VILLANOVA, Pa. – After demonstrating an impressive resiliency through three games, the Villanova Wildcats (3-0 overall) are set for another substantial test. This one comes on Monday night, when the 'Cats meet Atlantic Coast Conference power Clemson (2-1 overall) at historic Riggs Field.
This will be the home opener for the Tigers, who defeated in-state rival South Carolina 2-0 on Friday evening.
"We put this game on the schedule because we know that in the Big East we are going to play games like this," stated Villanova head coach Tom Carlin. "It's nice taking a 3-0 record into this game. It will be a challenge but it'll give us a good sense of where we stand."
Fueling the Wildcats' early surge this season has been senior midfielder Zach Zandi. After battling through injuries earlier in his career, the product of West Chester, Pa., has been a force in every corner of the pitch, whether it's delivering a ball out of trouble in the defensive third, or creating opportunities in the opponents' end of the field.
Zandi leads the Wildcats with three goals and two assists (eight points). He has notched two game-winning goals already and assisted on another that was finished by Yusuf Cueceoglu in Monday's 3-2 victory over William & Mary.
Yet Zandi's had lots of help too. The back trio of Shane Bradley, Luca Mellor and Enda O'Neill has been rock solid in front of new starting goalkeeper Carson Williams. Villanova has recorded two shutouts in its three games this season and Williams sports a sparking 0.64 goals against average. In Friday's 1-0 win over Loyola at the Higgins Soccer Complex, he notched four saves, including a huge stop with the contest deadlocked at zero midway through the second half.
"On that play Dylan Middlebrook went out to stop it up top and it was a great read," noted Carlin. "He just missed it a little bit and they hit us in transition. But we did everything we needed to do defensively in the rest of that sequence, including getting the big save from the keeper.
"Those kinds of moments will happen. You're going to need your keeper to make those kinds of saves. Carson's up for that challenge."
The Wildcats hope to match the start of the 2012 VU squad, which won its first four contests on the way to a 12-6-2 finish. Villanova last faced an ACC opponent on Sept. 4, 2016, when it earned a 2-1 win at Boston College.
Villanova will return to the Philadelphia area on Tuesday and will turn the page to Friday night's clash with Penn State at Talen Energy Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. or 45 minutes after the conclusion of the Villanova-Virginia Tech women's contest that begins at 5 p.m.
