Villanova Univeristy Athletics

Against the Mountaineers

• Sunday marks the 22nd all-time meeting between Villanova and West Virginia since the series began in 1996. The Wildcats trail 5-11-5 in the series.
• The last time these two sides met was Sept. 6, 2015 in Morgantown when Villanova fell to a No. 11 West Virginia team, 8-0.
• In the last five matches against each other, Villanova has gone 1-3-1. The win in that span was a 4-1 victory at Villanova on Oct. 2, 2011.
• Trips to Morgantown have been a true test for the ‘Cats since 1997 with Villanova trailing in road games 2-8-1. The program has not won a match at West Virginia since the 2004 season when it won both games on the Mountaineers home field on September 24 and October 31, both by 1-0 margins.

Facing the Big 12: This will be Villanova’s fifth meeting with a Big 12 opponent in program history, a league the team has gone 0-3-1 against. Since 2009, Villanova has dropped three consecutive games to Big 12 sides.

Finding the Back of the Net: Villanova has scored at least one goal in each of the five games to start the season. Graduates have played a big role in scoring for the ‘Cats, owning seven of the 11 goals scored thus far. Makayla Stadler and Jackie Richards both lead the team with three goals this season, tying them for second-most among BIG EAST players, and are the only Wildcats to have multi-goal games.

Richards’ Reach: Jackie Richards has already made an offensive impact, landing 2.40 of her shots on goal per game, a mark that leads BIG EAST players and 14th nationally as of September 6.

Helping Hands: Villanova has dished out a BIG EAST-high 15 assists this season, putting the ‘Cats 25th nationally and 19th with a 3.00 average through five games. Four Wildcats have combined for eight of those with Gabby Koluch, Megan Donnelly, Brigid Molloy and Susanna Soderman all racking up two each.

Tracking the Clean Sheets: With three shutouts this season, Villanova is one clean sheet away from marking last year’s total in well-over half the time. Last year’s group had its third shutout in the ninth game of the season, a 1-0 win over St. John’s on Oct. 2. The fourth of that campaign came the 14th game in a 0-0 draw with UConn on Oct. 20.

Villanova’s Trio of Headers Shut Down George Mason, 3-0

FAIRFAX, Va. – Headers and set pieces from the Villanova offense proved to be dangerous on Sunday as the Wildcats defeated George Mason, 3-0, at George Mason Stadium. All three Wildcat goals were scored on headers with two coming off of corner kicks in the second half.
 
"First half was a little bit slower for us; it's a hot day out here," Villanova head coach Samar Azem said. "Mason does an amazing job of taking space away in their defensive half and we had to adjust. We hadn't seen that yet and we had to adjust. So, first half was a little slower, but second half was fantastic, you know, to be able to see a lot of players rise."
 
This latest win marks the third 3-0 clean sheet victory for Villanova (3-0-2) this season. Villanova was threatening on set pieces with a season-high 12 corner kicks, seven of those coming in the second half. The Blue and White offense forced George Mason (0-6) goalkeeper Ginny Fronk to make seven saves on the afternoon. All-told the 'Cats outshot the Patriots 15-4, holding a 10-1 advantage on goal. The is the first road win for Villanova in the series with George Mason since Oct. 30, 2001.
 
"We used a lot of players today and every time we made a substitution in the second half, I felt like we got even better and better," Azem said. "I was really proud of the way the players played, solved some problems and scored three fantastic goals. Their goalkeeper did an outstanding job of keeping them in the game."
 
Jackie Richards paced the Wildcats with a career-high two-goal outing, landing all three of her shot attempts on target. Alex Little provided a spark off the bench, netting the third header halfway through the second half to ice the victory. Both second half goals came off pinpoint corners from Susanna Soderman for the first two assists of her career. Her four points also mark a new career-high.
 
"I think it was definitely a team effort today, as it always is," Richards said." So it's really great to be out here and be with them and work together and just kind of take that step day-by-day to see who we are."
 
An offensive gem started the goal scoring in the 20th minute as Olivia Marrone picked up a clearance attempt from a Mason defender near midfield. She sent a pass to Gabby Koluch who went one-on-one with a defender before sending a glowing lob into the box from nearly 35 yards out. Her chance found the head of Richards who was at the top of the goal area, getting a header past Fronk for a 1-0 lead.
 
Villanova held onto its 1-0 lead through the rest of the half, outshooting George Mason 6-2 in the opening 45 minutes. Four of those attempts landed on frame for 'Cats while Mason could not land a look on target.
 
Just over seven minutes minute the second half, Richards struck again for her brace. Soderman's corner sailed into the box where it met the head of the graduate forward who nodded it in from deep inside the goal area to extend the lead, 2-0. She now has three goals on the season.
 
In the 62nd minute, it was Little's head that another Soderman corner would find. The set piece bounced off the freshman by the near post with the ball getting just between a Patriot defender and Fronk to make it a 3-0 lead.
 
George Mason had a chance to get on the board in the 85th minute, but Kiyomi McCausland's chance was saved by Payton Woodward, the lone save needed for Villanova's keeper on the day.
 
Villanova takes a week-long layoff before heading to Morgantown, W.Va. next Sunday to face West Virginia. Kickoff with the Mountaineers is set for 1 p.m. at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium.