VILLANOVA, Pa. – After earning a 1-1 draw in a match shortened by thunderstorms moving through the Philadelphia area at Temple Wednesday night, Villanova returns to the Higgins Soccer Complex Saturday for a key BIG EAST match against DePaul.
Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. and the forecast calls for sunny skies and a high temperature of 70 degrees. Admission is free and current Villanova students can earn bonus lottery points for the upcoming Men's Basketball season by attending.
The Wildcats enter this one at 5-3-1 overall but remain in search of their first BIG EAST victory (0-2). On Sept. 15, VU was upended 3-0 at Marquette in a match where the Golden Eagles scored twice in the final 15 minutes after the 'Cats were denied an equalizing goal on several tantalizing opportunities. Then, a taut battle with No. 9 Creighton turned on a goal that came out of a scrum in front of the net when a loose ball was nudged over the line by the Bluejays in the 69th minute last Saturday on West Campus.
The good news for Villanova is that it is 4-1 on the season on the home turf at the Higgins Soccer Complex and has four BIG EAST home matches remaining. Saturday's is the first of those.
"The bottom line is that we need to start picking up points in the Big East," stated Wildcats head coach Tom Carlin. "It's a home game and we need to continue playing well against an improved DePaul team."
DePaul enters Saturday's action with a 4-5 overall record, including 1-1 in the BIG EAST. The Blue Demons have played three consecutive overtime games. In their most recent outing, they dropped a 2-1 decision to Georgetown on Sept. 21.
Last season, the Blue Demons edged Villanova 1-0 at Wish Field in Chicago. In 2016, these two teams played to a scoreless draw in the opening round of the BIG EAST postseason with the Wildcats advancing to the semifinals on penalty kicks. VU leads the all-time series 8-4-2.
Former Blue Demon standout Mark Plotkin is in his first season as the program's head coach after serving as an assistant coach at Colgate.
Villanova, meanwhile, moved past the midpoint of its 2018 regular season on Wednesday night at Temple. There are eight regular season contests left on the schedule, with seven of those coming against BIG EAST opponents. Saturday looms as an important test as the September portion of the slate comes to a close.
"We talked to the guys about having a sense of urgency at Temple," noted Carlin of a contest VU trailed 1-0 at halftime. "They brought that in the second half and we'll need more of it against DePaul."
A live stream of Saturday's game will be available through the Nova Nation All-Access Pass at villanova.com. Nick Mantegna will be on the call from midfield at the Higgins Soccer Complex.
