Villanova women’s soccer didn’t allow a goal through its first six games of the season.
The team’s streak of holding opponents scoreless finally 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],” graduate goalkeeper Hannah Dickinson said 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.”
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 fifth-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.”
As it enters Saturday’s home game against St. John’s, Villanova has set another milestone by becoming the first team in 19 years to surrender two or fewer goals across its first eight games.
When Azem took over the program in December 2021, Villanova had allowed 1.7 goals per game across in its previous five seasons. Since 2022, that number has been cut dramatically to 1.02.
So far this season, the Wildcats have outscored opponents 26-2 and have climbed the national rankings defensively. The Wildcats are tied for fourth in the nation 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.”
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 to Villanova from USC 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 made 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 [keepers], 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.”
Junior Meredith Palmer and Bucknell transfer Meghan White have anchored the backline in front of Dickinson. The group is holding opposing teams to seven shot attempts per game, a massive improvement on last season’s mark of 13.9.
Offensively, sophomore Avrie Nelsen, last year’s conference rookie of the year, has tallied five goals in eight games so far this season to equal her total in 18 games 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 remain a key part of 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.
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