VILLANOVA, Pa. – Villanova held onto a one-goal lead for 51 minutes to pick up its first win of the 2025 season, shutting out Columbia 1-0 on Sunday afternoon at the Higgins Soccer Complex.
The win puts Villanova (1-2) and 2-0-1 against Columbia (0-1) all-time and marks the first home victory for the Wildcats since August 23, 2024. The Wildcats are now 12-0-4 when shutting out opponents in head coach
Samar Azem's four-year tenure.
Graduate striker
Hannah Curtin came off the bench to record the lone goal on the day, marking her first as a Wildcat. In net,
Hannah Dickinson moved to 1-2 on the year with the 12
th clean sheet of her career, seventh as a Wildcat.
Curtin's goal in the 39
th minute came off a long pass from
Amalia Cardo who was able to evade a pair of Lions. Curtin raced past the Columbia back line to gain possession on the open ball, sending a shot from just inside the top of the 18-yard box with only Columbia's Samantha Mahoney ahead of her. The keeper slid to stop the chance, but Curtin's ball bounced its way into the bottom left corner of the net for the 1-0 lead.
That goal marked the earliest scored for the 'Cats this season, besting Cardo's goal in the 70
th minute in the season opener against Michigan.
Columbia had two chances to score in the opening 45 with shots from Maia Tabion and Nicole Kim both being saved by Dickinson. By the halftime break, both sides were even in shots at 4-4 but Columbia had 2-1 shots on goal advantage.
The Lions tried to answer early in the second half with a trio of attempts from Evelyn Javers that were each captured by Dickinson, keeping the Blue and White lead intact. All three of those chances went on to be a game-high for both sides. Cardo had a chance to extend the lead in the 74
th minute with a look from just inside the top of the 18-yard box, but Mahoney used a kick save to keep the ball out of the net.
With time waning, Dema Elder lined up for a Columbia free kick in the 89th that she sent sailing toward the net but was pushed over the crossbar by Dickinson to put the game away.
Dickinson finished the day with six saves in the win. Cardo and Curtin led the 'Cats with two shots each as the group was outshot 7-10, 2-6 for shots on frame.
The Wildcats are back at home on Thursday to host George Mason in a Navy Out game. That contest is set for a 4 p.m. kickoff at the Higgins Soccer Complex.
