VILLANOVA, Pa. – A rugged stretch of three straight away from home continues Monday night when Villanova travels south on I-95 to meet 2018 NCAA national champion Maryland. Kickoff for this match – originally slated for Talen Energy Stadium – is set for 7 p.m.

Villanova (4-1-0 overall, 0-0 BIG EAST) looks to rebound from its first setback, suffered Friday night at Penn State. The Nittany Lions got an early goal and made it stand up for the next 79 minutes. That goal snapped a four-game plus shutout streak put together by the 'Cats.

Goalkeeper Carson Williams was again superb in University Park, making three outstanding saves to give Nova the chance to grab a second half equalizer. Williams sports an 0.19 goals against average in five games thus far to go along with a .917 save percentage.

The Terrapins, meanwhile, were the nation's preseason No. 1 team. Maryland carries a 2-2 overall record into Monday night's clash after recording a 1-0 triumph at Akron on Friday.

The Wildcats had to reshuffle their lineup Friday night in the absence of senior center back Luca Mellor. Freshman Viktor Benediktsson was shifted from his usual spot in the defensive midfield to fill the void and performed well. But Mellor plays a significant role and his loss is not easily compensated for.

"We missed Luca," noted head coach Tom Carlin of Friday night's action.

"Overall, we were just on our back foot a lot. Every time we tried to get on our front foot, they played a ball in behind us and outworked us. We weren't planning on being outworked."

Maryland leads the all-time series 3-0 with all three victories coming in College Park. The most recent of those came in 2015, a 2-0 triumph for the Big Ten side.

"We want to be ready for the Big East," stated Carlin. "That venue down in College Park and the team we are facing will teach us a lot about ourselves."

BIG EAST play for the Wildcats gets underway on Friday when Villanova travels to Chicago for a matinee against DePaul at 2 p.m. The 'Cats then get back on the home surface at the Higgins Soccer Complex next Tuesday, Sept. 24, when George Washington comes to West Campus for a non-conference battle at 4 p.m.