VILLANOVA, Pa. – Men's Lacrosse will take on No. 20 Denver to start conference play on Saturday.

This will be the 25^th meeting between the two teams that are 1,700 miles apart, with yearly meetings taking place since 2014. The Pioneers lead the series 18-6, with Villanova taking the last matchup that took place in front of a home crowd in the BIG EAST Semifinal. The No. 4 seed Wildcats jumped out to a 4-0 lead and were able to thwart a 6-0 Denver run to claim a 10-9 victory. Matt Licata found the back of the net twice, while Anthony Wilson made 12 saves in the win.

The Wildcats went 2-3 in BIG EAST play in 2024 and hold a 31-28 record in BIG EAST play since 2014, the year that Denver joined the conference.

Villanova last won a matchup against Denver in the regular season on April 6, 2019, a game referenced often over the past two weeks, as freshman goalie Denis Fargione tied Will Vitton for the fifth most saves in a game in program history in the Wildcats' most recent game. The former goalkeeper, Vitton, tallied that mark in the Wildcats' triumphant win over a No. 10 ranked Denver squad.

Denver will be the fifth ranked opponent that the Wildcats have faced this season, and the second time that VU has faced off against a team ranked in the final spot (Saint Joseph's).

LAST TIME OUT
In their last matchup to conclude non-conference play, Villanova was able to cruise to victory over Brown on March 17.

The Wildcats used four goal performances from Colin Michener and Nicholas Lucchesi, alongside 19 saves from Fargione, to seal the win.

The 16-9 win included the most goals that Villanova has scored in a game since April 22, 2023, against Marquette.

Fargione, Michener, and Beau Kemler all received BIG EAST Weekly Honors for their performances in the game. Kemler caused a career-high three turnovers and scooped up five ground balls.

George Glomb went 9-14 at the center "X," helping Villanova gain possession in the second half as the Bears attempted a comeback. Tyler Sandoval followed shortly behind, going 7-11.

SPECIALIST SZN
As the non-conference portion of the season concludes, Villanova is within the bottom 20 teams in the nation in scoring offense, averaging 8.88 goals per game.

However, the team is not shying away from aggressive play in unique areas and is using a very positive mindset in other facets of the game to take their own attention away from some shots not falling early in the season.

After being thrown into action at halftime during a 10-2 deficit to the Colgate Raiders, in a game that originally was not supposed to be played on the Wildcats' home field, Fargione saved 12 shots in 30 minutes against a powerful offense.

Since that game, the freshman, whose teammates and friends affectionately call him "Fudge," has spent 300 consecutive minutes in between the pipes, including the aforementioned historic performance that landed him in the record book in just his sixth career collegiate game.

As easy as it can be for a young athlete to dwell on any shortcomings, even if it is a small deficit in one of these contests, Fargione lets on that he does not let it faze him. "It's always about making the next stop… Everyone buys in, and once we do [get the stop], we know it's on to the opposite side of the field to play their game after that," the first-year goaltender mentioned.

Fargione currently leads the BIG EAST in save percentage at .557% and ranks second in both goals against average at 9.82 and saves per game at 11.33.

Another spot on the field where Villanova is seeing immense success is the Center "X." The three-headed monster of a unit that ranks 10^th nationally in win percentage, coached by John Derham, is the first squad in program history to have three different players record nine wins or more in a game.

Tyler Sandoval leads the way with 61 wins in 101 attempts, for a .604% win rate, slotting him in at the 13^th-best win rate in the country. The New York native, who is from the same hometown as Fargione, is pacing himself seven percent higher than his career-best mark, achieved when he won .536% of his faceoffs in 2022.

Sandoval had his best game as a Wildcat in the 16-5 loss to Colgate, as he fared 14-18 (.778%) in the circle and picked up six ground balls. "We just preach a zero-zero (0-0) mentality; it's always the next play is the biggest play," the graduate student explained. "It doesn't matter what happened before or at the start of the game."

Ryan Cunningham and George Glomb are sophomores that both hail from Pennsylvania. Each of them has taken on significant roles in games thus far, making large impacts when called upon to fight for possession. Each of them has set career bests in faceoff wins, highlighted by when Cunningham went 16-22 (.727) at Saint Joseph's, a season-high for the Wildcats in both wins and attempts.

"They're absolutely awesome," Sandoval commented when asked about the younger duo and how they are all having success together. "There's complete transparency and overcommunication; we have a deep understanding that is what is important… They have a desire to learn, and we want to make sure that everyone is on the same page. When there is a weak link, the whole chain breaks."

With just seconds to go in the Wildcats' 10-7 loss to Lehigh, a hush fell upon Villanova Stadium as LSM Jake Melchionni lay on the ground after a non-contact injury at the 40-yard line.

At that point, the sophomore had been a key factor for both the Wildcat's offense and defense. Just moments ago, he had put up a stat line of one goal, two caused turnovers, and seven ground balls, being a key contributor on the wings during faceoffs alongside SSDM Scot Mackie.

After being helped off, Melchionni was able to recover in just nine days from what ended up just being a minor lower leg injury and much less than what seemed to meet the eye just a week prior, by recording a goal, an assist, two caused turnovers, and six ground balls at No. 18 Penn.

While being an LSM, he splits his time between the two sides of the field, unlike the others on Villanova's defense, making for quite the spectacle when the long pole runs the floor like a point guard in basketball and scores it or passes it off to an attacker, reminiscent of his ABA All-Star grandfather, Bill (VU '66).

"I've always been offensive minded since I started playing LSM in eighth grade," Melchionni added. "I feel like it's good to be the party starter sometimes." 

That's one way to put it, considering the immense increase in noise level as the sophomore sprints down the field to create offensive opportunities that the fans seem to yearn for from an LSM.

Since the Lehigh game, Melchionni has caused four turnovers and picked up 10 ground balls. He ties for the team lead in both statistics, with nine forced turnovers and 22 ground balls, respectively, while also ranking within the top 100 in both nationally as well.

PEERING AT THE PIONEERS
Denver enters their first game of conference play at 5-4, coming off a dominating win against No. 7 Duke in Dallas, Texas.

The Pioneers' two leading scorers, Mic Kelly and Noah Manning, combined for nine of the team's 13 goals, while Malcolm Kleban made 12 saves in the net while only allowing six goals.

Manning and Kleban won BIG EAST Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week, respectively, for their performances against the Blue Devils.
Prior to the season, Kelly, Kleban, and Casey Wilson were named to the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team.

As was Jimmy Freehill, who leads Denver with 12 caused turnovers, forcing at least one in eight of his nine games this season, and was a former high school teammate of Villanova midfielder Matthew Swirbalus.

Expected at the center "X" is Michael Kraus, a senior from Oregon, who has played to a .453% win rate this season. When facing the only common opponent that the two squads both have in Yale, Kraus fared 5-26 in the circle against Machado Rodriguez and Nick Wehmeyer, a duo that Sandoval went 9-16 when facing off against.

UP NEXT
After this matchup, Villanova will continue conference play on the road, as they head up to Rhode Island to take on the Providence Friars on April 5 at 12:00 P.M.

TICKETING
The next Villanova home game will be against St. John's on April 12 at 12:00 P.M. 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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