VILLANOVA, Pa. – A new opportunity awaits the Villanova Men's Soccer team as it kicks off the BIG EAST portion of its schedule Friday afternoon at the Higgins Soccer Complex against DePaul. The match gets underway at 2 p.m., a change from the originally listed time of 4 p.m.
 
After a nearly full week of recovery and practice, the Wildcats are eager to take on their league rivals.
 
"We've had a chance to have some recovery," said head coach Mark Fetrow. "We're excited for this chance to compete against a DePaul team that has played well in the preseason."
 
The Wildcats (2-2-2 overall) hope to generate more offense following three consecutive shutouts that culminated in a 3-0 loss to Princeton last Saturday at the Higgins Soccer Complex.
 
"We had done a good job of getting off to fast starts, but it was the opposite in that game," said Fetrow.
 
The Tigers twice capitalized on set piece chances in the first half to build on a 1-0 advantage. The Wildcats spent time in training working to address what had been a strength prior to Saturday.
 
"It all starts with defending for us," Fetrow noted.
 
DePaul (2-1-4 overall) dropped a 1-0 decision at Drake on Saturday night.
 
"They've had a good start," said Fetrow. "We've got to make sure we're prepared for them so that we can have a better performance than we did (Saturday)."
 
Forward Keagan Pace leads the Blue Demons in scoring with four goals. West Virginia transfer Sam Nyenka continues to pace Nova with three goals, including two game-winners.
 
Head coach Mark Plotkin, a former Blue Demon player, is now in his eighth season at the helm in Chicago.
 
Mike Samsel and Steve Pinone will be on site to provide coverage on the live stream on ESPN+. Friday's match is a Student Bonus Lottery contest, where members of the Nova Nation can build points toward future athletic events by attending the game played on the University's West Campus.
 
This begins a rather busy stretch for the Wildcats over the last 11 days of September. On Tuesday, Villanova will take on Philly Soccer Six rival Penn in Center City at 7 p.m. (Rhodes Field). The Wildcats are 1-0-0 in Soccer Six action this season, having edged Saint Joseph's 1-0 on Sept. 1.
 
Nova will then head north to Storrs for the first BIG EAST road matchup of 2025 versus UConn on Saturday, Sept. 27. Kickoff for that match will come at 6 p.m.