UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The 2026 lidlifter for Villanova men's lacrosse is around the corner as the Wildcats (0-0) travel to Penn State (1-0) for a 1 p.m. Saturday afternoon contest. 

Due to low temperatures in the forecast, the game has been moved to Penn State's indoor facility Holuba Hall instead of the originally scheduled outdoor location of Panzer Stadium. There will be a limited capacity inside the facility.

PRESEASON PREDICTIONS    
Villanova men's lacrosse was selected to finish second in the 2026 BIG EAST Preseason Poll, earning the lone non-Georgetown first place vote in the coaches' poll to grab second place. VU ended up just a few points behind the Hoyas for first place with Denver pulling up in third, Marquette in fourth and Providence and St. John's rounding out the final spots. In addition, three Wildcats earned mention on the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team as upperclassmen Jake Melchionni, Colin Michener and Jack Shoemaker each picked up unanimous honors. Star LSM Melchionni, who's switched numbers from 25 to 33, was the Co-Specialist of the Year in the conference last year, returning leading scorer Michener is a back-to-back recipient of the All-BIG EAST Second Team and Shoemaker was a unanimous all-league first teamer after a lockdown defensive season in 2025.

STACKED SLATE        
As usual, Villanova's 2026 schedule features a loaded slate of opponents with four ranking in the KANE Media Poll's preseason top 20. Conference foe Georgetown tops the VU opponents with a 5th place projection while week one opposition Penn State is 7th, and two other non-conference opponents also make appearances (Towson at 16 and Rutgers at 18). Four others were receiving votes in the initial poll: Denver, Penn, Saint Joseph's and Delaware. This year's schedule for the 'Cats features three new opponents compared to last season's slate, including the Blue Hens who were last met in 2023, the Scarlet Knights who haven't been on the opposite sideline since 2014 and Towson who last played Villanova in 2009.

LIFTING THE LID        
The opening bout of 2026 sends the Wildcats three hours northwest to the State College area for the season lidlifter against the Penn State Nittany Lions. Seven of the last eight openers for VU have been against Penn State, the lone exception being the COVID season in 2021. PSU is coming off its third Final Four appearance in school history, falling 11-9 to eventual national champion Cornell. Penn State has beaten Villanova in the last two contests between the programs, now holding a 21-9 advantage over the 'Cats all time. Last year's affair saw a multi-point outing for Luke Raymond, while the PSU victory in 2024 came despite four goals from Michener. 2023 marks Villanova's last victory in the series with then-freshman David Evanchick getting his first career start in the contest, following up a one-goal W for VU in 2022 when none of the current 'Cats played. Head coach Mike Corrado is 8-9 all-time against the in-state rival.

PREVIEWING PENN STATE

• The Nittany Lions are ranked No. 7 nationally in the preseason rankings and picked up an 18-14 victory over Colgate last week to open the year.
• Penn State is led offensively by sophomore Hunter Aquino, who scored five goals a week ago after earning All-American honors in the preseason. Defenseman Alex Ross and SSDM Jon King were also selected on All-America lists before the year.
• PSU has the Big Ten Specialist of the Week at the dot in Reid Gills while Colby Baldwin adds to the rotation. Between the pipes, Preston Hawkins and Hayes Schreiner split time for Jeff Tambroni's squad.

The bout will stream live on Big Ten Plus, while statistics for the contest are available on StatBroadcast.