VILLANOVA, Pa. – Villanova used a pair of first half goals to pave the way to its first BIG EAST win of the season, taking down Seton Hall 2-1 on a rainy Sunday afternoon at Higgins Soccer Complex.
 
This marks the ninth consecutive game this season that Villanova (4-0-5, 1-0 BIG EAST) has gone without a loss, breaking a three-game streak of draws. It also marks the 12^th consecutive result without a loss stretching back to the end of the 2022 season. Villanova has now opened the league slate with wins over Seton Hall (4-5-1, 0-2 BIG EAST) in back-to-back seasons.
 
"Seton Hall does a really great job of pressing certain parts of the field and we could've folded," Villanova head coach Samar Azem said. "That's something we've been battling – teams that press us, and I thought we did really well. We handled that really well. I was really proud of the team. This is a hard team to play. Seton Hall's really well-organized. The coaching staff, players do such a great job. To come out with a win but also to put a performance together that was solid, you know, I thought it was an exciting match to be in."
 
The Wildcats pushed a pair of goals past the Pirates defense to lead at the halftime break. This was the first time since a 3-0 win at George Mason on September 3 that Villanova scored at least two goals in a game. Seton Hall applied pressure in the final 15 minutes, scoring a goal in the 78^th minute before peppering three more shot attempts in the closing 10 minutes. In the end, the Wildcats out-shot the Pirates 15-13 with a 5-4 edge on frame.
 
Reigning BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week Makayla Stadler got things rolling for Villanova in the 22^nd minute with her fifth goal of the season. The graduate picked up a pass from Brigid Molloy at the top of the 18-yard box that she launched past Pirates' keeper Morgan Fedosiewich who went diving in the net for a 1-0 lead.
 
Villanova added onto its lead with a nifty move from Maddie Fried 20 minutes later. A driving Megan Donnelly sent a quick look forward to Fried who was battling past a pair of Pirate defenders. With Fedosiewich sliding toward her just inside the penalty box, the junior midfielder hit a smooth shot off the top of her foot that sailed right into the open net, making it a 2-0 Wildcat advantage in the 41^st minute.
 
"Maddie was just relentless there on that goal, timed it so well. That was such a beautiful goal. It's great to start on the front foot, but we need to finish games. In the 75^th minute, we just cannot let teams back in and Seton Hall capitalized on us taking our foot off the gas. We know it; the players recognize it. We've got to figure out a way to get out of that but, yeah, it's always great to start of the front foot."
 
After a 7-5 shot advantage in the first half, the Wildcat defense held Seton Hall without a shot until the 58^th minute. Seton Hall's first four shot attempts of the second half were all blocked by Wildcats until Natalie Tavana scored in the 78^th minute after a pass from Skyler Matusz, cutting Villanova's lead in half, 2-1. The Pirates tried to pull even with three more shot attempts, but two of those were saved by Villanova's netminder Payton Woodward. She finished the day with three saves.
 
Jackie Richards and Susanna Soderman both led the Wildcats with three shot attempts each while Soderman landed a team-high two on frame. Tavana led the Pirates with three shots, as well.
 
Villanova hits the road this weekend for its first BIG EAST road trip of the season, starting with a trip to Xavier on Thursday. Kickoff in Cincinnati, Ohio is set for 7 p.m.