VILLANOVA, Pa. – Two new Wildcats are joining Villanova Women's Soccer this season via the transfer portal with Annie Boyden and Abby Kiil making their way to the Main Line.
These latest signees bring experience at the midfield and forward positions, respectively.
Annie Boyden | Sophomore | Midfielder
Salt Lake City, Utah | Skyline High School | Gonzaga University
Boyden comes to Villanova from Gonzaga where she played in 36 games over two seasons with nine starts. She scored a goal this past season and added on a pair of assists to bring her career total to three. In 1182 minutes on the pitch, she has landed five shots on goal in 12 attempts.
Prior to Gonzaga, the Salt Lake City native was a four-year varsity midfielder at Skyline High School where she was a two-time UHSAA 5A soccer State Champion in 2021 and 2022 along with being a 5A All-State Award Recipient. Academically, she was a member of the National Honor Society in 2023 and 2024, was a four-year High Honor Roll recipient from 2020-2024, was an AP Scholar with Distinction and a Mayor's Star of Excellence Award Recipient. She earned a First Team Northwest All-Conference ECNL nod with La Roca FC in 2023 and 2024, a team she played with from 20-18-2024, and was a 2021 UYSA National Champion with the team in 2021, earning a No. 6 National Ranking and a 20-0 record. That same year, she was a US Youth National Team ID Training Center Selectee as well. In her final club season, she was the leading goal scorer with 11 regular season net-movers for a team that finished fifth at the ECNL Champions League National Playoffs in 2024.
Azem on Boyden: "Annie possesses an exceptional soccer IQ. She is effective in her movement off the ball and is skilled in possession. She has the ability to create goals for us and will add an exciting dynamic to our attacking arsenal in the midfield."
Abby Kiil | Junior | Forward
San Diego, Calif. | Cathedral Catholic High School | Santa Clara
Kiil comes to Villanova after three years with a Santa Clara team that made runs into the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 2024 and 2023. During her time with the Broncos, she played in two games in her redshirt freshman campaign in 2024 after redshirting the 2023 year.
The San Diego, Calif. native was a dual-sport athlete at Cathedral Catholic High School, playing field hockey and soccer. On the pitch, she was a two-year varsity forward for the team in her freshman and sophomore seasons. The team won the league both seasons and won the Varsity CIF Championship in her freshman year. At the club level, Kiil played with San Diego Surf ECNL and made it to Nationals round of 16 in 2022 when the team was No. 2 in the nation. She was also a SoCall ODP pick in 2019-20.
Azem on Kiil: "Abby is a fast and smart player – she will give us a dynamic in our width that is dangerous and threatening. Her experiences in one of the country's top clubs and, later, top women's soccer programs will give her an edge in her game and add to the competitive nature of our program. She'll be a fun one to watch at Higgins."
