VILLANOVA, Pa. – After a completing a successful 3-game road stretch, Villanova returns to campus Saturday to host BIG EAST rival Butler at 1 p.m. at the Higgins Soccer Complex.
 
Nick Mantegna will have the call on the BIG EAST Digital Network presented by Flo Sports.
 
After opening the season with four consecutive contests on the home pitch at the Higgins Soccer Complex, Villanova faced a daunting run of three in a row on the road. The Wildcats downed Temple 2-1 in Philadelphia, knocked off Marquette 1-0 in Milwaukee in their BIG EAST regular season opener and then dropped a 4-0 decision at Penn State in wet conditions Tuesday evening.
 
"We came out of that with two wins, which was important," stated head coach Tom Carlin. "I think we were in kind of a tough spot going up to Penn State to play a very good team. Now we get to play a good Butler team at home."
 
Villanova brings a 5-2 overall, 1-0 BIG EAST record with it into Saturday's match on West Campus. The Wildcats were a stingy defensive team over their first six outings, allowing only four goals. The Nittany Lions equaled that total on Tuesday night in State College.
 
One leftover item from Tuesday night is that senior goalkeeper Carson Williams was assessed a red card in the 72^nd minute. That means he won't be in uniform against the Bulldogs. Senior Kent Dickey, who came on in relief of Williams, will be in goal Saturday.
 
Carlin said this prior to the season: "We're in a good situation in goal. If something were to happen to Carson, we know Kent is ready and able to be there for us. Kent has a different set of skills – distribution and size are two of his attributes."
 
Butler, meanwhile, is 3-3-1 overall, 1-0 BIG EAST. It earned a 1-0 victory over Connecticut last Saturday night in Indianapolis and followed that with a 3-1 non-league win over No. 18 Lipscomb on Tuesday night. Jack Streberger and Wilmer Cabrera Jr. scored goals to stake the Bulldogs to an early 2-0 lead.
 
Butler is seeking its first road win of the season, having dropped games at No. 1 Indiana (1-0), Western Michigan (2-0) and Wisconsin (1-0). It was picked to finish seventh in the preseason BIG EAST poll. Cabrera and Rhys Myers were both selected to the preseason All-BIG EAST team.
 
The Wildcats are 1-7 all-time against Butler with the Bulldogs having earned the last six victories in a row. Butler posted a 1-0 win in the last meeting between the two sides in Indianapolis in 2019.