TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Villanova faced a barrage of shots from No. 1 Florida State on Sunday afternoon, falling 2-0 at the Seminole Soccer Complex.

Facing its first nationally-ranked opponent of the season, Villanova (3-2) was outshot 28-3. Those 28 shots from Florida State (4-0-1) marked the most by a Villanova opponent since Butler took 30 attempts on Oct. 6, 2022. Hannah Dickinson and the Wildcat faced 12 shots on goal, forcing Dickinson to make 10 saves, the most by a Nova goalkeeper since Oct. 17, 2021 when Ela Kopec had 13 saves against UConn. Madison Shumate logged the only shot on frame for the 'Cats.

"We knew we were up against a giant," Villanova head coach Samar Azem said, "but that's what's exciting about these types of games is we wanted to come out here to compete to win and then grow to get better. We did not win today, so there's disappointment there. We dropped one aspect.

"At the end of the day, watching this team come out here and compete against a team that right now, is sitting at the top by themselves is extremely rewarding - to see the hard work that they're putting into it, how disciplined they are, how organized they are. So, trust me when I say, walking away so proud of our team right now because we have taken a lot away from this to get better and get ready for our next match."

The loss snaps a three-matching winning streak for Villanova that it built since a season-opening loss to James Madison. It is also the first time in seven scoreless halves that the Villanova defense has allowed a goal.

Florida State had a dangerous chance in the seventh minute to take an early lead. One Seminole raced to the six-yard box where Dickinson made a sliding move to push the ball away. The Noles made their way back into the box with Taylor Huff sending a shot that was blocked by Alex Fava and sent away.

Just over a minute later, Shumate had Villanova's chance to get on the board but that was saved by FSU's Addie Todd.

Mimi Van Zant tallied the opening goal in the 23^rd minute. A sequence of chances landed a rebound look at her feet near the top of the six-yard box that she sent over Hannah Dickinson for a 1-0 lead.

The Seminoles had the final strong chance of the half with a free kick outside of the left side of the penalty box. A cross inside the box ricocheted back toward the middle of the box but was blocked, leaving it 1-0 at the break.

Villanova trailed 13-1 in shots through the first 45 minutes, 6-1 in shots on frame. Dickinson was busy in frame in that span, making five saves.

Huff started the scoring for the Noles in the second half after a quick pass from Ran Iwai. She sent an open look between a pair of 'Cats just about seven yards out and past a falling Dickinson to make it 2-0 in the 51^st minute.

Olivia Neal tried to cut into the lead in the 56^th minute with a long shot from nearly 40 yards out. Her look had a chance to meet a pair of 'Cats deep in the box but ended up sailing just right of the post and out of play.

FSU's Wrianna Hudson had a shot in the 86^th minute that resulted in the team's 10^th save of the game before a strong shot from Olivia Lebdaoui was blocked by Ire Omotayo in the mouth of the net.

Sophia Miller logged the final attempt of the game for the 'Cats, sending a shot from above the 18-yard box that went wide left of the net.

Ashlyn Puerta led all players on the pitch with six shot attempts on the day, landing one on goal. Peyton McGovern and Huff trailed her with four shots each. Four different Seminoles had two shots on frame.

Villanova heads back home on Thursday for a tussle with Wake Forest. That contest will kick off at 4 p.m. inside the friendly confines of the Higgins Soccer Complex.