St. John's University Athletics
UConn Tops St. Johns in Penalty Kicks, 3-2
11/15/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
After taking a 2-0 lead, the Red Storm gave up two second half goals both in the last 20 minutes and the game went to overtime. After a pair of 10-minute scoreless periods, this heavyweight battle between second-ranked St. Johns and fifth-ranked Connecticut went to penalty kicks.
The Red Storm went first, with junior Chris Wingert (Babylon, N.Y.) hitting his shot high. After Bill Gaudette (Hummelstown, Pa.) saved a shot from Anthony Curtis, freshman John Mendes (La Mesa, Calif.) hit St. Johns second PK, going high. Connecticuts Marcus Svensson followed with a shot to the lower 90, but a shot from St. Johns sophomore Chris Corcoran (Marshfield, Mass.) went high. Senior Alberto Duenas (Hawthorne, Calif.) and freshman Jean Camere (Miami, Fla.) connected on the final two shots, as did Shavar Thomas and Ruis Fernandes, leaving the first round of penalty kicks tied at four apiece.
Per NCAA rules, an additional five players were selected by each team for the second round of penalty kicks, with a sudden-death format. Junior Simone Salinno (Lucera, Italy) hit the Red Storms first shot, and Connecticuts Damani Ralph countered with one in the bottom of the round. Huskies goalkeeper Adam Schuerman deflected a shot from sophomore John Carrozza (Springfield, N.J.) and Michael Mordocco scored, giving Connecticut the 6-5 decision in kicks.
St. Johns had dominated play throughout much of the first half, taking a 1-0 lead at the break. A Connecticut foul resulted in a corner kick for St. Johns. Taken by Salinno, the corner was sent to the box, where senior Rich Bradley (Bayport, N.Y.) headed it from the far post at eight yards. Classmate Matia Damiani (Foggia, Italy) snuck behind the defenders and took a header from four yards out that beat Huskies goalkeeper Adam Schuerman to the near post at the 3:34 mark.
The Huskies had two scoring chances midway through the half after a pair of corner kicks. On the first, Damani Ralph, the BIG EASTs Offensive Player of the Year, got off a shot in the middle of the box that was cleared. On the subsequent corner, Shavar Thomas header bounced in front of the box and was cleared by Red Storm senior Alberto Duenas.
After a Connecticut shot early in the game, the Red Storm immediately countered, with sophomore Andre Schmid crossing a ball to the middle of the box, where classmate Chris Corcorans shot attempt was cleared by Uconn defender Andrew McLeod.
The Red Storm had another chance in the 28th minute, when a Salinno corner kick bounced in the box and ONeill nearly got a shot off from eight yards out, but it was blocked by a defender.
In the 18th minute, ONeill picked up a loose ball at the top of the box after a throw-in and sent a shot that went just wide.
St. Johns had the first chance in the second half, when Corcoran took a header from eight yards out that Schuerman made a diving stop, saving it in the upper near post. In the 53rd minute, Duenas crossed a ball from 25 yards out, where Corcoran made a diving attempt at a header, which went wide.
Two minutes later, Schmid played a ball back off his left foot to ONeill, whose shot went wide. After a free kick following a foul, the Red Storm had another corner. Salinno sent his corner to the middle of the box, where sophomore Chris Leidner (Greenlawn, N.Y.) headed it . The ball bounced behind Leidner, and Schmid played it off the back of his heel, where it bounced high into the net, giving St. Johns a 2-0 lead at the 54:35 mark.
The Huskies, however, fought back, led by Ralph. After a throw-in, Ralph took a blast from 25 yards out that beat Gaudette to the upper far post, cutting the lead in half at 69:50.
Then, with two minutes left in regulation, he picked up Marcus Svenssons deflected shot in the box and tapped it past Gaudette from 10 yards out to tie the game.
St. Johns outshot Connecticut 20-14, with eight shots on goal to the Huskies four.
Friday's game marked the first time a Red Storm team had gone to penalty kicks since the 1996 season. That year, St. John's lost to Rutgers in the BIG EAST Tournament semifinals, but went on to win the University's first-ever NCAA Championship.
St. Johns, now 12-2-5, awaits the NCAA Tournament announcements, which will be made on Monday at 4:30 p.m. ET, live on ESPNews.