St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
Towson
Women's Soccer Opens Tournament With Shutout Win
8/29/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Aug. 29, 2008
NEWARK, Del. - The St. John's women's soccer team continued its winning ways on Friday night, opening the Blue Hen Classic with a 1-0, shutout victory over Towson at Delaware Mini-Stadium.
The win marked the second-straight shutout of the season for the Red Storm and improved its slate to 2-0-0 on the year. With the loss, Towson's record drops to 1-2-0.
"Towson came out hard and played well against us, but we fought through the rainy conditions and settled down in the second half," said head coach Ian Stone. "It was another good team effort. I was happy we didn't get frustrated and that we continued to stay composed and got that important goal. Although Towson pressured us, the team stayed patient and found a way to win."
Freshman Jen Leaverton scored her first career goal and the only goal of the game in the 77th minute. Sophomore Anna Torregiano passed the ball to Leaverton at the edge of the penalty area. The rookie received the ball high, then took the ball down from her chest and fired a shot with her left foot past goalkeeper Jocelyn Papciak's outstretched arms. The assist was the first of Torregiano's career.
St. John's offense continued its strong efforts from a week ago and out-shot Towson 4-2. The ball was spread around, as Leaverton led the way with two shots, and C.J. Ludemann and Amanda Santos each fired a shot.
The Red Storm defense was stingy and limited the Tigers to only two shots in the game. Reigning BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Week Kristin Russell continued her strong play in net, making two saves on two shots faced. The freshman played all 90 minutes of regulation.
"Kristin is growing more and more confident with every game and is communicating more effectively," Stone said. "You can just see the improvement from one game to another. The defense, once again, played well and really did the job in the second half."
St. John's will close out the Blue Hen Classic on Sunday facing host Delaware at 2:30 p.m.
