VILLANOVA, Pa. – An important stretch of the BIG EAST season begins on Wednesday when Villanova (4-3-2 overall, 1-1-1 BIG EAST) hosts conference rival Marquette (4-5-1 overall, 0-1-1 BIG EAST) at 4 p.m. The match will be live streamed on the BIG EAST Digital Network presented by FloSports.
This contest kicks off a stretch where the Wildcats will host four of their next five contests at the Higgins Soccer Complex on Villanova's West Campus. Villanova is 3-0-1 on its home pitch this far in 2022 and has outscored its opponents 10-1 in those games.
The Golden Eagles dropped their most recent contest, falling at Butler 3-1 on Friday night. They opened BIG EAST Conference play with a 0-0 draw at No. 19 Xavier on Sept. 24.
The Wildcats were in a back-and-forth battle at Creighton on Saturday night, falling 3-1 to the Bluejays on a pair of second half goals. Yet head coach
Tom Carlin liked the mettle his squad displayed after a quick turnaround and long flight to Omaha after posting a 1-0 victory over nationally ranked Penn State last Wednesday at the Higgins Soccer Complex.
"I'm proud of the way the guys hung in there," said Carlin. "Creighton is a very good attacking team, and we didn't have a lot of preparation time. But we played hard and I thought we had our chances, especially in the second half."
Last season, the Wildcats posted a 1-0 win over the Golden Eagles in Milwaukee.
Balthi Saunders scored the game's only goal at 27:57 while
Carson Williams made six saves in posting the clean sheet in goal.
As Carlin noted in the aftermath of that game, "any time you win on the road in the Big East, it's an accomplishment."
On the season Villanova has outscored its opponents, 15-7. Senior
Lyam MacKinnon leads the way with four goals while classmate
Viktor Benediktsson has added three others, all off of set pieces.
This is the first of two home matches this week for Villanova. The Wildcats will return to the Higgins Soccer Complex on Saturday to host Xavier at 1 p.m. That clash will also be streamed on the BIG EAST Digital Network on Flo Sports. A visit to Butler follow on Oct. 12 before Nova returns to its home turf for another pair of matches, hosting Georgetown on Saturday, Oct. 15 and Connecticut on Wednesday, Oct. 19.
"We've received great support from the community for our home games this year," stated Carlin. "It's something our guys notice and definitely creates a great environment. We're looking forward to being out there again this week for two tough Big East games."
