Villanova, Pa.- The Villanova men's lacrosse team will host the Hofstra Pride this Saturday for what will be the first of four straight home games for the Wildcats.  Villanova is 2-2 while Hofstra is 3-2 heading into Saturday's matchup.  First faceoff is scheduled for 1:00 P.M. and can be seen on Nova Nation All-Access.

Matchup History:  Saturday will mark the 17^th meeting all-time between the Wildcats and Pride with both teams winning eight of the previous matchups.  Villanova has won the last five games against Hofstra with the most recent coming on February 22, 2020, with a 10-8 victory on the road. 

A Look at Villanova:  The Wildcats fought hard for a comeback on Tuesday at Brown after being down as many as seven goals in the third quarter but fell to the Bears 15-14.  During the home opener against Fairfield Luke Keating had a game high four goals during the 16-9 win.

Villanova's Offense: Graduate students Brett Baskin and Luke Keating have made an impact on the Villanova offense early this season.  Baskin against Brown finished with nine points on six goals and three assists, all were career bests.  Keating against the Stags finished with five points with four goals and one assist.  Senior attackman Patrick Daly leads the Wildcats in goals with 12 this season while midfielder Matt Campbell has 16 points on nine goals and seven assists.

Villanova's Defense:  Sophomore Reid Colwell has made an impact on the Wildcats close defense through the first four games.  The sophomore has 12 ground balls and four caused turnovers.  Justin Coppola at the faceoff x is 65-for-114 (.570) this season with 35 ground balls.  In goal senior Will Vitton has played 225 minutes this season and has a 13.87 goals against average, .458 save percentage, and 44 total saves. 

A Look at Hofstra: The Pride are 3-2 coming into Saturday after going 1-1 last weekend in the Long Island Cup.  Hofstra fell to Long Island on Friday 14-11 and defeated St. John's 12-6 on Sunday during their home tournament.  Offensively Gerard Kane and Matt Elder lead the Pride.  Kane has a team high 13 points on eight goals and five assists while Elder is the team leader in assists with seven, he also has five goals for 12 points.  Mac Gates is Hofstra's starting keeper and has a 9.72 goals against average and .560 save percentage in just over 296 minutes this season.