VILLANOVA, Pa. – Villanova Men's Lacrosse (2-3) will be hitting the road for the first time in 322 days to take on the No. 18 University of Pennsylvania Quakers (2-3) this Saturday at 3:30 P.M. in Philadelphia, Pa. at Franklin Field.

The Farrell Cup is played in honor of James (Penn '18) and Michael Farrell, who tragically lost their lives in a car accident in 2021. James played four years of collegiate lacrosse at Penn and was the team captain in 2018, while Michael was a student in the Villanova School of Business and was the team captain of Villanova's club lacrosse team.

LAST TIME OUT
Villanova picked up their first win since February 9 in a 9-6 defeat of the Drexel Dragons on Tuesday.

Matt Licata, David Link, Nicholas Lucchesi, and Colin Michener all tallied two goals apiece, while Denis Fargione held strong in his second collegiate start, stopping 11 shots in the cage. Matthew Swirbalus tallied his first career goal to round out the scoring for the 'Cats in their midweek win.

Ryan Cunningham, the Wildcats' usual second in command at the center "X," had a standout game in the win over Drexel, going 8-12 (.667%). However, that did not break his career best of (.692%), set against St. John's in 2024.

Both Cunningham and Tyler Sandoval will be players to watch going forward when they are sent out to battle in the circle by Woody Derham.

PEEKING AT PENN
Last weekend, the Quakers made a trip down to North Carolina to take on two top five teams in No. 4 North Carolina and No. 5 Duke.

They were defeated in both but gained valuable experience moving forward into the tail end of conference play.

In goal, the Quakers are projected to deploy two-time Tewaaraton Award Watch List and 2024 Second Team All-American goalie Emmet Carroll. The Rye, N.Y., native is only allowing 8.88 goals per game, as well as averaging 11.6 saves per game.

He has tallied ten saves in all but one game and will be facing off against a Villanova team that is averaging 7.8 goals per game.

The undersized, scrappy Quakers are led on offense by Cam Rubin and Chris Patterson, both of whom have recorded over ten points on the season. Rubin leads the team with 10 goals after recording six on the road trip down south.

For Penn, their leading faceoff specialist, Stevie Davis, is operating at a .423% win rate this season.

QUARRELS WITH THE QUAKERS
This will be the 35th meeting between Villanova and Penn in the two teams' histories. Penn holds a 19-14 advantage, including taking last year's meeting by a score of 11-8.

Matt Licata and Thomas McIntire scored two goals apiece as the Wildcats held tight with the Quakers until the Ivy League squad pulled away with two goals in the final six minutes.

The Wildcats went 18-23 in faceoffs in that matchup, including a 17-22 clip from Justin Coppola.

Head coach Mike Corrado holds an 8-7 record all-time against the team from University City, with a 3-2 record over the past five meetings.

FAST FACTS
Villanova is one of three teams in Division I that have yet to play an away game in 2025 as of March 7, the other two being Le Moyne and Ohio State.

Sophomore midfielder Nick Lucchesi's brother, Nate, is a freshman A/M for Penn men's lacrosse. Nate has started four of his first five games as a Quaker, scoring a point in each game while recording three goals and three assists.

The last time that the two shared the field during competition was when they helped lead their Radnor High School team to the 2022 PIAA 3A State Championship on June 11, 2022, when both scored a goal in the team's penultimate victory for the elder Lucchesi's sendoff.

Pennsylvania is currently ranked No. 18 in the most recent Inside Lacrosse Media Poll. The Wildcats last tallied a ranked win against the Quakers in 2023, when they ranked No. 15.

Both teams share the same next two opponents after this contest, both facing Saint Joseph's and Brown on March 15 and 17, each team in reverse order.

Villanova Men's Lacrosse will be playing their first televised game of the season, and first since the BIG EAST Championship last May at home against Georgetown. They have played to a 5-5 record over the last five years while on cable television, including 2-1 during the regular season and 2-0 in non-conference play.

UP NEXT
After this matchup, the Wildcats continue their road trip as they will take on Saint Joseph's on Saturday, March 15, at Sweeney Field. This will be their finale out of three consecutive matchups against the rest of the Philly 4.
 
WATCH
This game will be streamed live on ESPN+, as well as receive local TV coverage in the Delaware Valley area through NBC Sports Philadelphia.

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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