VILLANOVA, Pa. – Villanova hopes to extend its sensational start to 2019 on Friday night when it visits Penn State (2-1-1 overall, 0-0-0 Big Ten) at 7 p.m.
The Wildcats have earned shutout victories over Delaware (5-0), William & Mary (1-0), Temple (1-0) and Fordham (1-0 in double overtime) to open the 2019 regular season. This matches the best start in program history (2012). Villanova carries a shutout streak of 461:50 into Friday night's action at Jeffery Field.
The Nittany Lions, meanwhile, earned a 1-1 draw at No. 15 UCF and defeated Stetson 2-0 last weekend on a trip to Florida. Penn State's sole setback this season came at Jeffery Field in its season opener to No. 5 Stanford.
This marks Villanova's eighth visit to University Park since the series commenced in 1988. The Nittany Lions have won all seven of the previous matchups, the most recent a 1-0 victory in 2010. Villanova knocked off Penn State 2-1 last season at the Higgins Soccer Complex in a match relocated to campus after a torrential rainstorm at Talen Energy Stadium.
Villanova won its road opener at William & Mary on Sept 3 and will need to be strong as it embarks upon a challenging stretch on the schedule. This is the first of three straight on the road for the Wildcats. Next up is a match at preseason No. 1 Maryland on Monday night in College Park, Md., followed by the BIG EAST Conference opener at DePaul in Chicago on Friday, Sept. 20.
"We're going to have to use our depth," stated Villanova head coach
Tom Carlin. "We've got three road games, two Big Ten and one Big East. It's a tough stretch for sure but we've put ourselves in a good situation with these four games to start the season.
"We're trusting in (Assistant Athletics Director for Sports Performance)
Kevin Miller to work his magic with recovery. We'll be ready to go against a good Penn State team Friday night."
Villanova received a nice boost from juniors
Tommy Nealon and
Max Zandi in Tuesday's win over Fordham. Nealon stepped into the startling lineup on defense and helped goalkeeper
Carson Williams deliver his fifth consecutive clean sheet. Zandi entered the game early in the second half at the critical central back position. He joined Nealon,
Shane Bradley and
Richie Schlentz in thwarting the Rams bids to gain the upper hand over the final 50 plus minutes on a warm, muggy afternoon.
Freshman
Lyam MacKinnon, who scored the game-winner Tuesday, leads Villanova with two goals and four assists for eight points.
