On Saturday, April 11, Villanova men’s lacrosse fell to Providence College, 10-9, in overtime.
Though Villanova (5-6, 2-1 Big East) led 7-3 at the conclusion of the third quarter, the Wildcats committed six turnovers during the final 15 minutes of regulation, allowing Providence (5-8, 1-2 Big East) to score six fourth-quarter goals to tie the game and send it to overtime, where junior midfielder Rhett Chambers scored the game-winning goal.
“We haven’t turned the ball over like this,” head coach Michael Corrado said. “In the first half, we were turning it over in the clear, and in the second half we were turning it over on the offensive end…we had 17 turnovers, and that’s too many.”
Chambers led the Friars, scoring three goals and tallying one assist.
Graduate attackman Luke Raymond and senior attackman David Link led the Wildcats, scoring three goals each. Freshman midfielder Kessy Cox and senior midfielder Lucas Newton picked up two assists each.
The Wildcats took 33 shots, with 20 of them on goal. In comparison, Providence had 45 shots, with 25 of them on goal.
Villanova committed 17 turnovers, while Providence gave up 16.
The match marked the team’s Senior Day, which celebrated 12 members of the senior class. In addition to celebrating the class of 2026, the team also welcomed back its alumni for Alumni Day and Lax Fest.
In the first half, the ‘Cats found early offensive success, winning the game’s opening faceoff and scoring three goals in the first quarter.
Five minutes into play, Link scored. Shortly after, junior midfielder Nick Lucchesi registered, before Link registered his second goal of the game.
A minute later, Providence responded. Senior midfielder Luke Schmidt scored the Friars’ first goal before the first quarter ended, 3-1.
During the second quarter, Raymond buried two goals, giving the Wildcats a 5-1 advantage at halftime.
At the break, men’s lacrosse alumni gathered on the field where they were recognized for their contributions to the program and its rich culture.
Following halftime, Providence scored two goals, cutting its deficit to 5-3.
Villanova found two more goals before the third quarter ended, 7-3.
With 11 minutes remaining, senior defender David Evanchick scored his first career goal.
Seconds later, freshman defenseman Nate Smith answered for Providence, burying a goal after a faceoff.
“Usually, when one of your defenders scores, it gets the sidelines excited. Then, unfortunately, in the following face-off, we let them score,” Corrado said. “But it’s great for him, he’s an awesome kid, and he’s had a great career here.”
The Friars scored two more unanswered goals, cutting Villanova’s advantage to just one goal with under seven minutes remaining.
Link scored Villanova’s final goal making the score 9-7. With over two minutes remaining, Providence scored, again shrinking Villanova’s advantage to a single goal.
With one minute and 15 seconds remaining, Providence gained possession after a shot clock violation. 30 seconds later, Chambers
After winning the game’s final face-off of regulation, Villanova failed to score, sending the game into overtime.
In sudden-death overtime, Chambers scored, giving Providence the comeback victory.
“We had a couple of chances and really good opportunities that we didn’t take advantage of,” Corrado said. “We played too much defense and had way too many turnovers.”
Villanova will continue its Big East campaign on Saturday, April 18, by traveling to Milwaukee, WI, to face Marquette (6-5, 2-1 Big East).
During the teams’ last meeting in April, 2025, Villanova defeated Marquette, 14-13.
Face off is set for 11 a.m. CDT/12 p.m. EST and will be broadcast on ESPN+.
