CHICAGO – Playing a player down for most of the game, Villanova snapped a two-match losing skid with a 1-0 win at DePaul on Wednesday evening at Wish Field.
Dez Zapata netted the game-winner in the 70
th minute that the Blue Demons could not answer.
This is the first win for Villanova (7-5, 2-2 BIG EAST) when playing at DePaul (3-7-1, 0-2-1 BIG EAST) since 2011, ending a streak of six-straight losses in the Windy City. Head coach
Samar Azem's team moves to six shutouts wins.
Zapata's game-winner is the first of her career, coming off the bench to give the Wildcats the push it needed after a red card was shown to
Tea Gambardella in the 31
st minute, forcing the Wildcats to play with 10 players the rest of the way.
"We saw 30 minutes into the game we went down a player when we had momentum and this team did not stop," Azem said. "When he went to review it, I looked at their faces and I just had this feeling they were going to come together in the biggest way and they did. As a coach, what can you ask for more than that? I mean, just fought hard, created a lot of great chances, played with so much heart. Dez's goal was a dream. Coaching this team is a dream."
Villanova had shots aplenty in the first 30 minutes of action, making seven attempts in that span.
Avrie Nelsen had a great look in the sixth minute after some solid offensive movement down the field, but her chance in the box went just above the net. Later in the 22
nd minute,
Bella Panaccione sent a rocket from the top right corner of the 18-yard box toward the opposite side of the net that hit off the iron and back into play for DePaul to clear out.
DePaul's Maddie Iro saved both of the shots that Villanova put on frame in that opening 30. She picked up a low shot from
Hannah Curtin in the 22
nd before another tremendous effort in the box from Panaccione that she grabbed near the post.
Despite playing with 10 players after the 31
st minute red card, Villanova kept the Blue Demons from attempting a shot down the stretch, sending the match into the break still in a scoreless stalemate.
The Wildcats led shots 7-1 through the opening 45 with that lone DePaul shot coming from Tewabech Seerup in the 24
th minute.
It took until the 68
th minute for Villanova to get another shot attempt.
Morgan Kotch sent a chance from the top of the box that dribbled toward Iro for a save.
Panaccione found Curtin near the top of the box with a couple Blue Demons near her in the 70
th minute to create the chance that Villanova needed. She moved around them to send a pass into the box where Zapata raced in with a couple defenders following. She sent a shot from the left side of the six-yard box that got past an oncoming Blue Demon and through the legs of Iro for a 1-0 lead.
The goal ended a 277-minute stretch of play without a goal for the 'Cats that reached back to the BIG EAST opener against Seton Hall on Sept. 20.
DePaul had a pair of shot attempts come in the final 12 minutes from Sierra Bennett and Sienna Gonzalez, but
Hannah Dickinson was there to save both, keeping the win intact for her fifth shutout of the season.
The Wildcats finished with a 10-6 shot advantage, 4-2 in shots on goal.
Gabby Koluch led everyone on the pitch with three attempts.
Villanova heads into a 10-day layoff before finishing off this three-game road swing at St. John's on Oct. 11.
