VILLANOVA, Pa. – Seventeen days will have passed since the Villanova Men's Soccer team last hosted a match on its home pitch by the time kickoff arrives Tuesday afternoon against NJIT. For the Wildcats (3-4-3 overall, 1-1-1 BIG EAST) the home cooking couldn't come at a better time.
 
"We've got to get back to work," said Villanova head coach Mark Fetrow. "It will be good to be home again, but it isn't enough to rely on that. We've got to get back to executing our game plan."
 
The Wildcats took a big step forward, rallying for a 2-1 win at Connecticut on Sept. 27, only to see that momentum evaporate on a 5-0 loss last Friday at Providence. That a side so heavily reliant on underclassmen would be subject to ups and down isn't necessarily a surprise to the coaching staff.
 
"I do understand the logic of that," said Fetrow, "but we need to push back on that narrative. We do have a young roster. However, it's a group that has logged a lot of minutes over the first half of the season. That shouldn't be a crutch for us."
 
Since beginning the season in grand fashion (2-0-1) Villanova has fallen into a pattern of falling behind in the first half. It has trailed in each of its last three outings, including damaging 2-0 deficits before halftime at Penn and Providence.
 
"It's hard to chase the game at this level," Fetrow stated, "and we've put ourselves into a situation where we've had to do a lot of that lately. When you have a lead early, it kind of relaxes everyone."
 
This is the third all-time meeting between these two programs. Villanova posted a 3-0 triumph over the Highlanders in 2022 with NJIT turning the tables a year later in Newark, N.J., delivering a 4-1 victory. Fetrow is 1-0 all-time vs. NJIT, the win coming in 2023 in his season as head coach at Drexel.
 
Tuesday's match will be streamed on ESPN+. Mike Samsel and Steve Pinone will be under the awning at the midfield broadcast location to describe the action.
 
This game kicks off a stretch where the Wildcats will play their next four games on West Campus. BIG EAST foes Seton Hall (Saturday at 1 p.m.) and Creighton (3 p.m. on Oct. 17) will follow the Highlanders to the Higgins Soccer Complex.
 
"It's important for us to get back on track against NJIT," Fetrow stated.