Big East play kicked off for Villanova women’s soccer, who took on Seton Hall on Sunday, Sep. 22. The match resulted in a scoreless tie, leaving both teams eager for more.
With this being the Wildcats’ second tie in back-to-back games, they now stand at a 3-4-2 overall record and are placed sixth in the early conference rankings.
Villanova controlled most of the offense, evidenced by its eight total shots to Seton Hall’s one. Unfortunately, only three shots were on goal, and none could find the back of the net.
All of Villanova’s shots on goal came from senior midfielder Susanna Soderman, as there wasn’t much production elsewhere. Sophomore midfielder Gabby Koluch had three shots of her own, but none were on target.
The Wildcat defense was on lock-down throughout the whole game, led by sophomore Ire Omotayo and freshman Meredith Palmer, a young defensive duo who played the entire game.
One success of the defense was fending off Seton Hall’s senior midfielder Natalie Tavana.
“We held the preseason conference Attacking Player of the Year [Tavana] to one shot that wasn’t really threatening,” head coach Samar Azem said. “It was great seeing how strong we were defensively.”
A solid defense is nothing new for Villanova, which has only allowed two or more goals twice this season. One instance was the 2-0 loss on Sep. 1 to Florida State, the eighth-ranked team in the nation.
“For us, it’s the whole team including our forwards who defend,” Azem said. “The whole team is so bought into working together defensively. It’s really exciting to see. But it also comes down to the last unit which has been so strong. When the six players in front make a mistake they have four players and a goalie behind them.”
Villanova allowed a lone shot on target from Seton Hall, which junior USC transfer goalie Hannah Dickinson was able to block. Dickinson has had a terrific season so far in net, standing behind one of the best defenses in the Big East.
“[Dickinson] has been great, she’s a difference-maker,” said Coach Azem. “She’s very smart and organized, the team respects her. She’s very good in the air. You have to hit a really good shot or get a little lucky to beat her.”
However, the offensive production is something the team hopes to improve on. The Wildcats have only scored three goals in the last seven games (and just one in their last five), in which they have gone 2-3-2. This streak is coming off a huge 4-0 win that Villanova put up against Temple in their second game of the year. The Wildcats are hoping to snap out of the scoring drought immediately, as they will soon be facing a wave of tough conference teams.
“Right now we are competing and feel that we can compete with [the rest of the Big East],” Azem said. “Our next challenge is focusing on dominating them.”
Villanova will head to Nebraska to take on its next Big East opponent, Creighton, on Thursday, Sep. 26. Creighton is also coming off its first Big East match, in which it lost 1-0 to Georgetown. Both teams are hungry for their first conference win of the year.
