SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. –
Morgan Kotch had a stellar showing in her home state, scoring both goals in Villanova's 2-0 win over Seton Hall on Wednesday night at Owen T. Carroll Field.
The victory keeps Villanova (9-0-5, 4-0-2) unbeaten through 14 games, marking the second-longest unbeaten streak in program history since the 2006 team went 15 games without a loss. The result also extends Villanova's unbeaten streak in the series with Seton Hall (5-2-5, 1-2-3) to five consecutive games, going 4-0-1 since 2022 and outscoring the Pirates 7-1 in that span.
"This is a fantastic Seton Hall team; they are a hard team to beat, a hard team to break down," head coach
Samar Azem said. "To get three points on the road is hard everywhere you go in the BIG EAST. To get three points against a solid defensive team is also very hard."
Kotch, a native of Yardville, N.J., notched her second brace of the season in the victory. She led all players with five shots and three on goal.
Seton Hall had the first best chance for scoring in the ninth minute when Gianna Angelillo sent a shot from inside the 18-yard that hit off the bottom left crossbar and out of play.
Avrie Nelsen answered with a chance in the 16
th minute after a header fell into the box, but Katherine Kleinsmith quickly fell on it for the save.
The Wildcats had a dangerous chance in the 24
th minute that saw a sequence of three shots stay out of the net.
Dez Zapata rocketed a chance that hit the inner woodwork before going back into play.
Amalia Cardo took a stab off the redirect that was saved by a Pirate defender in the middle of the net before Zapata tried a header that went over the crossbar and out of play.
Kotch scored the breakthrough in the 40
th minute for her fourth goal of the season. Kaydee Amarose played a pass forward to Kotch who played back to
Gabby Koluch for some space. The junior midfielder sent an arching look into the box that hit off a Pirate before falling in front of Kotch who rocketed a shot with her left foot past Kleinsmith and into the back of the net for a 1-0 lead.
The goal marked the first scored on the Pirates since October 3 when they fell to Xavier, 2-0.
Kotch needed just 54 seconds into the second half to double the Wildcat lead.
After the 'Cats were awarded a corner kick,
Sophia Miller sent in the set piece that
Avrie Nelsen quickly nudged toward Koluch to arch a look into the box. With a Pirate close on her back, Kotch was able to turn and punch in a turning shot with her left foot that went over the head of Kleinsmith and into the net for a 2-0 advantage.
Nicole Proia tried to cut the lead in the half in the 56
th minute with a rocket of an attempt, but her shot was saved by
Hannah Dickinson near the left post.
Dickinson needed just one save in the victory, bringing her to 9-0-5 in goal this season. She now has eight shutouts on the year, moving into a tie for third-place on the program's career shutouts list alongside Janel Schillig (1998-01) with 22.
The Wildcats outshot Seton Hall 17-7 in the win with a 7-1 shot on goal advantage.
Villanova takes a trip out to the Midwest this Saturday to take on Butler. First kick from Indianapolis is set for 7 p.m.
