Villanova women’s soccer ‘reset our standard’ to become one of the nation’s best defensive teams
The Wildcats held opponents scoreless through their first six games of the season and are tied for fourth in the nation in goals-against average.
Villanova women’s soccer didn’t allow a goal through its first six games of the season.
Their streak of holding opponents scoreless ended last Thursday, in the 73rd minute against Delaware. However, instead of wilting, Villanova was unfazed, scoring moments after to grind out a 2-1 win.
“There was not a sense of doubt at all in a single moment [Thursday],” said graduate goalkeeper Hannah Dickinson of the Delaware match. “I think that even when we got scored on, you could feel the energy within the stadium and within our team that, we know we’re going to win.”
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The Wildcats closed nonconference play with an undefeated 5-0-3 record. While the defense’s scoreless streak was impressive, head coach Samar Azem says the team’s response to being scored on spoke volumes.
“If you play with trying to avoid something, it’s going to be the elephant in the room the whole time,” Azem said.
That punch, counterpunch mindset is what the fourth-year head coach has tried to instill at Villanova.
“It was almost the monkey on our back, you don’t want to give up a goal,” Azem said. “It happened. So what? Move on, let’s keep going forward, that’s our mindset. If we score, so what, move on [and] if they score, so what, move on. And the team does that phenomenally well.”
Entering Saturday’s game against St. John’s, Villanova set another milestone by becoming the first team in 19 years to surrender two goals across its first eight games.
When Azem took over the program in December 2021, Villanova had averaged 1.7 allowed goals per game across its past five seasons. Since 2022, that number has been cut nearly in half, averaging just 0.9 allowed goals.
So far this season, the Wildcats have scored 26 goals to two allowed and have emerged into the national rankings. The Wildcats are tied for fourth in goals-against average (.250).
“One of the first things we wanted to do was reset our standard for defending,” Azem said. “Each year, it’s gotten better and better, and to see how good it is so early on in the season is a testament to the work the players have put in.”
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Dickinson, a captain who was a Big East All-Conference second-team selection in 2024 and 2025, has been key to the success on defense.
This year, the Seattle native is seeing the roots that were built when she transferred into Villanova in 2024 coming to fruition.
“I got here three years ago and we’ve just been continuing to build the foundation,” said Dickinson, who has grabbed 10 saves this season. “We were incredibly close last year to breaking that surface a bit and I think this year we’ve only shown a tiny bit of what we can do, it’s the start of the season so it’s really exciting.”
Azem says the graduate goalkeeper has grown as a leader and is one of the best she’s ever come across throughout her coaching career.
“She’s one of the best aerial, one of the best at organizing the back line, and then she’s just a fantastic shot stopper,” Azem said. “When she’s called upon, you’re going to have to be excellent to beat her and that’s why a lot of teams find that it’s difficult to do, but the defense also makes that predictable for her.”
Defensively, veterans junior Meredith Palmer and Bucknell transfer Meghan White are leading the way, alongside Dickinson. The group is hold opposing teams to seven shot attempts per game, a big jump from last season’s 13.9.
On offense, sophomore Avrie Nelsen, last year’s conference rookie of the year, has tallied five goals so far this season to tie her total amount from 2025.
Azem credited the alumni and donors who made it possible for this year’s team to come back to campus two weeks early to train. She believes the extra time helped build the foundation.
And with Big East play approaching, Villanova’s defense will be a key part to its success.
“It’s kind of this identity shift, you go from being the underdog to just perform, show up, compete, and perform,” Azem said.
