• The Patriots are coming off of a 2024 campaign that saw them go 3-10-6, 1-5-4 in A-10 action. They were outscored 40-15 throughout the season, seeing just three goals total in their final five games of that season with a 1-3-1 showing down the stretch.
• Aaron Brunner is in his second season at the helm of the program after serving as an assistant coach at Florida State in the 2022 and 2023 seasons where he won a National Championship with the Seminoles and was part of an FSU staff that was named the 2023 United Soccer Coaches Coaching Staff of the Year.
• George Mason brought in 11 newcomers this season with a mix of four freshmen, four transfers and three graduate transfers.
• Redshirt-Sophomore Mia Arevalo-Delcid and Graduate Student Ariana Reyes, both newcomers to the team this season, have led the offense for George Mason through the first three matches, each with two points on a goal and three shots on frame. Reyes has the overall shooting edge with seven shot attempts, making at least two in each game thus far.
• Junior Libby Davy has been the primary netminder this season for the Patriots, playing in all 270 minutes of action. She has allowed seven goals with seven saves. She transfered to George Mason this season after playing the last two years at the University of the Pacific.

• It has been two seasons since Villanova and George Mason last went to battle with Villanova taking a 3-0 in Virginia on Sept. 3, 2023.
• Villanova is trails in the overall series with the Patriots 4-12-1 since it began back in 1983. The last five meetings have predominately gone to the Blue and White, going 3-2 in that span with an 8-6 scoring advantage. In each of the last four matches, Villanova has not allowed Mason to score more than one goal.
• Thursday is the first time since August 31, 2002 that the ‘Cats are hosting the Patriots with the last showing on the Main Line resulting in a 3-1 Wildcat victory. In the history between the two sides, Villanova is 1-5 when hosting George Mason.
• Thursday will be a Navy Out at Higgins as fans are encouraged to wear navy to the game along with The Nation, Villanova's student fan group.

Against the A-10: Villanova has built a 44-12-14 record against the A-10 throughout program history. The Wildcats have won each of the last two meetings with the league. Those wins came at George Mason in 2023, 3-0, and hosting Saint Joseph’s in 2021, 1-0.

Clean Sheet Commentary: Villanova’s 1-0 win over Columbia marked the 16th clean sheet for the ‘Cats in the Samar Azem era. Since 2022, the Wildcats have gone 12-0-4 when not conceding a goal. Senior keeper Hannah Dickinson registered that latest clean sheet over the Lions, marking her seventh as a Wildcat. 

Keep It Up: On the heels of its first win of the season, Villanova is looking to get back-to-back victories for the first time since early in the 2024 campaign when it pieced together a three-match winning streak. That string of wins was propelled by a pair of home wins over Temple, 4-0, and Penn, 1-0.

Villanova 1, Columbia 0 | August 24, 2025 - Villanova, Pa. - Higgins Soccer Complex

Villanova captured its first win of the season with a 1-0 result over Columbia, the first home victory for the team since August 23, 2024. Graduate striker Hannah Curtin came off the bench to record the lone goal on the day, marking her first as a Wildcat. In net, Hannah Dickinson moved to 1-2 on the year with the 12th clean sheet of her career, seventh as a Wildcat. Curtin’s goal in the 39th minute came off a long pass from Amalia Cardo who was able to evade a pair of Lions. Curtin raced past the Columbia back line to gain possession on the open ball, sending a shot from just inside the top of the 18-yard box with only Columbia’s Samantha Mahoney ahead of her. The keeper slid to stop the chance, but Curtin’s ball bounced its way into the bottom left corner of the net for the 1-0 lead.

Read the full recap here.