VILLANOVA, Pa. – The non-conference schedule comes to a close this week for Villanova men's lacrosse (3-3) as they'll host No. 19/20 Towson on Saturday afternoon before a visit to Bethlehem on Tuesday for an evening bout at Lehigh.

SPLIT THE SLATE    
Last week featured a pair of Big 5 opponents for the Wildcats and the two bouts went opposite ways as Villanova toppled Drexel 11-10 Tuesday but fell to No. 18 Pennsylvania 10-6 on Sunday. The 'Cats won their second straight away game with a victory at Drexel in the midweek as Kessy Cox put forth four points while four other Wildcats added multi-point outings, and Jake Melchionni caused a season-high four turnovers in addition to a team-best six ground balls to help take down the Dragons. Sunday saw the Villanova offense stymied by the Quakers, managing just two goals in the first half and only a trio of settled offensive scores in the second. Nolan Sabel had two assists for VU that day, Nick Lucchesi and Lucas Newton each contributed a goal and assist out of the midfield and Beau Kemler totaled four GBs and two CTs in his return from injury, but it wasn't enough as Villanova suffered its second home loss in as many games on their turf this season.

TUSSLING WITH TOWSON    
A former conference rival makes its way back to Villanova Stadium this weekend as Towson comes to the Main Line for the first time since 2009. The Tigers are 3-15 all-time against the 'Cats, though the Wildcats have won the last three games in the series and lost just one under current head coach Mike Corrado. The last time these teams met was in the 2009 CAA Championship when the fourth seeded Wildcats became the lowest seed to ever win the title and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history. The squads have not met since that 2009 season, the last year Villanova was a member of the CAA.

MATCHING UP WITH THE MOUNTAIN HAWKS    
The non-conference finale sends the Wildcats to Bethlehem on Tuesday for a tilt against the Lehigh Mountain Hawks. Villanova's first night game of the year pits them against an old regional rival who VU leads 19-12 in the all-time series. Lehigh captured last year's matchup between the two at Villanova Stadium despite a pair of Brady Dumont goals, a seven-ground ball day from Melchionni and a goal plus two assists from each of Colin Michener and Quinton Cepiel. 2024 was the most recent Villanova victory over the Mountain Hawks with a 14-8 win at the Ulrich Sports Complex where Michener and Dan Martin each scored two goals and Luke Raymond had a pair of points while Anthony Wilson made 14 saves as the starting goalie.

TALKING ABOUT THE TIGERS

• Towson also owns a 3-3 record on the year, falling in road games at Johns Hopkins, Saint Joseph's and Loyola Maryland while toppling No. 17 Virginia on Saturday.
• Reigning CAA Player of the Year Mikey Weisshaar is the leading scorer with team highs in both goals (18) and assists (10). Fellow attackman Alex Roussel is the reigning USA Lacrosse Magazine Player of the Week after a nine-point day against UVA. 
• Garnet Valley graduate Kai Lopez has won 86 faceoffs, Matt Nilan has a 51.7% save percentage and defenseman Elijah Smith was a Preseason All-CAA selection. The Tigers are ranked No. 19 in the USILA poll and No. 20 according to Inside Lacrosse this week.

A LOOK AT LEHIGH

• The Mountain Hawks are 2-4 this year with wins at Iona and No. 17 Michigan, but have since lost three games in a row including a pair of Patriot League bouts with a Loyola Maryland matchup on tap for Saturday.
• Lehigh is led by 20 goals from first-year attackman Finn Morgan for three PL Rookie of the Week nods while sophomore Luke Breslin adds a team-best 29 points on 16 assists and 13 scores.
• Richard Checo recently set the all-time NCAA Division I caused turnover record with over 160 in his career. Defenseman Luke McAuliffe was named to the Preseason All-Patriot League Team as Checo is on the All-America and Tewaaraton watch lists.

HOME GAMEDAY DETAILS
Tickets are sold online here with both season and single game tickets available for purchase. It's $25 to buy a tailgate spot in the A2 lot behind the stadium, and there is also paid rate parking available in the I1 garage located across the street from the stadium. Be advised, on-site parking can only be purchased with credit cards, cash will not be accepted.

Streaming for both contests will be available on ESPN+ while the Towson game will have stats via StatBroadcast and Lehigh's will be on SIDEARM Stats.