VILLANOVA, Pa. – Villanova (6-5, 0-2 BIG EAST) travels to New York to take on St. John's (4-8, 1-1 BIG EAST) on Saturday afternoon. The Wildcats are looking for a bounce back win after their first 0-2 start since 2016.

Coming off a hard-fought loss to Providence last week, the Wildcats have to regroup and bring their A game this weekend as the Red Storm picked up their first BIG EAST win since 2016 when they took down Marquette in the opener. Matt Licata earned a Weekly Honor Roll selection for his three goals and three assists against the Friars. One bright spot for the Wildcats was the defense, which caused a program record 20 turnovers in the loss. The ten-man ride forced Providence to nine failed clears and Villanova took advantage with six goals off turnovers. The injury to faceoff star Justin Coppola proved to be vital as the Wildcats went 12-31 on faceoff attempts.

St John's comes into Saturday's matchup after a 18-8 loss at No. 8 Denver last week. Brian Kelly leads the Red Storm with 23 goals on the season and Bobby Steel has 22. Goalie Kyle Munson leads the conference with 11.40 saves per game. The redshirt junior has 114 total saves and a .502 save percentage this season.

The Wildcats are 16-7 all time against St. John's and have won the last eight meetings dating back to 2014. The opening faceoff is set for 1:00 p.m. on Saturday afternoon.