In his first two seasons as head coach, Mark Fetrow and staff sought to build quality depth. A litany of injuries, including a spate of season-ending setbacks such as the one to captain Luke Martelli in both 2024 and '25, often put that goal out of reach.
And while 2026 hasn't been without a handful of missed games due to injury for a few rotation regulars, including seniors Josh Oladele, Marcello Mazzola and junior Cam Tolson, it has allowed the staff to lean on a deeper array of reserves through three games in 2026. Through 270 minutes of soccer, no fewer than 16 Wildcats have logged 100 or more minutes of action.
The use of that depth has paid off handsomely. In a season opening 1-0 win over Temple, Martelli and Luca Mazzolla returned to the pitch after a rest midway through the second half and connected – with Joseph Margita – for a Mazzola goal that proved to be the difference. On Friday night, Martelli again returned midway through the second half and provided the tying goal in a 1-1 draw against Princeton, which received Top 25 preseason votes.
"It's been huge," said Fetrow after Friday night's game. "We've been able to get our depth experience in meaningful games. When we get into Big East play, a big atmosphere like the one we saw (at Princeton) is nothing new. Being able to play as many guys as we have in the non-conference slate is big.
"It helps keep our guys fresh."
Added Martelli: "We play in an intense way. We need a lot of guys to be able to press and do things the way we do. It's great for everyone to get minutes."
That lineup will get its next test on Tuesday when the Wildcats host Fordham at the Higgins Soccer Complex at 4 p.m. (ESPN+) on Faculty/Staff Appreciation Day. The Rams (1-1-1 overall) are amid a five-game stretch of road games that included an early west coast trip to Gonzaga and Santa Clara. Fordham defeated Bucknell 2-0 in its most recent action on Friday evening.
The Wildcats lead the all-time series between the schools 3-0-0. Villanova claimed the most recent meeting, a 1-0 win in 2019 at Higgins.
Villanova's calling card in the early going has been its defensive identity. The 'Cats have limited dangerous scoring chances and when those have arisen, junior goalkeeper Alex Yagudayev has been there to make a key save (0.33 goals against average in 270 minutes). The back wall of graduate student Bar Netanel, junior Lorenzo Avalos, sophomore Brody Crampton and junior Jasper Zulman has been effective in keeping scoring chances to a minimum.
"We have a lot of belief," Martelli stated. "The group is strong defensively and have a belief in one another – more than I have seen in the last four years."
Fetrow likes the resilience he has seen in the early stages of the campaign. It was on display Friday night and remains an essential ingredient with three straight non-league home games ahead in the next two weeks.
"At the end of the day," Fetrow stated, "it doesn't matter who we play or where we play. We love being at Higgins but it's all going to be about our performance and how we play. We've shown great fight and now we've got to take steps with our execution and how we want to build to keep possession of the ball.
"All in all, I like the competitive nature and fight we've seen."
