INDIANAPOLIS – Despite tying its second-highest shot output of the season, Villanova fell to Butler 1-0 on Saturday at the Bud and Jackie Sellick Bowl.
The loss marks the first for Villanova (9-1-5, 4-1-2) since Oct. 25, 2025, ending its unbeaten streak at 14 games this season. Villanova outshot Butler (7-4-4, 2-2-3) 23-10 in the loss to match the second-most shots mark for the team set on August 16 against Lehigh. The Wildcats have now gone 11 straight meetings without a win over the Bulldogs, going 0-8-3 since their last win in the series back in 2014.
"This is our first loss on the season and we aren't down about it. We're not going to beat ourselves down about it. There's lessons to learn here," head coach
Samar Azem said. "There's a lot that this team has done this season that is really incredible and I'm very excited about how they're going to move forward. We're definitely taking lessons from this. I think, if anything, it's almost like a recharge. You kind of have that undefeated monkey off your back; you never want it to happen but it's all about framework and how you look at things. There's a lot from this match that is going to sharpen how we play moving forward, who we become and sharpen our identity, and I'm grateful for that."
Butler had the first real chance of the contest in the 23
rd minute when Riley Gumm took a shot inside the 18-yard box, but it was saved near the right post by
Hannah Dickinson. The 'Cats followed shortly after with a pair of quick chances that came up short.
Gabby Koluch took a shot that was blocked by a Bulldog defender.
Morgan Kotch picked up the redirect for a chance that went wide left.
In the 40
th minute,
Bella Panaccione tried to get a look to fall off a free kick, but it was saved by Addison Ash near the middle of the net.
By the scoreless halftime break, Villanova was already leading shots 9-4 and held a 3-1 advantage for shots on frame.
Villanova opened the second half on a shooting fury with solid chances from
Amalia Cardo and
Morgan Kotch that went just wide and a quick touch from
Meredith Palmer that sent right above the crossbar to land on top of the net.
It took until the 70
th minute for either side to score a goal as Butler became just the second team this season to score first on the 'Cats.
The Bulldogs had a transition play down the left side of the field where a pass inside found Elise May. She took a shot inside the six-yard that hit off
Meghan White and then sent the redirect through a group of Wildcats in the middle of the net for a 1-0 lead.
It was the first time since a 1-1 draw with Princeton on Sept. 20 that Villanova conceded an opening goal.
The final 10 minutes of action came with an offensive fury from the 'Cats. They attempted five shots in the final stretch, four of those coming in wild succession in the 88
th minute off of a Wildcat corner. Palmer had a shot that was block in the sequence followed by a chance from Kotch that came up as a team save for Butler. White tried her hand at a shot but Ash saved it to keep the Bulldog lead intact.
Dez Zapata gave one last effort in the 89
th minute but went out left. Kotch ended up leading all players with a career-best eight shots and five on goal.
Dickinson ended up making one save as the Bulldogs landed three shots on frame. The graduate keeper moves to 9-1-5 on the year with the result. Ash was needed for seven saves on the other end. May and Isabella Ayau led Butler with three shots each.
Villanova heads back to the Main Line on Wednesday to host DePaul in its penultimate home game of the regular season. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. inside Higgins Soccer Complex.
