VILLANOVA, Pa. – Villanova Men's Lacrosse (1-2) will welcome the Lehigh Mountain Hawks (0-4) to Villanova Stadium tomorrow, February 28, 2025.
The promotion for Friday's game is the team's annual Unitas Game, partnered with the diversity, equity, and inclusion initiative that strives to maintain a welcoming community at VU. Sophomore FO/M
George Glomb will be recognized for his work with the group at the game.
The Wildcats are playing their sixth consecutive game on their home turf, while the visitors are coming off of a two-game homestand and look to steal one on the road.
FLASHBACK FRIDAY
This is the second game of the season against a Patriot League opponent for VU, as last week they faced off against the Colgate Raiders. The Wildcats are 62-28 all-time against teams that currently compete in the Patriot League.
This will be the 30th meeting between the Lehigh Mountain Hawks and the Villanova Wildcats, which ties for the fourth highest number of matchups between the 'Cats and a non-conference opponent.
Villanova is 18-11 all-time against Lehigh, with a 7-4 record under
Mike Corrado. VU has held a 2-0 record since 2020, including a 14-8 win last season. In last year's game,
Tyler Boes recorded his first career hat trick while
Anthony Wilson stopped 14 shots in net.
LAST TIME OUT
Villanova fell to Colgate 16-5 in their last matchup, played on Saturday, February 22. Five different Wildcats tallied goals, but the Raiders offense was too much to counter.
Denis Fargione came on in relief in the second half, snagging twelve saves while only letting in six goals.
Tyler Sandoval's 14-18 (.777%) performance in the circle was the best by a Wildcat with at least 10 attempts in a single game since
Justin Coppola went 14-18, matching the same clip against Hofstra, on March 5, 2022.
The graduate student ranks 13th in the country and second in the BIG EAST in faceoff win percentage at .630% after winning 54 of his 74 faceoffs taken so far in the young season.
Matt Licata extended his streak of consecutive games with a goal scored to 19; the last time the New Hampshire native did not score was April 28, 2023, against Georgetown.
The most recent stretch of consecutive games with a goal was achieved by Matt Campbell who went on a 25-game tear from the 2022 season opener against Penn State until April 8, 2023, at Denver.
Villanova ranks sixth in the country and first in the BIG EAST in caused turnovers per game with 11.67. Reigning BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll nominee
Jack Shoemaker has forced six, while five other Wildcats are averaging a turnover per game in the young season.
Senior defender
Aidan Ahearn made the Raiders turn the ball over three times on Saturday in his 2025 debut.
A LOOK AT LEHIGH
Lehigh also had a player named to the 2025 Tewaaraton Award Watch List alongside Villanova's
Matt Licata. Defender Richard Checo was nominated to the list as a junior after tallying 48 caused turnovers and 62 ground balls in the 2024 campaign.
Checo is 15
th in the nation with 2.25 caused turnovers per game in 2025 through four games, just five spots ahead of Villanova's Shoemaker.
The junior defender is not the only defensive force the Mountain Hawks have deployed against their tough 2025 schedule. Kasey Heath is manning the net at a .574 save percentage so far this season, having held the current No. 14 team, Richmond, to just nine goals in Lehigh's last game.
Heath is averaging 15.75 saves per game, earning him a spot on the national leaderboards at third in the nation.
On the offensive side, Dakota Eierman leads Lehigh with seven goals, while freshman Luke Breslin has four goals and four assists so far this season.
UP NEXT
Villanova Men's Lacrosse will return to action Tuesday, March 4, to take on the Drexel Dragons for a Rivalry Rewind matchup at 4:00 P.M.
TICKETING
Individual game tickets are available for the rest of the season; please check
here for more information and to purchase tickets for upcoming games.
SOCIAL
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