VILLANOVA, Pa.—First year head coach Michael Gordon and his team are looking to make more history this weekend as the 'Cats face five tough opponents this week.

First up is No. 8 Princeton in a standalone non-conference matchup on Thursday, February 8^th. The Wildcats are notably 0-39 all time against the Tigers and have lost their last 22 games to rank opponents. Princeton comes into Thursday's matchup at 1-2 after a west coast trip which saw them drop matches to No. 2 Hawaii and No. 3 Fresno State. Already off to a historic start the 'Cats will look to pick up their biggest win in program history.

The weekend slate will take Villanova to the Bison Invitation in Lewisburg, Pa. where they will face Saint Francis, Mount Saint Mary's, Lasalle and Bucknell.

Saint Francis comes into Saturday's matchup with a record of 0-8 having faced daunting competition such as No. 9 Michigan, No. 14 Indiana and MAAC foes Marist and No. 21 LIU twice.

The rematch against Mount Saint Mary's will be a highly anticipated matchup as the 'Cats took the first matchup 12-11 at the Villanova Invitational. The Mountaineers sit at 6-1 and have played a nearly identical schedule as the 'Cats.

Lasalle and Villanova have established a heated rivalry in previous seasons as the Explorers notably knocked the 'Cats out of the MAAC tournament race last season winning the final regular season game 7-6. Having already faced off in the fall season both teams know what to expect from the opposition. The Explorers bring a 3-2 record into the weekend and notably fell to No.18 Harvard 9-8 last week. They are receiving votes in this weeks national rankings.

The hosts Bucknell await the Wildcats in the Sunday cap off. The Bison are currently 1-3 with their losses coming to the top three finishers in the MAAC last season (Marist, LIU, and Wager).

Gordon knows this week will be his toughest test yet and is looking to see sustained improvement from his side as the season progresses.