VILLANOVA, Pa. – A pair of home games at the friendly confines of the Higgins Soccer Complex are on tap this week for the Villanova Wildcats. The first of those comes Wednesday when Philly Soccer Six rival La Salle will be on West Campus for a contest that gets underway at 4 p.m.
Later in the week comes a BIG EAST clash with Creighton, part of Parents Weekend soccer doubleheader Saturday on campus. The Wildcats will face the Bluejays at 4 p.m. following the 1 p.m. women's soccer contest.
Villanova (4-2 overall, 0-1 BIG EAST) has played some of its best soccer on its home field this season, winning all three matches it has played there. The Wildcats own victories over William & Mary (3-2 in overtime), Loyola (1-0 in overtime) and Penn State 2-1 at home thus far this season.
"It's always good to be at home and we've played well there this season," stated VU head coach Tom Carlin. "We'll need to continue that against La Salle."
The Wildcats opened BIG EAST play on Saturday night with a 3-0 loss at Marquette. That match was tighter than the final tally might indicate, as Villanova pressed the Golden Eagles hard in the second half trailing 1-0. There were 5-6 near missed scoring chances that could have altered the night's dynamic that didn't fall the Wildcats' way.
Villanova is 10-13-3 all-time vs. the Explorers but has taken the last four meetings. The most recent of those was a 2-0 victory at La Salle's McCarthy Stadium in 2015.
La Salle brings a 2-4 overall record with it to Villanova. The Explorers posted a pair of 2-1 victories to open the campaign but have dropped the next four. Most recently, they lost a 1-0 decision at Robert Morris on Saturday.
Wednesday's match will be available via live stream at villanova.com on the Nova Nation All-Access Pass. Nick Mantegna will be on the call.
This game kicks off a stretch where VU will play three of its next four contests at the Higgins Soccer Complex. Following Saturday's match with Creighton, the Wildcats host BIG EAST rival DePaul on Saturday, Sept. 29 after a visit to Temple on Sept. 26.
