VILLANOVA, Pa. – Villanova returns to its home pitch Tuesday for a Philly Soccer Six clash with Drexel (5-2-1 overall) at 4 p.m. at the Higgins Soccer Complex. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+.
The 'Cats have absorbed some blows since opening the campaign with a 3-0-1 mark. Villanova has dropped three straight one goal games – 1-0 to FDU, 3-2 to George Washington, and 2-1 in its BIG EAST opener Friday night at St. John's.
One of the challenges over the past two weeks has been injuries. Junior captain and stalwart at center back, Lorenzo Avalos, has missed the last two games with a leg injury. Midfielder Luca Mazzola has missed the last three contests and Matthew Klann the last two.
Despite the setbacks, Wildcats head coach Mark Fetrow believes his group is pointed in the right direction.
"We feel confident," Fetrow stated. "Some of our guys who weren't getting many minutes early have stepped up. The collective effort was great at St. John's. Now, we are back at home, where we have played well."
One piece of good news of late is the return of senior Josh Oladele, who missed the first four matches of the regular season before making his season debut against FDU. After spending most of his time with the Wildcats at forward, Oladele has been stationed at outside back, giving the 'Cats a solid defender with the capability to help generate chances on the attack.
Oladele's blast in the waning moments Friday night at St. John's nearly leveled the match at two, before bouncing off the cross bar.
On the attack both junior Karson Vazquez and senior Sam Nyenka have helped the Wildcats generate more scoring chances. The pair combined for the early goal scored by Vazquez that put Villanova up early at Belson Stadium Friday night. Nyenka was credited with the assist.
Junior Alex Yagudayev delivered another strong performance in goal at St. John's, making seven saves. In six starts thus far in 2026, the native of Brooklyn, N.Y., has an 0.67 goals against average and .905 save percentage.
Drexel comes to West Campus riding a three-game winning streak. Following a Sept. 9 1-1 draw at George Washington, the Dragons downed Northeastern, La Salle and Stony Brook, scoring nine goals in the process.
This is Fetrow's second clash with the Dragons as head coach at Villanova. Fetrow spent one season as Drexel's head coach, leading it to a 9-2-5 record in 2023 before returning to the Main Line to succeed his former boss, Tom Carlin, at Villanova. These two sides played to a 1-1 draw on Oct. 29, 2024, at the Higgins Soccer Complex.
As part of Tuesday's clash, the Wildcats will celebrate UNITAS, its community enrichment organization. Prior to the match, captain Luke Martelli will be recognized for having been named winner of the Sister Cribben Award last spring.
