Nov. 13, 2009

Box Score

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The St. John's women's soccer team had a strong performance in its first-ever NCAA Tournament game, battling Virginia to a double-overtime scoreless tie at Jeffrey Field on the campus of Penn State, but the Cavaliers advanced to the NCAA Second Round on penalty kicks.

"I am really proud of the effort the girls put into the game today," coach Ian Stone said. "They defended brilliantly and had a couple of really good opportunities to win the game. I am really happy that this phenomenal senior class got the opportunity to make program history and play in the NCAA Tournament."

The Red Storm (13-6-2) had a stellar defensive effort in the game, fighting off 39 Virginia shots to hold the Cavaliers scoreless in 110 minutes of action. STJ blocked numerous UVa shots and shut down scoring lanes at the last second to hold the Cavaliers (9-5-6) off the board. With the shutout, St. John's tied the program record with 10 on the season.

Sophomore Kristin Russell was stingy in net, not allowing Virginia to score while facing 11 shots on goal in the contest. Russell made numerous defensive stops, coming out of the net to cut down passes and making diving saves.

Both teams challenged each other from the start on offense. The Red Storm had its first scoring chance of the game in the 19th minute. Charging down the field, Jen Leaverton received the ball and had an open shot with the goalie coming out of the box, but missed high.

St. John's continued to surge and tallied back-to-back shots in a span of minutes. Kelly McConnell had an opportunity when she had the ball inside the box and got off a quick shot, but the goalie came out of the net for the save.

In the second half, the Cavaliers controlled the ball on their offensive end for most of the period, but the Red Storm defense shut down UVa to hold the game scoreless despite the Cavaliers' 16 shots.

In overtime, the Red Storm had a scoring chance when Kaitlin Haas collected the ball about 30 yards out from net and was one-on-one with the goalie. Haas made a move and then fired a shot that the goalie saved by diving to the ground. With the ball still loose, Raelynne Lee had a chance on the rebound, but missed high.

Neither team budged in the two overtime periods, as UVa's offensive attempts were shut down by the strong efforts of the Red Storm. With the game going into penalty kicks, Virginia went 3-1 to advance.

The 2009 campaign for the Red Storm is one of the best in history, as the team made its first ever NCAA Tournament. The team advanced to the BIG EAST Semifinals for only the second time ever, facing Notre Dame last Friday. The Red Storm scored its first goal in history against the Irish in the 2-1 overtime loss, which also marked the first goal Notre Dame gave up in a semifinal game since 2003.

The Red Storm recorded three Top 25 victories this season, nabbing 2-1 victories over then-No. 12 USC on Aug. 30 and then-No. 12 Indiana on Sept. 13, and posting a 1-0 win over then-No. 16 UConn on Sept. 24. The team earned its first-ever ranking in the NSCAA Top 25 Poll, eventually rising to No. 17, and earned its highest ranking ever in the Soccer America Poll at No. 11.