Barcelos, Portugal – Former Villanova goalkeeper Payton Woodward has signed a professional contract with Gil Vicente Futebol Clube, the club announced last week.
 
Before this, she also spent time playing professionally for Brunswick Juventus FC and HK Kópavogur. She joins Jackie Richards as a former Wildcats in pros who both played with at Villanova during the Samar Azem era. Richards recently joined Brooklyn FC after a stint with Scottish Women's Premier League side Heart of Midlothian.
 
The Fayetteville, Ark. native logged 21 starts in 22 appearances as a Wildcat in two seasons with 26 games played in her entire collegiate career. Of her 1923 minutes in net over her career, 1864 were played in a Villanova kit after transferring to the Main Line from Arkansas ahead of the 2022 season. She made 58 saves with 23 allowed for a 1.12 goals against average, saving at a .716 clip. She went 4-8-9 in her career.

Woodward's final season in the Blue and White saw her start in all 18 games the team played, logging 1620 minutes of action. She made 48 saves with a .706 save percentage, allowing 20 goals with a 1.11 GAA and adding four shutouts to her ledger. She made her Villanova debut in 2022, starting in three of her four appearances for 245 minutes.