Villanova will play its first road contest of the 2024 regular season when it visits Philly Soccer Six rival Temple Sunday night in Philadelphia (7 p.m./ESPN +).
The Wildcats played St. Peter's to a 2-2 draw in their season opener Thursday at the Higgins Soccer Complex. Jordan Canica and Jorge Garcia scored the goals for Villanova.
Temple, meanwhile, opened its 2024 regular season with a 1-1 tie against Army.
The Owls hold an 18-11-3 edge in the all-time series and took the most recent meeting in 2021, 2-1 on their home pitch.
"It's a quick turnaround," stated Villanova head coach Mark Fetrow, in his first season at the helm for the Wildcats. "That's what college soccer is all about. We've got to recover in these couple of days and get prepared. It's a Philly school so these are always tough games."
With a dozen newcomers, Villanova is still working to craft its identity under its new head coach. There were ups and downs in Thursday's opener made ample use of its roster, with 19 student-athletes seeing action. Eight newcomers logged action and the 'Cats also leaned on a host of players who had previously seen limited college game action, including Canica, Josh Oladele, Foday Bangura and Diego Valles.
There is also an NCAA rule change that impacts each game. Teams are now limited to six "moments" of substitution. In previous seasons, substitutions could be made at any time. In addition, players replaced in the second half cannot return to the contest (exceptions are made for a player who exits due to a head injury). In prior seasons, they could do so once.
"it's different," noted Fetrow. "The six moments was a little bit more difficult than I thought it was going to be. Just transitioning my mind to that is an adjustment.
"We do want to use our depth because we feel it can be an advantage for us. We want to celebrate our depth. There were a couple of guys who came off the bench (Thursday) but I still don't think it was enough for us to make that big of a difference."
The Wildcats are hoping to take better care of their own 18-yard box. A couple of mistakes in that area led to St. Peter's goals in the opener.
"We want to be better in that department," Fetrow said. "It's one of our focal points as we prepare for Temple."
This contest quicks off a three-game stretch on the road for Villanova. It will next travel to meet Michigan State and Western Michigan on Labor Day weekend.
