On Sunday, Sept. 7, Villanova women’s soccer team took on Lehigh in a strong one-sided affair, in which they earned a 4-0 victory.
With the win, the Wildcats extended their early-season win streak to four games. Following the success, head coach Samar Azem is resolute for the team to look ahead to the next contest and upcoming conference play next weekend.
“The win streak is awesome, but we’ve got to look at it as what’s in the ‘here and now,’” Azem said. “The win streak is in the past. What’s in the ‘here and now’ is what we’ve got to do in training on Tuesday.”
In the first half, the Wildcats put on display some of the best soccer they have played so far this season. Villanova out-shot Lehigh, 7-2, and scored all four goals before halftime.
The Villanova offense maintained the intensity throughout the game, with several looks off crosses into the box and effective finishes from graduate forward Hannah Curtin and freshman forward Avrie Nelsen.
Curtin scored the first goal 14:06 into play, with an assist from junior forward Alex Little. Less than three minutes later, Nelsen knocked in a solo goal to give the Wildcats a 2-0 lead.
Sophomore midfielder Amalia Cardo put in a third goal, at the 32:40 mark, assisted by Little and sophomore forward Morgan Kotch. The final goal belonged to Kotch shortly before the half, at 42:14.
Despite the onslaught of goals in the first half, much of the team’s success came on the defensive end, in which the Wildcats were relentless. Villanova played with high pressure and aggression from whistle to whistle, forcing turnovers as Lehigh struggled to control the ball on offense.
Sophomore defender Meredith Palmer had a strong game, serving as the centerpiece of the Villanova defense. Palmer controlled clears and was one of the loudest players on the field, along with senior goalkeeper Hannah Dickinson. As a younger player, Palmer embraced the role as a lead voice on defense, as she was in constant communication with her other teammates throughout the game.
“ I think that communication is something that’s really important, and we’ve worked on it a lot because we talk about the better you are without the ball, the more you’ll have it,” Palmer said. “I think that it’s really cool that I get to be one of the defenders that really holds that [role].”
According to Palmer, Villanova’s aggression and strong team communication were key to outplaying a tough opponent in Lehigh, especially on the defensive end.
“We like to play a more aggressive style of press,” Palmer said. “We used to sit back and kind of hold and absorb, but we want to be more aggressive now, which gives us more opportunities to get forward and get crosses in, which we’ve done an amazing job of.”
Following the win, the Wildcats extended their hot streak to four games after losing twice to start the season against Michigan and Wake Forest.
“Something that’s important for us is not to over-correct,” Azem said. “We knew the first game was one against Michigan, and we felt like we really should have walked away with a win in that one. And there were a lot of lessons that we learned. Each game is an opportunity to get back in the lab, to do some digging into how we can perfect what we’re doing, what we’re about, what our identity is about and then get back out there.”
Villanova looks to continue its winning streak with two road trips ahead this week at Princeton on Thursday, Sept. 11 and at Penn on Sunday, Sept. 14.
The Wildcats will then start conference play at home on Sept. 20 against Seton Hall. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m.
