OMAHA, Neb. – A strong defensive showing for Villanova propelled the Wildcats to their first BIG EAST win of the season, taking down Creighton 2-0 on Thursday night at Morrison Stadium.
Villanova (4-4-2, 1-0-1) has now recorded back-to-back clean sheets to open league action while logging its fourth shutout win of the year. All-told, the group has five clean sheets on the year. The Wildcats' back unit kept a battling Creighton (3-4-1, 0-2) side at bay, not allowing it to score on a plethora of shot attempts. The 'Cats trailed in shots 15-9 while being just narrowly behind in shots on goal 8-7 with goalkeeper
Hannah Dickinson making all eight saves, her second-most of the season.
Lauren Belcuore and
Gabby Koluch found the back of the net in the win, both scoring their first goals of the season.
"It's a tough conference and when you can go on the road and get three points and a shutout, that's really hard to do," Villanova head coach
Samar Azem said. "Credit to Creighton. They're having a great year. They're a hard team to play. Coach Jimmy's done a fantastic job in a short time here and those players are super bought into what they're trying to do. It was a complete battle tonight, but I couldn't be more proud of my team. They fought. I haven't seen this out of us since my three years here. I've got goosebumps just thinking about proud I am of them. They fought hard tonight and this is a well-earned win."
Belcuore broke through for the 'Cats in the 16
th minute.
Susanna Soderman played a ball toward the net that was deflected behind the Creighton keeper and hit off the inner part of the right post. A charging Belcuore, with a Bluejay in tow, was able get a quick touch on the ball to get it into the net, making it a 1-0 Villanova lead.
That goal marked her first of the season for the senior and the fifth of her career.
Creighton peppered shot attempts down the stretch in the first half, forcing goalkeeper
Hannah Dickinson to make a pair of saves in the 33
rd minutes, one of those being a diving grab off a Lara Kazandijian shot.
Alex Little had a pair of strong chances in the final eight minutes of the opening half, sending both toward net from well behind the 18-yard box but they were each saved by Alyssa Zalac.
The Wildcats trailed in first half shots 7-4, 5-3 for shots on frame. The one-goal lead marked the third time this season that they led the way heading into the second half.
Early in the second half,
Myla McLeod created a dangerous attempt for the 'Cats to extend their lead. She sent a cross inside that found
Madison Shumate near the penalty spot. She fired a chance that went right at Zalac, keeping it to a one-goal game.
Villanova was awarded a penalty kick in the 68
th minute when Little was fouled just inside the box by Allison Williams. Koluch lined up for the attempt, sending it past a diving Zalac and into the back right of the net to make it a 2-0 lead for the 'Cats.
That was the second penalty attempt of the sophomore's career, both coming this season, and her first successful conversion.
In the 74
th minute, Creighton's Azumi Manriki fired a rocket from the top of the 18-yard box that forced Dickinson to make a heroic dive to toward the left post for a layout save off to keep the lead intact.
The 'Cats won another penalty attempt in the 76
th minute after a collision in the box between
Susanna Soderman and Stella Downing. Soderman lined up for the kick, but Zalac used a falling kick save toward the left of the net to keep the ball out and send the ball back into play.
The senior led the 'Cats with three shot attempts on the night.
Creighton's Manriki led all players with four shots, landing two on frame. Zalac closed the night with five saves.
Villanova is back inside the friendly confines of Higgins Soccer Complex on Sunday, hosting No. 21 Xavier at 1 p.m. for Alumni Day.
