This weekend, Villanova men’s lacrosse kicks off their 2026 season, facing Penn State University in University Park, PA.
Coming off of a second place selection in the 2026 Big East Preseason Poll, hopes are high for the ‘Cats, looking for their fourth Big East title appearance in the past five years. Much of their reputation stems from the depth of experience the team brings into 2026.
The team returns nine players, among them almost the entire Wildcat defense. While losing last year’s top-scorer, Matt Licata, the Wildcats boast a strong offense, including Senior attackman Colin Michener, who tallied the second-most goals during the 2025 season, just two short of Licata’s 28.
Head coach Mike Corrado is confident that the Wildcats’ experience will be foundational in fostering this season’s success.
“I think that experience is one of the reasons we got picked to finish second [in the Big East] compared to other teams,” Corrado said. “Those teams are looking at what they lost and what they’re trying to replace.”
Michener is one of four captains for the 2026 reason. The other captains include senior defenseman David Evanchick, senior defenseman Jack Shoemaker and junior middie Nick Lucchesi.
The trio of Michener, Evanchick, and Shoemaker is in their second year of captainship, making Lucchesi this season’s only additional captain.
“They said they set a really good example every day about coming into the weight room and coming to the practice field ready to go,” Corrado said about the captains. “They take things seriously, and they’re good kids who love lacrosse. I think they really do a great job of setting the expectations for the team.”
Michener and Shoemaker were both named to the 2026 Preseason All-Big East team in late January. Also named to the preseason team is long stick midfielder Jake Melchionni.
To prepare for the season, the team has undergone rigorous preparation. Although in recent weeks, the final preseason push has looked different due to the Northeast’s snowy forecast.
“It’s been a little bit of a disjointed preseason,” Corrado said. “Last week, we could only practice for an hour outside…but, we got our two scrimmages in against Fairfield and Princeton, which is always good to get out there, and those were good scrimmages.”
Graduate attackman and midfielder Luke Raymond, Evanchick and Shoemaker have stepped up in the preseason and are players to keep an eye on this spring.
“Luke Raymond is kind of like, a quiet leader on the offense, and he’s really stepped up,” Corrado said. “Defensively, David Evanchick and Jack Shoemaker, two captains, have set the tone [in the preseason].”
This season, the Wildcats face a strong lineup of teams, starting with Penn State, who ranks No. 7, according to the Inside Lacrosse Division I Men’s Lacrosse Poll.
Following Penn State, the Wildcats will take on St. Joseph’s University, Rutgers University, the University of Delaware, Drexel University, the University of Pennsylvania, Towson University and Lehigh University. Then, Villanova will open Big East play on Saturday, March 28, against St. John’s University.
Coach Corrado is looking forward to what’s in store for this squad of Wildcats in the coming months.
“It’s always exciting to see how some of your new guys do, whether it’s freshmen or whether it’s kids who didn’t have much of a role last year that are going to get an expanded role this year,” Corrado said. “It’s always exciting to see kind of who’s going to be that guy that their role expands, and they embrace it, and they do well with it. So, I’m looking forward to that. We do have some very, very talented young players on the team, and so we’ll see how they do.”
