Villanova women unable to overcome three-goal first half deficit in season opener

The college soccer season officially kicked off on Thursday on a beautiful afternoon at Higgins Soccer Complex and things started how the Wildcats wanted with a decent home crowd cheering them on.

When Megan Donnelly received a ball from Gabby Koluch and ripped a shot toward net it looked like it would be a dream start to the season but Donnelly James Madison goalkeeper Sofia DeCerb came up with the diving stop to deny the opener and just six minutes later Ariana Reyes was the one bagging the opener for the visitors off a free kick.

The goal was a momentum shift and by the time halftime came, the Dukes had a 3-0 lead through additional goals from Boiling Springs native Shea Collins (assisted by Reyes) and Brooke Potter.

Facing an uphill battle in the second half, the hosts did respond with a better half – rookie Morgan Kotch had a couple sniffs at goal and a penalty shout – but weren’t able to produce any goals to mount a comeback.

“Second half, we adjusted really well, had a lot of good moments, but not good enough,” head coach Samar Azem told Villanova.com. “So we go back to practice, we don’t change who we are. We just keep getting better and better from here.”

Highly-rated local recruits Kotch and Madison Shumate both made their college debuts in the match with Shumate starting and playing 66 minutes while rookies Meredith Palmer and Amalia Cardo. Grad transfer Olivia Neal (Campbell) and junior goalkeeper Hannah Dickinson (USC transfer) also made their Wildcats debuts in the starting XI.

Villanova hosts Temple on Sunday afternoon at 4 p.m. The Owls dropped their home opener to Monmouth 1-0 on Thursday.