VILLANOVA, Pa. – Men's Lacrosse will continue their five-game home stretch when they face off against the RV Colgate Raiders on Saturday.
This game encountered a venue change and a decision was made on Wednesday to move this game to Villanova Stadium due to weather conditions.
Saturday will be the fifth straight game that VU faces off against either a ranked team or a team recieving votes in the national media polls.
RECENTLY WITH THE RAIDERS
Villanova has dualed against Colgate five times, playing to a 4-1 record in those games. Only one of those games has come under Mike Corrado, which took place on February 24, 2024, at Villanova Stadium where the 'Cats prevailed over the No. 20 ranked Raiders by a score of 15-9
In their last meeting, Matt Licata and Colin Michener tallied seven points while the Wildcats jumped out to a 5-1 advantage after the first stanza and never looked back. The Wildcat defense also played stellarly in the matchup as David Evanchick and Jack Shoemaker both had statlines consisting of three caused turnovers and four ground balls.
Both teams matching up this weekend have a Tewaaraton Award Watch List nominee on their squads, as the Raider's D/LSM Max Yates received the honor alongside Licata on February 7. Yates has 14 ground balls and two caused turnovers through four games and will be a key defensive factor in Saturday's game.
LAST TIME OUT
Villanova was able to overcome No. 9 Yale in their last game on February 15, by a score of 13-11.
Licata led the attack with four goals, while Luke Raymond, Nicholas Lucchesi, and Jake Melchionni all tallied multiple points.
The key to the win for Villanova against their Ivy League opponent was their defense. The aforementioned Melchionni turned defense to offense, while David Evanchick scooped up four ground balls and caused a turnover leading to a BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll award. Anthony Wilson made ten saves in net, including multiple in the final stanza while the 'Cats led by only one goal.
Colgate's last game also led to a 19-15 upset over a ranked Ivy opponent in No. 15 Harvard. An offensive explosion erased an early 7-2 deficit forced by the Crimson. Hunter Drouin and Patty Eldredge tallied six and four scores respectively, while the Connor brothers, Rory and Liam also had multi-goal performances.
This will be the Raiders' third game in eight days, as they also took on the Albany Great Danes last Friday, scoring 19 goals in their victory. Jack Turner found the back of the net six times and dished out four assists. Turner however, did not score the most goals in the game as Rory Connor set a career-high with seven goals. Both senior attackers were named to the USILA Team of the Week due to their dominant performances at Albany.
Villanova and Colgate have a matchup to watch in the circle as Tyler Sandoval and Kyle Rummel will be the projected starting faceoff specialists. Rummel is 30/48 (.625%) over his last two games, while Sandoval is operating at a .543% clip so far this season, including a 10/19 performance in the 'Cats game against Penn State.
PARTNERING UP IN THE POLLS
After a thrilling victory over No. 9 Yale on Saturday, this week the Wildcats find themselves ranked in both the Inside Lacrosse and USILA polls at No. 19 and No. 20, respectively, the media outlets announced Monday. Colgate is also receiving votes this week in the Inside Lacrosse poll as they come off their win over the University at Albany and have already upgraded their resume this week in their win over the Crimson on Tuesday.
UP NEXT
Villanova Men's Lacrosse will return to action Friday, February 28, at 4:00 P.M., when they take on another Patriot League opponent in the Lehigh Mountain Hawks at Villanova Stadium.
TICKETING
Individual game tickets are available for the rest of the season; please check here for more information and to purchase tickets for upcoming games.
SOCIAL
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