On Monday, Villanova will renew what has in recent seasons become a holiday weekend tradition. The Wildcats (3-0-1) host FDU (2-0-1) on Labor Day at 1 p.m. at the Higgins Soccer Complex.
This marks the sixth consecutive season the 'Cats will be in action on Labor Day. In the previous five outings – four of which took place on Villanova's West Campus – Nova sports a 3-1-1 mark, including a 1-0 win over Saint Joseph's last season on an 89th minute goal from Sam Nyenka.
On Tuesday, Villanova improved to 3-0-0 at home with a 1-0 win over Fordham that was unusual in several ways. The 'Cats earned the three points despite being outshot 43-8. Junior goalkeeper Alex Yagudayev offered a brilliant performance, making 13 saves to stymie the Rams.
The 13 saves were a career high for Yagudayev and matched a 13-save effort by 'Cats keeper Jason Friel at Rhode Island on Sept. 1, 2006 – 20 years to the day of Yagudayev's outstanding effort. Former Nova goalkeeper John Williams was also credited with 13 saves at West Virginia on Oct. 1, 2000.
Craig Bald holds the BIG EAST era single game saves record of 14, established on Oct. 16, 2004, at Georgetown.
The single games save leaders include:
Craig Bald (14) at Georgetown (Oct. 16, 2004)
Alex Yagudayev (13) vs. Fordham (Sept. 1, 2026)
Jason Friel (13) at Rhode Island (Sept. 1, 2006)
John Williams (13) at West Virginia (Oct. 1, 2000)
Alex Yagudayev (12) vs. Marquette (Sept. 18, 2024)
Kent Dikcey (12) vs. St. John's (Oct. 14, 2023)
Andrew Weakly (10) vs. Providence (Oct. 23, 2013)
Jason Friel (10) at Duke (Sept. 7, 2007)
Jason Friel (10) vs. Louisville (Nov. 3, 2007)
Matt Malek (10) at Seton Hall (Sept. 8, 1999)
Yagudayev has already been named BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Week once and to the league's weekly Honor Roll another time. The junior from Brooklyn, N.Y. by way of NYCFC Academy has surrendered one goal in the 360 minutes of soccer played thus far by Villanova (0.25 goals against average). His save percentage is .962.
A few days of recovery were welcomed by head coach Mark Fetrow and his staff. While this start is important, the road ahead doesn't get easier. Monday's foe FDU posted a 13-5-3 mark last season and earned the NEC Tournament title. Its season ended in the NCAA Tournament against Duke.
It has a 3-0-1 mark in 2026 after rallying from an early 1-0 deficit Thursday night to post a 4-1 victory over Siena on its home pitch in Teaneck, N.J.
"These last few days gave us a chance to breathe," said Fetrow. "It's the longest stretch we've had early in the season without a game. It was needed.
"We've been saying for three weeks that we want to learn through winning and the guys have done a great job making sure we are getting three points. This will be another great test at Higgins on Labor Day. We're looking forward to it."
