St. John's University Athletics
Schmids Goal Lifts St. Johns Past Pittsburgh, 1-0
9/28/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
In front of a rowdy crowd of 1,560, most of them singing and cheering with the band throughout, the second-ranked St. Johns mens soccer team hammered the Pittsburgh goal for 18 shots. It wasnt until the 79th minute, however, that the Red Storm were able to put a goal in, en route to a 1-0 win over the Panthers at Belson Stadium Saturday night.
Sophomore Andre Schmid (Sacramento, Calif.), who had taken six shots on goal already, blasted a shot from 24 yards out on the far side of the box that hit the crossbar and beat Pittsburgh goalkeeper Justin Goal to the middle, giving the Red Storm a 1-0 lead with 10:55 remaining in the game. The goal, his second of the season, came on assists from senior Matia Damiani (Foggia, Italy) and freshman Jeff Carroll (Springfield, Va.). Immediately after scoring, Schmid performed the first Belson Bounce, sprinting toward the student section behind the goal, to celebrate.
The Red Storm were impressive on the offensive end from the start, but could not get shots past Gaul, who made 13 saves in between the pipes for the Panthers (6-3, 1-2 BIG EAST).
The Red Storms first scoring chance came early in the first half when Schmid blasted a shot from 10 yards out in traffic that was saved by Gaul. A shot from junior Chris Wingert (Babylon, N.Y.), off of an indirect kick, was saved, as well as a pair of headers from Schmid. Another shot from Wingert off an indirect kick was saved by Gaul, and the counter shot from sophomore Chris Corcoran (Marshfield, Mass.).
The Panthers had two chances in the first half, a header from Clay Haflich off a corner kick that went wide, and a shot from Marco Carrizales that was punched up high by St. Johns junior goalkeeper Bill Gaudette (Hummelstown, Pa.).
The Red Storm again appeared ready to strike in the second half. Schmids shot from 10 yards out at 52:52 was saved, and another by freshman Jean Camere (Miami, Fla.) at 57:23 was off the mark. A header from Corcoran was saved at 61:25, as were shots from junior Tim ONeill (Philadelphia, Pa.) and Schmid in the 68th minute of play.
In the 78th minute, Panthers midfielder Bryan Hopper took a shot from 10 yards out that was saved by a diving Gaudette, preserving the shutout, before Schmid scored to give the Red Storm the lead.
St. Johns outshot Pittsburgh, 18-6, and had 12 corner kicks to the Panthers two. Gaudette made four saves in goal for the Red Storm (7-1-1, 4-1 BIG EAST).
The Red Storm return to action on Friday, playing Old Dominion at 6 p.m. in the first round of the Rutgers Classic.
