Villanova, Pa.- The Villanova men's lacrosse team will travel to State College to open the 2022 season against the Penn State Nittany Lions of Saturday afternoon. First faceoff is scheduled for 3:00 P.M in Panzer Stadium.
Matchup History: Saturday marks the 27
th meeting all-time between the Wildcats and Nittany Lions, with Penn State winning 19 of the previous meetings. The last time the two teams met was to open the 2020 season with Penn State winning 19-10. The Wildcats last victory against Penn State came in 2018 when they opened the season with a 17-16 overtime win.
A Look at Villanova: The Wildcats will open the season against Penn State for the fourth time in five years. In the BIG EAST Preseason Coaches' Poll Villanova was picked to finish third after finishing league play last season in the same spot.
Villanova's Offense: Senior midfielder All-American
Matt Campbell returns for the Wildcats this season after leading the team in scoring a season ago. Campbell was named to two preseason All-American teams and to the All-BIG EAST Preseason team. On attack lefty
Patrick Daly will be joined by two new faces in graduate transfers
Luke Keating and
Brett Baskin.
Villanova's Defense: Will Vitton is returning in goal for his fourth season between the posts for the Wildcats. Last season Vitton picked up six wins and earned a spot on the All-BIG EAST Second Team. The Wildcats defense will see three new starters with the previous trio graduating. Monmouth transfer and MAAC 2021 Defensive Player of the Year
Chris Hervada will contribute this season to Villanova's close defense.
A Look at Penn State: The Nittany Lions opened their season last week against Lafayette and defeated the Leopards by a final of 20-15. In the Big Ten preseason poll Penn State was slated to finish sixth while a trio of seniors in Brayden Peck, Brian Townsend, and Jack Traynor were named to the preseason watch list.
In their season opener four players picked up five points with rookie Nilis Barry earning Big Ten Weekly Honors for his efforts. The Nittany Lions used a four-goal run in the fourth to pull away. In goal Penn State used two keepers with Jack Fracyon picking up the win, playing just over 38 minutes and have having eight saves.
