VILLANOVA, Pa. – Despite strong scoring chances in the second half, Villanova battled to a 0-0 draw with Butler on Saturday for its ninth shutout of the season as the curtain closed on the 2025 campaign at Higgins Soccer Complex.
 
The clean sheet gives Villanova (9-8-1, 4-5-1 BIG EAST) its most shutouts in a season since 2007 when the Wildcats tallied 14. Of the nine collected by the 'Cats this season, eight of those were solo shutouts for senior goalkeeper Hannah Dickinson. Her five-save performance on Saturday put her into a tie for fifth on the single-season shutout list with Jillian Loyden (2004) and Janel Schillig (1999). She closes her time as a Wildcat with 14 saves in the Blue and White, good enough for fifth in the program record book.
 
The draw with Butler (5-4-8, 2-3-5 BIG EAST) and a win from Creighton on Saturday leaves the Wildcats out of postseason play at fifth place on the conference table. The finish marks the best for the team since 2019 when the 'Cats were fourth in the league with a 5-3-1 showing and .611 winning percentage in conference action, going 10-7-3 overall. At 4-5-1 this year, they had a .450 percentage for a second consecutive season.
 
"I thought that was a really even game," head coach Samar Azem said. "At any moment, they could've scored. At any moment, we could've scored and our team played like that. We asked our players to adapt a little bit, our style of play. We wanted to possess the ball a little more and they rose to that challenge and they did phenomenally well. Defensively, you know, we take a lot of pride in where we want teams to have the ball and what we want to allow them to do. The team did a fantastic job of that, but that's what they've been doing all season long."
 
Villanova was outshot 22-11 in the draw but led shots on goal 6-5. Alex Little led the team with four chances, three of those on frame. Butler's Talia Sommer led all players with five shots, three on goal.
 
Dickinson was called into action early with a save near the bottom right post on a shot from Sommer just two minutes into the contest. Avrie Nelsen had the first solid chance for Villanova in the 26^th minute from point-blank range in the middle of the penalty box, but Butler goalkeeper Addison Ash got a hand on it to push it above the net.
 
The sides were even on shots in the first half, 6-6. Both teams opened the second with chances that could not get near net until Butler's Alyssa Carlson forced Dickinson into another save in the 64^th minute. She sent a shot from beyond the 18-yard box that Dickinson leaned over to grab in the air near the left post. The senior picked up two more saves in the 71^st and 74^th minutes on transition plays.
 
Villanova applied immense pressure in the 89^th minute to put momentum on its side late. Nelsen played a ball in toward the net from right of the 18-yard box that hit off a Bulldog in the box and back into play where Gabby Koluch tried a short shot at the six-yard box that Ash fell to grab. Just 20 seconds later, Little went one-on-one with Ash inside the box, but Ash used a sliding effort to save the shot with her leg.
 
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