Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 12/28/17
From Press Release and Staff Report
Villanova men’s lacrosse has announced their 2018 schedule. The upcoming season will feature seven home games, four games against 2017 NCAA tournament teams, and nine teams that were ranked or received votes in the final USLIA Coaches Poll of the 2017 season. Following the conclusion of the regular season, the Wildcats will have their sights on the BIG EAST Men’s Lacrosse Championship slated to begin on Thursday, May 3rd for the beginning of the 2017 postseason. Villanova Stadium will serve as the location for the 2018 BIG EAST Tournament.
The Wildcats have added transfer Matt Barrett (Malvern Prep, Duke’s LC/Mesa Fresh), a fifth-year goalie who started three years at Virginia where he was a USILA Second Team All-American and 8th nationally with a 12.20 saves per game average in 2015. Barrett was a US Lacrosse All-American and two-time First Team All-Phillylacrosse.com pick at Malvern Prep. Barrett is expected to vie with returning starter Nick Testa for the top spot.
The Wildcats start off the 2018 season with a strong out of conference schedule beginning with three road games. Villanova will open the season at Penn State before traveling to Frisco, Texas to take on the Yale Bulldogs at the Ford Center at The Star on February 24th. Villanova will head from the Lone Star State to Hempstead, N.Y. to take on Hofstra.
Villanova will play their home opener against the Drexel Dragons to close out the month of February. March will kick off with a trip down the Blue Route to take on Delaware before the Wildcats take on back-to-back Ivy League opponents. First Villanova will host Brown before traveling to Philadelphia to take on the Penn Quakers.
The 2017 National Champions, Maryland, will travel to Villanova, Pa. on March 17th and just days later the Fairfield Stags will come to Villanova Stadium to close out non-conference play.
BIG EAST action kicks off on March 31st when the Wildcats travel to Milwaukee, Wisconsin to take on Marquette before returning home to take Denver on April 7th and Georgetown on April 14th. Villanova’s final regular season road game will be April 21st when they travel to Queens, N.Y. to take on the St. John’s Red Storm. The Wildcats will close out the regular season at home against Providence on April 28th for their last tune up before the BIG EAST Tournament.
The top four teams in the league will advance to the BIG EAST Tournament which is set to begin on Thursday, May 3rd and will conclude two days later on Saturday, May 5th. The winner claims the all-important NCAA automatic bid.
Villanova is coming off a 2017 season where they were 9-6 and 4-1 in BIG EAST play. Leading the Wildcats on offense last season was graduate student, Jack Curran, who earned Co-BIG EAST Attacker of the Year honors for his conference high 65 points on 46 goals and 19 assists. Returning on the attack line for the Wildcats in 2018 will be senior Christian Cuccinello, graduate student John Kluh, senior Danny Seibel, and graduate student Devin McNamara. Other strong contributors last season who will be dawning the blue and white again this season are faceoff specialist Luke Palmadesso, defensive midfielder Connor Kirst, and goalkeeper Testa.
Kluh is a sixth-year senior (grad student) who has taken two medical redshirt seasons. He is a two-time Villanova Team Captain (in 2015 and 2016) and was a 2013 First Team All-BIG EAST pick.