VILLANOVA, Pa. – Villanova opened the 2023 campaign in shutout fashion, taking a 3-0 victory over Marist on Thursday afternoon at the Higgins Soccer Complex.
Villanova (1-0) had three different Wildcats find the back of the net in the victory with Maddie Fried, Jackie Richards and Gabby Koluch all scoring. Richards also had an assist late, giving her a game-high three points in her Villanova debut. Brigid Molloy helped open up play for a pair of those goals, adding a game-high two assists that matched a single-game high for her career.
“I’m so happy for her. A lot of our players have been coming back from pretty significant injuries and Brigid is one of those who has been unbelievably resilient,” head coach Samar Azem said. “She has worked so hard over the summer, you know, she really committed to the process this spring and in the summer. For her to come in, she’s been playing and training so confidently, I think she took over that game for bits and pieces of it.”
The Wildcats brought a balanced effort that saw it build a 19-3 shot advantage over Marist (0-1), 13 of those coming in the second half, with a 6-1 margin in shots on goal on the day. Gabby Koluch led the team with a career-high five shot attempts. The three-goal winning margin marks the biggest win for Villanova since a 3-0 win over Colorado College on August 27, 2021.
“Really, really proud of the team,” Azem said. “Marist is really, really well-organized. They did a great job of taking space away. When you play games like that, you have to find pockets of space and you have to create and move teams, it’s difficult. I think they were really well-organized and did such a great job. Our team solved some of those problems that last year we weren’t solving, so it was really good to see. I’m proud of the girls.”
Fried opened the scoring in the 26th minute. The junior midfielder evaded a pair of Marist defenders and lobbed a short pass back to Molloy. She then pushed the ball ahead to Fried on a breakaway run in the box, who raced toward the keeper at the corner of the six-yard box and sent a shot into the net to put Villanova ahead 1-0.
Just over two minutes later, Richards scored her first goal in the Blue and White with another helping hand from Molloy. Molloy picked up a pass from Alex Little that she was able to take into open space to find an approaching Richards. The graduate forward made a turn move to get a shot off just past the foot of a Red Fox at the top of the penalty box that sailed into the back corner and over the head of Maddy Catalanotti, giving the ‘Cats a 2-0 lead in the 29th minute.
Villanova closed the half holding the Red Foxes scoreless thanks to a 6-1 shot advantage. Marist’s lone shot attempt did not land on frame either while three of Villanova’s attempts were on goal.
Later in the 87th minute, Koluch sent a look to an open Richards near the top right corner of the 18-yard box. Richards then sent an arching cross deep inside the box to Koluch that the freshman forward headed into the net to cement the 3-0 victory.
The Wildcats are back at home on Sunday to host Lehigh in the last home game for the month of August before embarking on a five-game road trip. Kickoff against the Mountain Hawks is set for 1 p.m. from Higgins Soccer Complex.
