As he assessed his team's performance in Thursday afternoon's regular season opening 1-0 win over Temple, head coach Mark Fetrow was struck by a thought.
"It was," Fetrow said, "great to have Luke Martelli back on the field. It's been a long recovery process for him."
One of the Wildcats' captains alongside junior Lorenzo Avalos, Martelli saw what was supposed to be his sophomore campaign in 2024 ended by a torn ACL in his knee in the preseason. Last season, he was limited to seven regular season contests before dealing with another major knee injury that sidelined him midway through September.
"To be in the shape he's in," noted Fetrow, "coming back from two major knee injuries is so impressive. We're so happy to have him back. He's a big part of everything we do."
Martelli started at left outside back against the Owls and was impactful throughout the first half. He rested to begin the second half before returning in the 69th minute. It was his work along the left side that helped create the game-winning goal scored by sophomore Luca Mazzola.
The next challenge for the Wildcats' comes on Monday afternoon at the Higgins Soccer Complex. St. Peter's will be on Villanova's West Campus for the 4:05 p.m. kickoff that will be live streamed on ESPN+. The Peacocks' regular season opener was postponed from Thursday to Friday night. St. Peter's played FDU – the side which visits Villanova on Labor Day – to a 0-0 draw.
Villanova holds a 1-0-2 lead in the all-time series over the Peacocks. The most recent meeting, in August 2024, produced a 2-2 tie at the Higgins Soccer Complex. Mikhail Zaretser, Karson Vazquez, and Jasper Zulman are the only current Wildcats who saw action in the 2024 regular season opener between the teams.
"We're getting right into the college season," said Fetrow. "This is a quick turnaround. We've focused on recovery and working with our athletic trainers to take care of our players' bodies. We've done everything we can to keep the guys fresh and get their legs back under them.
