Villanova Univeristy Athletics

• Thursday will be the 12th all-time meeting between the ‘Cats and the Bulldogs since the series began in 2001. Villanova trails 4-6-1 all-time, going 0-6-1 in the last seven meetings. The Wildcats
  have not seen a win in the series since Sept. 25, 2014.
• When playing on the road this season, Butler has gone 1-2-1. The last two road trips were conference contests, drawing at Xavier, 1-1, and winning at Marquette, 1-1.
• The Bulldogs have scored at least one goal in each of their last six games with their largest win being a 4-0 victory over Ball State on Sept. 14. The scoring margin between them and their opponents has been close this season, holding a 19-15 lead. Norah Jacomen leads the team with 15 points and seven goals this season. She is second in the BIG EAST for goals and 39th in the nation. Her total points land her at third in the league.
• Butler returns four All-BIG EAST picks from a year ago including Offensive Player of the Year
  Abigail Isger and Freshman of the Year Talia Sommer. Sommer is second on the team in points
  with 12 on four goals and four assists while Isger is fourth for points with five, netting a goal and
  adding a trio of assists.
• Butler was slated to finish fourth in the league’s Preseason Coaches’ Poll ahead of this season
  after going 7-7-5 last season with a 4-3-3 record in conference action. The fourth-seeded Bulldogs fell to Creighton in the BIG EAST Tournament quarterfinals in a penalty shootout, 6-5, after going 1-1 through two overtime periods.

• Villanova is 5-4 all-time against the Bluejays, holding a 3-1 advantage in meetings on the Main
  Line.
• The Bluejays are 1-3-2 away from Omaha this season, falling in back-to-back road trips to UConn
  and Providence.
• Creighton brings back an All-BIG EAST First Team selection from last season in Lara Kazandijan
  after leading the team with nine points on four goals and one assist. This season, she has logged
  an assist and has landed eight of her 16 shot attempts on frame.
• The Bluejays have been outscored by their opponents 22-12 through the first 12 games of the
  season. They are second in the BIG EAST with 4.42 saves per game as a unit. Offensively, the
  group has the third-best shot accuracy clip at .464.
• Abigail Santana leads the Bluejays with nine points this season on three goals and three assists,
  both also being team-highs.
• With 10 starts on the year, Keelan Terrell has been busy in net for Creighton. The netminder holds
  a 2-4-4 record with three shutouts, allowing 19 goals while making 41 saves. Those saves are the
  third-most among BIG EAST goalkeepers while her 4.10 saves per game are second in the league.
• Creighton was tabbed to finish fifth in the BIG EAST Preseason Coaches’ Poll after making it
  to the BIG EAST Tournament Semifinals as the fifth-seed last year where it fell to top-seeded
  Georgetown, 1-0.

Welcome to Our House: This is the fifth home game of the season for Villanova. The ‘Cats are 2-0-2 within the friendly confines of Higgins Soccer Complex. Villanova has gone the last six home games without a loss spanning this season and the 2022 campaign, going 3-0-3 in that time with a 9-4 scoring advantage. The last time Villanova fell on its home turf was to Georgetown, 1-0, on Oct. 13. 2022.

Against the BIG EAST: The Wildcats are 101-130-30 all-time against the BIG EAST with a 4-7-2 record in head coach Samar Azem’s tenure. Villanova has gone 3-1-1 in its last five home games against the league.

Luck of the Draw: A draw in either of this weekend’s matches would give Villanova six on the season, matching a program-high for draws in a single season that was set by the 2007 squad.

Defensive Unit: The Blue and White defense has only allowed eight goals this season, tying it for fourth in the BIG EAST and 31st in the nation as of Oct. 1. Sunday’s 2-0 loss to St. John’s marked the first time this season that Villanova allowed more than one goal in a game. The ‘Cats have a .727 GAA, landing it fifth in the league and 47th nationally.

Experienced Scoring: Graduates have played a big role in scoring for the ‘Cats, owning 10 of the 15 goals scored thus far. Makayla Stadler leads the team with five goals on the year, followed closely by Jackie Richards who has found the back of the net four times through the first nine contests. Stadler is fifth in the league with 0.56 goals per game while Richards is fifth with 2.73 shots per game.

Wildcats Drop Road Contest at St. John’s, 2-0

QUEENS, N.Y. – Villanova dropped its second consecutive game on Sunday afternoon, falling to St. John's, 2-0, at Belson Stadium.
 
The loss saw Villanova (4-2-5, 1-2-0 BIG EAST) go without a shot on goal for the first time since April 1, 2021. Overall, St. John's (6-4-2, 1-3 BIG EAST) led the shot tally 9-2 with the two Blue and White shots coming from Susanna Soderman and Alex Fava. Goalkeeper Payton Woodward was called upon for three saves, her second-highest mark of the year.
 
"Full Credit to St. John's. I thought that they were very sound defensively," head coach Samar Azem said. "They kept us off the scoreboard, they also limited our shots, and their work rate was incredible today. They capitalized on transitions really well against us, and I think we didn't handle that really well on all fronts. It's not just the players' fault; the coaches are in it too. I didn't think we adjusted well today. I think today was a step backward for us in our process. I do think that's OK though because that's part of our identity growing. I think we needed a day like today. This is the first time we've been completely outplayed and pulled out of our own game, and I think this is a great learning opportunity for us."
 
Villanova faced its first halftime deficit of the year thanks to a Jailene DeJesus goal at the 35:38 mark. Lauryn Tran doubled the lead at 69:04 for the Red Storm.
 
St. John's created a pair of chances early that the defense was able to keep away. The second chance came off the foot of Athina Sofroniou from nearly 25 yards out, forcing Woodward to go airborne at the top corner to tip it out.  
 
Soderman had the lone first half shot for Villanova. The junior midfielder lined up for a free kick in the 33rd minute that sailed high right. Seconds later, Woodward came up with another big save, this time on a deep rocket attempt from Jess Garziano.
 
The Johnnies took the lead on a quick play inside the box in the 36th minute. Garziano sent a pass to DeJesus who was covered by a pair of Wildcat defenders. She evaded both to get a look past Woodward, playing up near the penalty spot for a 1-0 advantage.
 
Woodward came up with another big time stop in the first two minutes of the second half. St. John's Nicole Gordon went one-on-one with the graduate keeper, taking a shot that went right at Woodward, immediately falling on the ball after it bounced off her legs.
 
Villanova had a chance to level the contest in the 52nd minute on a Gabby Koluch corner. Her shot found Fava in the box whose header in the goal box went wide right.
 
St. John's doubled its lead in the 70th minute after Ava Collins played a pass to Tran. She sent a chance 10 yards out that got past a diving Woodward to make it a 2-0 match.
 
Villanova had a chance to counter in the 82nd minute when Jackie Richards served a ball inside to Makayla Stadler. She tried to gain control, but the Red Storm keeper Maria O'Sullivan fell on the ball to give possession back to the Johnnies.
 
Villanova returns to the Higgins Soccer Complex for a pair of BIG EAST contests. The 'Cats host Butler on Thursday at 3 p.m. and Creighton on Sunday at 1 p.m.