NEW YORK – Four Wildcats were recognized by the BIG EAST in its annual award announcement made on Wednesday afternoon, highlighted by Freshman of the Year honors for Avrie Nelsen. She along with Hannah Dickinson, Gabby Koluch and Meredith Palmer were all tabbed as All-BIG EAST selections, as well.
 
The five honors mark the most for the program in one year since the conference also recognized four Wildcats with five nods in 2006 across the three All-Conference teams and with a major award. 
 
Dickinson and Koluch were tabbed Second-Team selections while Palmer and Nelsen landed spots on the Third Team.
 
Nelsen's plaudit is the first major award for the Wildcats since 2009 when Heidi Sabatura was tabbed Rookie and the eighth since 1999. The Dix Hills, N.Y. native started in 17 of the team's 18 games this season and was the leading scoring with 10 points on five goals, two of those being game-winners. She is the first Villanova freshman to score at least five goals in a single season since Chloe O'Neill in 2018.
 
The forward placed 12 of her 22 shot attempts on goal this season and had at least one shot in 14 matches. She was the lone Wildcat to score a multi-goal game on the year, recording a brace in the 3-1 win at Penn on Sept. 14.
 
Dickinson is now a back-to-back All-BIG EAST Second Team goalkeeper after having an impressive year in net, starting in all 18 contests with 1588 minutes played for the second-most among BIG EAST keepers. Her .964 goals against average and .802 save percentage were both third in the league while the 69 saves she grabbed were second. She anchored the Villanova backline in nine clean sheets, eight of those going down as solo shutouts for the senior. Those put her at second in the conference and 33^rd in the nation. She reset her career-nest for saves at 15 on the road at No. 12 Georgetown this season. Throughout the season, she was recognized by the conference with weekly honors five times.
 
The Seattle, Wash. native's two seasons in the Wildcat uniform saw her go 14-15-7 in net after a 9-8-1 campaign this season that helped propel her into the program record book. She is now tied for fifth on the single-season shutout list at eight. On the career ledger side of the book, she is tied for fourth with a 1.10 career goals against average and fifth with 14 shutouts as a Wildcat.
 
Koluch was a consistent piece of the puzzle for the 'Cats this season, starting in all 18 matches for 1462 minutes of action to garner her first-ever postseason laurel. She was second on the team with 30 shot attempts, landing 11 of those on goal. She accounted for six points for a second consecutive year, scoring two goals and providing two assists. The Freehold, N.J. native was a TopDrawerSoccer Team of the Week Honorable Mention back on Sept. 23 after scoring the game-winner in the 1-0 Senior Day win over Seton Hall, the first game-winning goal of her career. She had a career-best scoring day in the win over Marquette this season as well, logging a goal and an assist for a three-point day in that 3-0 victory.
 
Much like the other two, Palmer's first-ever All-Conference laurel comes after a season that also saw her be a consistent contributor. The sophomore defender was made 17 starts in 18 appearances with 1575 minutes. She played the full 90 in 14 of those contests. The Waxhaw, N.C. native was crucial in helping the team collect nine clean sheets and a .500 shutout percentage, a number good enough for third in the league and 36^th nationally. She provided a spark on the defensive side of the ball while also opening up scoring opportunities for the offense. She had seven shot attempts on the year including a career-high two against Creighton.