VILLANOVA, Pa. – Villanova (8-6, 2-3) is set to battle top seeded Denver (11-2, 5-0) in the BIG EAST semifinals on Thursday. The Wildcats are seeking their fourth BIG EAST championship appearance.
Coming off a 12-4 loss to No. 11 Georgetown last week, Villanova is eager to take the field again. The Wildcats are the healthiest they have been in conference play as Reid Colwell returned from injury after missing the previous two games. Stephen Zupicich continued his dominance, causing five turnovers to go along with five ground balls as Anthony Wilson made nine saves in the cage.
Denver finished undefeated in conference play as first year head coach Matt Brown took home BIG EAST Coach of the Year honors. The Pioneers wrapped up the regular season with a 15-9 win over Marquette as Cody Malawsky scored four goals. Denver was ranked as high as No. 1 this season and enter the postseason ranked fourth in the Inside Lacrosse Media Poll.
Villanova battled with Denver in the regular season falling 9-6. Both defenses were stellar as faceoffs proved to be critical. BIG EAST Specialist of the Year Alec Stathakis went 13-19 in the circle. Freshman Ryan Cunningham now has much needed experience and will be key to the Wildcats success. The Wildcat defense forced Denver into 23 turnovers as Zupicich and Jack Shoemaker each caused four. BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year Jimmy Freehill caused six turnovers for the Pioneers.
Villanova is 5-16 all time against Denver as the Pioneers have taken 14 of the 16 meetings since joining the BIG EAST in 2014. This is the third straight season the sides have met in the semifinals as the Wildcats claimed a one goal victory in 2022 before falling in last year's matchup. The game can be seen live on CBS Sports Network at 5:30 p.m. as the winner will take on the winner of Georgetown and Providence in Saturday's championship.
