Villanova Univeristy Athletics

CAREER HONORS AND AWARDS
All-BIG EAST	2025 (third team)
BIG EAST Freshman of the Year	2025
BIG EAST Freshman of the Week	2025 (Sept. 15; Oct. 13)

Career: Made a splash in her debut season with BIG EAST Freshman of the Year and All-Conference Third Team honors … Has made 17 Opening XI appearances in 18 matches … Has scored 10 points on five goals.

2025: Lauded as BIG EAST Freshman of the Year and an All-BIG EAST Third Team selection … Landed BIG EAST Freshman of the Week honors twice … Started in 17 of her 188 appearances with 1270 minutes of action … Led the team with 10 points on five goals, two of those being game-winners … First Villanova freshman to score five goals in a season since 2018 … Scored a brace at Penn (9/14) for a season-high four-point day, also making five shot attempts with four on goal … Landed 12 of her 22 shot attempts on frame with at least one shot attempt in 14 matches; BIG EAST: Opened nine of her 10 appearances … Netted the game-winning goal against Marquette (10/15).

High School: Nelsen played at the club level with SUSA for six years, earning Player of the Month laurels in 2020 and All-Conference First Team status for the 2023-24 season. At Saint Anthony’s High School, she was an All-League, All-Long Island second team and All-State First Team selection. She earned CHSAANY Offensive Player of the Year status in 2023 and was part of Newsday Top 100. Over three years, she scored 30 varsity goals. Academically, she was a three-year scholar athlete, member of the National Honor Society and was a St. Bonaventure honoree.

Personal: Native of Dix Hills, N.Y. born Sept. 9, 2007 … One of three children to Kim and David Nelsen … Has two siblings, Braylin and Ethan … “I chose Villanova because of the competitive atmosphere for both academics and athletics. Villanova attracts hard-working students, which are the type of people I want to surround myself with. The calm environment and beautiful campus was huge when it came to choosing Villanova along with all the academic programs they have to offer.”