On Saturday, Feb. 21, Villanova men’s lacrosse fell to Rutgers University, 8-7, after a hard fought battle while on the road in Piscataway, NJ.
The Wildcats (1-2) outshot the Scarlet Knights (3-1), 38-35. Sophomore goalkeeper Denis Fargione saved 19 of those 35 shots, tying a career-best performance in front of the goal. Fargione also tallied one assist to senior attackman Colin Michener early in the fourth quarter.
“It’s pretty rare,” head coach Micahel Corrado said about Fargione’s assist as a goalkeeper. “Denis had a great game. Our defense played well in front of him and gave him a bunch of saveable shots, and then he made three or four awesome, tight saves.”
Villanova had one of its best face-off performances of the season, winning ten of 18 total faceoffs. Junior faceoff George Clomb earned a 0.7 face off percentage, winning seven out of his 10 faceoffs for the ‘Cats.
“Face-offs are a game-to-game thing. One game Ryan Cunningham has a better matchup than George, and this time, George has the better matchup.” Corrado said. “The biggest difference was that our wing guys, specifically Jake Melchionni, did a really good job in those fifty-fifties.”
Michener and graduate attackman/midfielder Luke Raymond led the ‘Cats offensively, each scoring two goals. Freshman attackman/midfielder Kessy Cox, sophomore attackman/midfielder Brady Dumont and sophomore attackman/midfielder Gavin Michener closed out the Wildcats’ scoresheet, tallying one goal a piece.
Redshirt sophomore attackman Greyson Vorgang led Rutgers, scoring half of the Scarlet Knight’s eight goals.
“I thought we did a good job of defending No.50 and No. 8, their top two guys,” Corrado said. “But that kid [Greyson Vorgang] stepped up and scored four goals.”
The first period of the game saw the most goals from both teams. Villanova took the lead, outscoring Rutgers, 5-4.
During the second period, Rutgers found its momentum, scoring two equalizers and then finding its first lead of the game, 7-6, just over two minutes before the end of the half.
Following intermission, both Villanova and Rutgers went scoreless in the third period. Fargione recorded six saves for the Wildcats during the third period, and redshirt junior goalkeeper Cardin Stoller recorded four saves for the Scarlet Knights.
During the game’s final, Villanova tied up the score with 13 minutes remaining, 7-7.
Both teams fought for the game-winner until Vorgang scored his fourth goal for the Scarlet Knights, putting the score at 8-7.
With just over 4 minutes remaining, Villanova looked for an equalizer, but the Wildcats’ attempts on goal fell short, ending the game, 8-7.
“There were only six goals scored for the rest of the game [after the first period, so it was a very weird game from that standpoint,” Corrado said. “It looked like maybe it’d be a shootout in the first quarter, and then all of a sudden it became a defensive slug fest.”
The Wildcats will now take on their second match of a three-week long away stretch. The ‘Cats will travel to Newark, DE, on Feb. 28. to face the University of Delaware (1-3). The game will be the two teams’ first meeting since 2023, when the Wildcats defeated the Blue Hens, 13-12, in Newark, DE. Face-off is set for 1:00 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
