VILLANOVA, Pa. – Men's Lacrosse won their fourth straight conference game and fifth straight overall in a thriller over the Marquette Golden Eagles by a score of 14-13.
The Wildcats tallied three goals in 41 seconds to erase a Marquette lead that they held for eight minutes during the fourth quarter in a back-and-forth battle.
Matt Licata tallied five goals and an assist, the first five-goal game for a Wildcat since Matt Campbell found the back of the net five times on February 26, 2022, at Delaware. It is the first six-point game since Licata totaled three goals and three assists against Providence on April 6, 2024, during the last senior day held at Villanova Stadium.
For the first time since 2013, Villanova has started out BIG EAST play with four wins in a row and could capture the regular season title with a win next week, a mark they haven't achieved since that year either.
Before the game, Villanova honored their four graduate students: Pete Hewitt, Matt Licata, Brett Mallee, and Tyler Sandoval; eight seniors: Aidan Ahearn, Tyler Boes, Reilly Dugan, Dan Martin, Tucker Milhous, Mack Prybylski, Luke Raymond, and Tripp Robinson; and student manager Hayes Rosato for their contributions to the program.
Marquette struck for the first three goals, leaving Villanova scoreless for the first 12:16 of the contest. The Golden Eagles outscored their total from last week in the first quarter alone, proving quickly that they returned to form.
LSM Jake Melchionni got the Wildcats on the board, scoring his fifth goal of the season, which was followed up by Matthew Swirbalus breaking the Marquette defense down and converting on a one-on-one opportunity with goalie Lucas Lawas.
The Golden Eagles opened up the next quarter, scoring first again, extending their lead to 4-2, before Tyler Boes struck for his second goal in as many games.
Licata scored the next two for VU as they went into halftime using their three-goal run to lead 5-4 when the teams entered the locker rooms.
Lucas Newton scored on a diving try from an assist by Gavin Michener to open the third stanza. The goal stood after a review to see whether the ball crossed the goal line, giving Newton his second goal of conference play.
Marquette scored twice in the span of 46 seconds with 11 minutes remaining in the third to tie things up.
Licata, MU's Nolan Rappis, and Colin Michener answered each other over the next three minutes as Villanova regained the lead with four minutes remaining at 8-7.
Nicholas Lucchesi extended the lead on a step-down goal helped by an assist from Licata to put the Golden Eagles down by two to end the frame.
Marquette was able to take the lead, scoring three times in exactly two minutes to go up 10-9. All three starting attackmen for Marquette, Carsen Brandt, Rappis, and Bobby O'Grady, tallied for MU during the sequence.
Melchionni netted his second goal to stop the Marquette scoring run and tie things up at 10, making him the first Villanova defender to record a multi-goal game since Chris Piccirilli in the 2013 BIG EAST Championship against Syracuse.
O'Grady and Noah Snyder were able to thwart any momentum Villanova gathered, scoring on Marquette's next two possessions.
Michener scored his second of the day, assisted by Lucchesi, to bring the Wildcats within one with five minutes to go. With just five seconds to go on the shot clock, Villanova had the ball coming in from out of bounds, where Lucchesi led Michener to dunk it in with just one second left on the clock.
The 'Cats had never lost in 2025 when leading after the third quarter; however, the Golden Eagles did not seem to be letting that continue as O'Grady scored his fourth just 43 seconds later.
With 3:27 remaining, it appeared that Marquette midfielder Matt Caputo had scored, which the officials waived off and went to an official review once head coach Jake Richard threw the challenge flag. The call was upheld and left MU up only two goals at 13-11.
After a Michener caused turnover, Licata scored once more after quickly turning the corner and cashing in on his weak side.
On the next possession after a faceoff win by Tyler Sandoval, Licata netted his fifth of the contest, a career high in his final regular season game at Villanova Stadium, to tie things up at 13 with 120 seconds remaining.
Senior Luke Raymond juked back against his defender and netted the final goal for Villanova to give them the lead at 14-13.
Raymond's goal sealed the deal as Ryan Cunningham won his fourth faceoff of the day with 1:30 left, and the Wildcats ran out the clock. Finding the back of the net at the end of the game is a trend that seems to work in VU's favor, as six of their seven wins have come when they are able to net the last goal.
For Marquette, O'Grady and Rappis combined for seven of their 13 goals; this was the second game in a row where the duo accounted for at least 50% of the Golden Eagles' total goals.
Lawas had 14 saves, marking the third game in a row he has saved at least that many shots or more.
Sandoval led the charge on faceoffs as he went 10-16 (.625%), keeping him at his season mark of .627%. The graduate student tied a season high with six ground balls.
FAST FACTS
Licata has recorded three or more goals in each game he has participated in while Villanova has been celebrating senior day. In his career, he scored 14 goals and passed out four assists on senior days.
G. Michener tallied three points for the second consecutive week; dishing out three assists. This is the first time that a true freshman has totaled three or more points in consecutive contests since Patrick Daly on April 14 and April 20, 2019.
Boes scored in his second consecutive game today, Saturday, after going on an 11-game scoreless drought. This is his first time recording goals in consecutive games since scoring seven across three games against Colgate, Lehigh, and Drexel from February 24 to March 4, 2024.
Denis Fargione recorded his sixth career win and is six saves away from 100 career saves. He is one win away from matching Will Vitton's seven wins as a true freshman in 2019.
After causing two on Saturday, Melchionni tied Beau Kemler's streak set earlier this year of four consecutive games causing multiple turnovers.
The sophomore LSM also broke the record for goals by an LSM in a season by scoring his sixth with 10 minutes remaining, passing John LoCascio's record of five in 2014.
Sandoval is 4/5 (.800%) on the season on faceoffs while the game is either within one goal or tied with 3:00 or less in regulation. He won one against Yale with 1:12 to go, the opening faceoff at Denver in overtime, and the two on Saturday to seal the deal for VU.
Mike Corrado has an eight-game win streak against Marquette, his second longest among BIG EAST opponents, second only to St. John's, who he has defeated 11 times in a row.
PLAYOFF PICTURE
The Villanova Wildcats have clinched a spot in the 2025 BIG EAST Tournament, held in Denver, Colorado.
Despite starting off 2-5 and having two 10-plus goal losses, VU has fought hard into conference play, starting off 3-0 for the first time since 2013. The squad has made 12 consecutive tournaments and faced the threat of not making it for the first time in the history of the BIG EAST until their impressive start during conference action.
Villanova is locked into the top two seeds as No. 2 Georgetown is 3-1, while all teams still eligible besides the two that have clinched playoff berths, have more losses than the Wildcats could get over the final week of the regular season.
Ticket information can be found below.
UP NEXT
Villanova will take to the road for their final regular season contest of the year against the Georgetown Hoyas at Cooper Field in Washington, D.C.
BIG EAST TOURNAMENT TICKETING (RELEASE COURTESY OF BIG EAST)
The semifinal games will take place on Thursday, May 1, at 6 p.m. ET and 9 p.m. ET, while the title game will take place on Saturday, May 3, at 5 p.m. ET. All three games will air live on CBS Sports Network.
General admission to the event for a single session starts at $30 per ticket. Reserved seating is also available for purchase starting at $46. All session tickets are available for both general admission ($50) and reserved seating ($65). In addition, a group discount is available for groups of 10 or more individuals. Large groups tickets are $18 per person, per session.
Youths under the age of two are free of charge. Students from any BIG EAST institution are also free with their student ID.
Tickets can be purchased HERE or by calling the Denver Ticket Office at 303-871-4625.
SOCIAL
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