VILLANOVA, Pa. – Villanova will host a "Pink Out" in conjunction with its BIG EAST Men's Soccer match Friday against Midwest Division leader Creighton (7-3-2 overall, 3-1 BIG EAST) at the Higgins Soccer Complex.
The Wildcats (4-4-4 overall, 1-1-2 BIG EAST) will don pink warmup shirts and fans attending the game are encouraged to follow suit, in honor of October's pace as "Breast Cancer Awareness" month. ESPN+ will stream the game live from VU's West Campus.
Despite key injuries that have sidelined stalwarts
Luke Martelli, ,
Luke Haggerty and
Cam Tolson of late, the Wildcats have created momentum with a non-league win over NJIT (1-0) and a hard-earned draw last Saturday against Seton Hall (1-1).
"Every one of these Big East games are battles," said Villanova head coach
Mark Fetrow. "Luckily, we've had some time to rest, recover and prepare so that we can maximize our performance against Creighton."
The Bluejays, who are making their first visit to Villanova since 2021, own a 10-3-0 overall record in the series, which dates to Creighton's 2013 entry to the BIG EAST. The Bluejays took the most recent meeting between the programs 3-1 at Marrison Stadium in Omaha last season.
Creighton knocked off Xavier 2-0 at home last weekend. It is 5-0-1 on its home turf in Omaha this season and 1-3-1 on the road thus far.
"Creighton's having a very good year again," noted Fetrow. "They have a similar shape to ours. Our coaching staff has spent a lot of time preparing so that are guys have the mindset that they are going to go out and execute the game plan."
A pair of Wildcats were honored earlier in the week.
Sophomore goalkeeper
Alex Yagudayev (Brooklyn, N.Y.) is BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Week after notching 10 saves and a 0.50 goals against average last week. Freshman
Zach Miles (Hanover, N.H.) was tabbed the Philly Soccer Six Rookie of the Week after delivering his first goal as a college player in the tie with Seton Hall last weekend.
This contest kicks off the final home stretch of Villanova's regular season. The Wildcats have five games remaining after facing the Bluejays, including three at the Higgins Soccer Complex. On Tuesday, Nova steps out of conference for a home game against VMI. It then visits Georgetown on Oct. 25 and hosts St. John's on Nov. 1. In the final week of the regular season, it hosts Holy Family on Nov.4 and is at Marquette on Nov. 7.
