. Senior Oscar Umar received a red card in the second half of Saturday's match and, as a result, will not be in uniform against La Salle. That could signal a larger role for sophomore Eric McKenna, who was inserted into the lineup at the start of the second half in both of the Wildcats' games last week and offered a boost each time.

"One thing we feel we have on this team is depth," noted Carlin. "This gives us a chance to give McKenna more minutes and gives some other guys an opportunity too. Honestly, we were planning to do more of that before this came up anyway.

"Any time you lose a player of Oscar's caliber, it has an impact. But we have confidence that other guys can help us fill the void against La Salle."

Like Villanova, the Explorers began the season slowly, absorbing a 0-3-1 stretch to begin 2014. However, La Salle, coached by Pat Farrell, has rallied since and brings a three game winning streak with it to West Campus that was capped by a 1-0 triumph last Friday at Manhattan.

"They've been playing well and that's not a surprise - La Salle always gets better as the season goes on," stated Carlin. "Pat does a great job and their players believe in their system. We expect nothing less than a tough, hardnosed battle."

The calendar turns to October Wednesday and that fact is not lost on the Wildcats.

"It's October," said Carlin. "There is an urgency to everything we do and every game we play."

This is the second in a stretch of three straight at home for the Wildcats. Villanova resumes BIG EAST action Saturday when it hosts DePaul at 1:00 p.m. The official dedication of the Higgins Soccer Complex will be part of Saturday's pre-game activity.