PROVIDENCE, R.I.—Fifth year goalie Will Vitton (Summit, N.J.) made 14 saves to become the winningest goalie in program history and No. 13 Villanova (9-3, 2-1 BIG EAST) never looked back from an early advantage in a 20-8 victory at Providence (5-7, 1-2 BIG EAST) on Saturday afternoon. Fifth year midfielder Matt Campbell (Madison, N.J.) and junior attackman Matt Licata (Sandown, N.H.) scored four goals apiece to lead a balanced Wildcats offense. Villanova improved to 6-1 away from home this season and tallied an important win as the race for positioning in the BIG EAST standings starts to heat up.
 
Vitton recorded the 35^th win of his career to set a new Wildcats career record, breaking the mark of 34 victories which was previously held by Joe Canuso (2003-06). The two Villanova netminders had been tied in the program record book since Vitton notched career win No. 34 two weeks ago in a win versus St. John's. With his 14 saves in Saturday's win over the Friars, Vitton remains fourth in school history with 636 career stops and 43 saves away from Canuso's standing school record of 679 during his standout career nearly 20 years ago. Vitton is the current Division I active career leader with 3,273:52 minutes played.
 
A fast start and a dominant second half were the determining factors in Saturday's victory. Fifth year midfielder Austin Fraser (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y.) scored the first goal of the game just 46 seconds into the contest and the Wildcats eventually built a 5-0 lead by the 3:57 mark of the first quarter. Fraser, Licata, Campbell, fifth year attackman Patrick Daly (Shrewsbury, Mass.) and senior midfielder Gavin Burke (Wayne, Pa.) all scored during the first 11-plus minutes of the game. Villanova led 12-7 at halftime and went on to outscore the Friars by an 8-1 margin in the second half.
 
Eleven different players scored a goal for the Wildcats in the romp and 14 different players tallied at least one point. Campbell, Licata and senior midfielder Mason Reale (Westport, Conn.) had five points apiece, with Reale registering his third career hat trick – all this season – to go along with two assists. Daly and sophomore attackman Luke Raymond (Crownsville, Md.) each had two assists as Villanova's top distributors on the day.
 
After the Wildcats raced out of the gates with the early five-goal spurt their lead oscillated between three and six goals for the remainder of the opening half. Reale netted back-to-back goals in a span of just 49 seconds midway through the second quarter to forge a 10-4 advantage, while a pole goal from sophomore LSM Tripp Robinson (Summit, N.J.) – the first of his career – nudged the margin to 11-5 with 7:13 to play before halftime. It was 12-7 after a Licata goal three minutes later and neither team got on the board in the final 4:13 of the first half.
 
Providence scored a man-up goal at the 9:10 mark of the third quarter to close to within 13-8 before Villanova kept the Friars off the scoreboard for the final 24-plus minutes of the contest. Campbell and junior midfielder Lucas Kopecky (Rocky Hill, N.J.) scored just seven seconds apart midway through the third quarter and junior midfielder Tucker Goodelle (Mooresville, N.C.) added to the lead just 61 seconds later. Reale's man-up goal with exactly six minutes remaining in the third period made it four goals in a span of 1:54 to make the score 17-8 heading into the final quarter.
 
Senior faceoff specialist Justin Coppola (Garden City, N.Y.) was 14-of-25 at the X and picked up 12 ground balls in one of his top performances of the season. He became the second player in school history to surpass 300 career ground balls, moving into sole possession of second place in the Wildcats record book with 307 during his Villanova career. Coppola is third in school history with 571 career faceoff wins, eight behind Chris Colliniates (2004-07) for second place.
 
Campbell, Fraser and Licata all scored in the fourth quarter as the Wildcats reached the 20-goal plateau for the first time this season. Villanova's last 20-goal performance was last season on April 2, 2022 in a 22-9 win at St. John's. The Wildcats had 13 assists and 33 points in Saturday's victory over the Friars, with the 33 points the most since the same St. John's game last year when VU amassed 35 points.
 
Villanova plays its final regular season home game next Saturday against Marquette at 12 p.m.