NCAA Rewind: Villanova Improved as Spring Unfolded

Before USA Lacrosse Magazine looks ahead to what’s to come in 2025 — look out for our NCAA Way-Too-Early Top 25 rankings later this summer — our team of staff and contributors decided it was worth taking a last look at the 2024 college lacrosse season.

To do that, we’re taking a journey through 30 of the top teams in men’s and women’s lacrosse to see what went right, what went wrong and how we should feel about the season.

VILLANOVA

USA Lacrosse preseason/final ranking: unranked/also considered
2024 record: 9-7 (2-3 Big East)

What went right: The Wildcats had one of the nation’s best long poles in Stephen Zupicich (51 caused turnovers), and like pretty much every year, they had a top-notch short stick defensive midfielder (Stevie Jones) to create headaches for opponents. Little wonder Villanova ranked third nationally in caused turnovers (11.13 per game). 

Matt Licata made a jump in his second year as a starting attackman, going from 39 points to 56, and redshirt freshman Colin Michener scored a team-high 37 goals. 

Villanova went 6-2 on the road, going undefeated away from the Main Line after the start of March. The Wildcats were arguably at their best in May, upsetting Denver in the Big East semifinals before falling in overtime to Georgetown.

What went wrong: Villanova didn’t clear the ball well (82.7 percent, just 65th out of 76 Division I teams) and consequently was one of the most turnover-prone teams in Division I (18.69 per game). The Wildcats converted just 20 percent of their extra-man chances, finishing tied for 66th nationally in the category. 

All of that goes a long way in explaining why Villanova scored more than 10 goals in just two of its seven losses, hitting that number exactly in its season-ending loss to Georgetown in the Big East final.

Season highlight: Toppling Denver 10-9 in the Big East semifinals on Luke Raymond’s goal with 36 seconds left.

Verdict: This year was yet the latest testament to Villanova’s remarkable consistency under coach Michael Corrado. The Wildcats have notched nine consecutive winning seasons, a streak of .500 or better years only Maryland, Duke, North Carolina, Denver, Yale and Richmond surpass. Villanova improved as the spring unfolded, and nearly claimed the program’s first Big East tournament title. The Wildcats are trending up heading into 2025.