On Saturday, April 18, Villanova men’s lacrosse (6-6, 3-1 Big East) defeated Marquette (6-6, 2-2 Big East) in overtime, 16-15, to clinch a postseason berth to the Big East Tournament.
The berth marks the Wildcats’ 14th consecutive appearance at the Big East tournament, which features the top four teams in the conference.
The victory against Marquette now gives Villanova an even overall record for the 2026 season and a winning record in the Big East and bounces the ‘Cats back from an overtime loss against Providence last week
“Within a seven-day period we experienced both the highs of winning and the pain of a tough loss,” head coach Michael Corrado said. “It [playing in overtime] emphasizes the importance of playing a full 60 minutes.”
Senior attackman Colin Michener led Villanova, scoring a career-high seven goals.
“Colin did a great job of allowing the game and shots to come to him within the flow of the offense,” Corrado said.
Graduate attackman Luke Raymond earned his 100th collegiate point after scoring one goal and tallying a career-high of five assists in regulation.
Graduate attackman Nolan Rappis led Marquette with five goals.
Villanova took 42 shots, with 29 on goal. In comparison, Marquette tallied 33 shots, with 24 of them on goal.
Following the game’s opening faceoff, Villanova found offensive success, outscoring Marquette, 4-2, in the first quarter.
Rappis rallied Marquette’s offense, scoring two of the Golden Eagles’ early goals in the second quarter.
Marquette scored three unanswered goals with 6:18 left in the first half to take the lead and find a 9-6 advantage.
With less than two minutes in the first half, Michener scored his third goal of the game, cutting the Wildcats’ deficit to two goals at the intermission.
Coming out of the break, Marquette scored one minute into the second half.
Both teams remained scoreless for six minutes until Villanova went on a four-goal run to take its first lead in over 22 minutes.
Immediately after, Marquette tied the game on the reset. The Golden Eagles scored one more goal and headed into the final quarter with a 12-11 lead.
During the fourth quarter’s opening five minutes, the team scored back-and-forth goals.
With eight and a half minutes of regulation left, Marquette stretched its lead to 15-12.
Neither team scored for the next four minutes until sophomore attackman Ryan Martin ended the scoring drought.
A minute later, the ‘Cats cut their deficit to just one goal.
With 1:14 left on the clock, Freshman midfielder Kessy Cox scored the equalizer, taking the ‘Cats into overtime.
Junior faceoff George Clomb won Villanova the opening faceoff in overtime, and junior defenseman Beau Kemler picked up the ground ball.
Shortly after Villanova’s successful clear, the Wildcats called a timeout.
Thirty seconds later, junior midfielder Nick Lucchesi scored the game-winning goal.
The Wildcats will return to Villanova Stadium on Saturday, April 24, to take on Georgetown in their final game of the 2026 regular season.
In the team’s last meeting, the Hoyas defeated Villanova in the championship game of the 2025 Big East tournament.
The two teams will now play for the No. 1 seed at this year’s Big East tournament. Face-off is set for 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN+.
