College Soccer
Delaware native Dez Zapata leads Villanova to first Big East Final since ’03
Second seed Villanova advanced to the Big East Championship after defeating Seton Hall 3-0 in the semifinal this evening. This was the Wildcats’ first appearance in the tournament since their first-round upset in 2019. Nova finished the regular season 12-1-5 (7-1-2 in conference).
The Wildcats will face Xavier University in the championship match this Saturday at 7:00 PM. Villanova advances to its first Big East Championship since 2003, when it defeated Boston College for its first and only title.
On the other side, the Xavier Musketeers advanced after a thrilling 5-4 penalty shootout win over Marquette. The reigning conference champions will play in their fifth consecutive title match on Saturday. Xavier took the lead late in the second half on a goal from fifth-year Regan Dancer.
However, Marquette did not go quietly. A set-piece equalizer sent the match to extra time, where penalty kicks decided the result.
In the second semifinal, Villanova started on the front foot, with early pressure that led to a disallowed offside goal and a rocket off the crossbar.
Seton Hall looked uneasy moving through the opening minutes, but weathered the storm enough to bring the match back under control. Possession was balanced between the two sides, with no immediate threats before goal.
That was until the opening goal. 33 minutes in, a scrap in front of goal found its way to sophomore and Big East Second Teamer Avrie Nelsen’s foot. The goal was Nelsen’s eighth of the season, and the assist came from Dez Zapata, her eighth assist of the season.
The Wildcats wouldn’t stop there. Just eight minutes later, miscommunication in the Pirates’ back line led to Zapata scoring her seventh goal of the year and doubling the Villanova lead. Dez Zapata was named the Big East Offensive Player of the Year and Big East First Team this year.
In the second half, Seton Hall opened play with relentless pressure. A few great saves from Big East Goalkeeper of the Year Hannah Dickinson kept the Wildcats up two in the early stages.
However, later in the match, Zapata struck gold again. This time, a fantastic flick from Morgan Kotch found Zapata in space behind the Seton Hall backline, and she did the rest. A beautiful curler to the back post put the Wildcats up three with just less than 20 minutes to play.
Zapata, the Smyra, Delaware native, now leads the tournament with two goals after notching her eighth of the season.
The Wildcats cruised through the final moments to notch a convincing 3-0 victory.
Villanova enters Saturday’s championship match off one of their best seasons in decades. Their 12 wins are the most by a Nova Women’s Soccer team since 2006, and they will play in just their second-ever Big East Championship match.
You can catch the match at 7:00 PM on ESPN+.
