On Feb. 9, Villanova men’s lacrosse will return to Villanova Stadium for another season on the turf.
The 2024 campaign was a successful one for the Wildcats, who finished with a 9-7 record, going 2-3 in the Big East and falling just short of a conference championship.
The ‘Cats began the 2024 season facing nationally-ranked opponents. They fell to No. 15 Penn State, 18-10, and were narrowly defeated by No. 9 Yale, 13-11. The ‘Cats’ first win of the season was against No. 20 Colgate, 15-9.
In the regular season meeting with No. 9 Denver, Villanova lost, 9-6. In the semi-finals of the Big East tournament, the Wildcats beat the No. 1 seeded Musketeers, 10-9, at Villanova Stadium.
Two days later, the ‘Cats matched up with No. 2 Georgetown in the Big East Championship but fell short, 11-10, in overtime.
“The team got better as the season went on,” head coach Mike Corrado said. “I thought we were playing our best lacrosse at the end of the year. We beat Denver who ended up getting to the Final Four and then losing such a close game to another top-ten team like Georgetown was disappointing but really proud of the guys and how they worked the entire year.”
Corrado is pleased with what he has seen from the team in the preseason so far.
“It’s been a very good preseason,” Corrado said. “The weather has been really cold this year but we’re making the best of it. We had a good scrimmage with Rutgers last Saturday and this Saturday we scrimmage Princeton who ranked fifth preseason.”
This season, graduate attacker Matt Licata, senior defender Tripp Robinson, senior attacker Luke Raymond and junior defender David Evanchick have all returned.
According to Corrado, Raymond and redshirt freshman goalkeeper Anthony Wilson made the biggest improvements this offseason.
“Last season, [Wilson] had a good season overall but this season in the fall and spring he’s been more consistent,” Corrado said. “He’s really taken the next jump. [Raymond], who’s a senior captain for us, has also really played well.”
Corrado also spoke about how practicing in the cold at Villanova Stadium will help the team prepare for tough games in frigid upstate New York and high-altitude Denver.
“You develop [toughness] in practice,” Corrado said. “We’re out there practicing in the cold all the time. The mental toughness it takes to stay focused is a big challenge. I think every day in practice challenging guys will hopefully translate to those types of games.”
The 2025 schedule has the Wildcats facing strong competition.
After opening the season against No.14 Penn State and Yale, the first road game will be at Colgate.
“You have to challenge yourself,” Corrado said. “By the time you get to conference play you want to have played against some of the best competition in the country.”
The ‘Cats will return to Pennsylvania on Feb. 28 to face Lehigh. In the next three games, they will face off against local rivals Drexel, UPenn and Saint Joe’s before the non-conference finale against Brown.
Big East play begins on the road at Denver on Mar. 29.
One week later, the Wildcats will be back on the road for a matchup with Providence.
Conference play at home begins on April 12 against Saint John’s and concludes in Washington, D.C. on April 25 against Georgetown.
Denver will host the Big East Tournament from May 1 to May 3.
All regular season games this season can be streamed on FloSports, and live statistics can be found on statbroadcast.com.
