VILLANOVA, Pa. – The Villanova Wildcats will wrap up the 2024 regular season Saturday afternoon at Seton Hall at 2 p.m.
All 12 of the BIG EAST's men's soccer program will play Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. as the league brings down the curtain on the conference slate.
The Pirates (10-5-1 overall, 3-3-1 BIG EAST) remain in contention for a BIG EAST postseason berth. With 10 points in league play, they currently sit in fourth place in the East Division of the BIG EAST. Six of the conference's 12 sides will advance to the league tournament that gets underway next week.
Villanova, meanwhile, hopes to play the role of spoiler while hoping to craft a building block for its 2025 campaign. The Wildcats (1-9-6 overall, 0-6-1 BIG EAST) tied Drexel 1-1 in a Philly Soccer Six matchup and have lately made strides at the defensive end, limiting their last to opponents to a single goal backed by exceptional work from junior goalkeeper Sebastian Cutler DeJesus.
"We want to battle, we want to compete, we want to win," stated Villanova head coach Mark Fetrow. "When the season began, we set out to make the playoffs. We fell short of that, but we still want to prove people wrong. We have the ability to get three points at Seton Hall and maybe be a spoiler in what they're hoping to accomplish.
"It's nothing against Seton Hall. Any time you can go compete the focus is to win the game. We'll be prepared and ready to go."
Cutler DeJesus made nine saves against the Dragons and was instrumental in the Wildcats earning a point. Villanova played a man down over the final 18 minutes of the match following a red card assessment and the Dragons furiously attacked at that point.
"Seb was terrific," said Fetrow. "He's played well over the last few weeks. He's a leader out there and is very vocal in helping direct our guys in front of him."
The Wildcats have also upped their game at the other end of the pitch with the quartet of Jason Bouregy, Jordan Canica, Michael teDuits and Jorge Garcia, combining some nifty passing to create a higher volume of scoring chances than Villanova generated earlier in the season. Canica set up Bouregy's goal against Drexel.
These two sides played to a 3-3 draw last October at the Higgins Soccer Complex. The Pirates lead the all-time series 21-15-2.
