• St. John’s has yet to win a BIG EAST game this season. The last league win for the Johnnies came in last year’s regular season finale against DePaul on Oct. 26, 1-0.
• The Red Storm closed out its nonconference schedule with five unbeaten results, going 4-0-1 with three of those finishes being clean sheets.
• Much like Villanova, St. John’s defensive unit has been stout this season, boasting the third-best save percentage and saves per game margin in the BIG EAST at .792 and 4.38, respectively.
• All three St. John’s goalkeepers have made appearances between the posts this season, led by Malene Nielsen who has played in all 13 matches with five starts for 700 minutes. She is 3-2-3 on the year and is saving at a .786 clip with 33 saves and nine goals allowed with two solo shutouts and two combined. Kayla Bower has had the most starts of the group, opening eight of her nine appearances. She is 2-2-1 on the year with two combined shutouts, allowing six goals in her 464 minutes of play with 23 saves.
• Offensively, Jaliene DeJesus and Jordyn Levy lead the team with five goals each. DeJesus has tacked on two assists for a team-high 12 points. She is fifth in the BIG EAST with a shot accuracy percentage of .514, landing 18 of her 35 shot attempts on frame. She has scored three goals in the last three games, including a brace int he 2-2 draw with Seton Hall on Sept. 29.
• St. John’s was picked to finish sixth in this year’s BIG EAST Preseason Coaches’ Poll with 57 points after a 10-6-3 showing last season, 5-4-1 in conference play. The team made it to the BIG EAST Tournament as the No. 5 seed where it fell to No. 4 Providence in the first round, 3-1.

• Sunday is the 33rd all-time meeting between Villanova and St. John’s in a series that is tied up at 14-14-4 since 1987. The two sides have met every year since 2011 with the Johnnies holding a substantial 11-1-2 lead in the series since then. The lone win for the ‘Cats in that span was a 1-0 win on Oct. 2, 2022. 
• Villanova is 8-4-2 when hosting the Red Storm, winning by a large 37-16 margin. The last five meetings on the Main Line have seen Villanova go 1-3-1. The 1-0 win on Oct. 2, 2022 marked the first home win for the ‘Cats in the series since  a 3-0 win on Oct. 3, 2008, snapping a streak of five winless results.
• Villanova is 102-136-34 against the BIG EAST since 1995.

Stout Defending: Villanova’s defensive unit holds a league-best 4.92 saves per game, landing it at 89th nationally, and is second in the BIG EAST with a .831 save percentage that is good enough for 47th in the nation. The backline is anchored by goalkeeper Hannah Dickinson who leads the conference with 58 saves, putting her 59th in the nation. She is also the BIG EAST leader with 4.83 saves per game and it second with a .829 save percentage.

Top Scorers: Madison Shumate and Susanna Soderman lead the team with three goals each this season. They have scored the most goals in a single season by a Wildcat since four players scored at least three goals in the 2021 season.

From the Spot: Villanova has connected on three of its five penalty kick attempts this season, marking the most for the squad since the 2021 made three. Susanna Soderman’s penalty kick against Cornell was the first successful PK for the ‘Cats since Emma Weaver netted one against DePaul on Oct. 23, 2022. In Azem’s tenure, Villanova has gone 5-10 from the spot. 

Villanova Draw with DePaul, 1-1

The result ends a three-game home losing streak for the ‘Cats

VILLANOVA, Pa. – After a one-goal lead at the break, Villanova gave up a 63rd minute goal that it could not answer, drawing with DePaul 1-1 on Thursday at Higgins Soccer Complex.

The draw snaps a three-match home losing streak for Villanova (4-5-3, 1-1-2 BIG EAST). Susanna Soderman netted her second penalty kick of the season for the Blue and White's lone goal of the contest. The overall series with DePaul (2-5-4, 0-1-2) still remains even with the second tie in series history, now sitting at 10-10-2.

"I felt like we were not ourselves today," head coach Samar Azem said. "DePaul scores and it deflates us and that's not this team that I have seen all semester. They've been a team that has had a lot of fight and fights back. Even though (DePaul) didn't score another goal, I felt like we gave them the front foot."

A collision inside the top part of the 18-yard box in the 39th minute between Gabby Koluch and DePaul's Katelyn Jamie led to a video review that awarded Villanova its fifth penalty kick of the season. Soderman lined up and sent a skipper into the back right of the net for a 1-0 lead.

That was the second successful PK of the year for the senior and the third for the team. It matches the most for Villanova in a single season since the 2021 team made three.

Villanova went into the break with the lead for the fourth time this season. It led the shot tally by a close 5-3 margin through the first 45 with Soderman accounting for both Blue and White chances that landed on frame.

Soderman had a chance to add to the lead in the 56th minute with a set piece from well-over 20 yards out. She sent a rocket that was grabbed by DePaul's goalkeeper Elena Milam, keeping the lead at one.

In the 63rd minute, DePaul picked up a quick steal in front of its bench with Beth Smyth gaining possession off of it. She raced to the right side of the 18-yard box and made a pass in toward Shayna da Silva. She made a couple sidesteps to control the ball before sending in a chance from eight yards out that went through a group of 'Cats and into the back left of the net to knot the game at 1-1.

Villanova had four chances to score through the final 11 minutes of the contest but none of the attempts could get on frame. The 'Cats were outshot 13-10 on the day, 10-5 in the final 45 minutes. DePaul's Susie Soderstrom led all players with five shots, two of those on frame.

Wildcat netminder Hannah Dickinson made four saves in the match with Milam making two on the other end.