2010 Red Storm Women's Soccer Season Outlook

8/20/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer

Aug. 20, 2010

QUEENS, N.Y. - The 2010 edition of the St. John's women's soccer team is primed and ready to build momentum off its most successful season in history. After reaching its first-ever NCAA Tournament in 2009, and finishing with a 13-6-2 mark, including tying the program record with six BIG EAST wins, this year's squad features an infusion of new talent mixed in with key returning players for 17th-year head coach Ian Stone.

"We are trying to continue the work that we started last year," said Stone. "Because we made the NCAA Tournament last year, we can play a challenging schedule. The team feels like everything that we do is geared toward getting back to the NCAA Tournament again. That's a theme that we are trying to carry forward."

The challenge for Stone will be integrating 18 newcomers into the St. John's system after losing eight starters to graduation last year.

"Our fitness level has been pretty good, and the attitude of the group has been exceptional," said Stone. "We are lucky that we have great leadership from our senior class. The freshmen have adjusted to this level of play very quickly. Now it's just a question of seeing how they deal with playing against other top-level, experienced competition."

Forwards

The Red Storm will look to junior Jen Leaverton to lead the attack up front. The native of Mansfield, Mass., is the team's top returning scorer, tallying three goals and one assist in 2009. She also took a team-high 33 shots.

"Jen is really becoming a complete forward for us," said Stone. "She can play with her back to goal or shoot from distance. She has good attacking movement and she puts a lot of effort in defensively. She has grown into the sort of player we knew she could be."

Freshman Amy Marron will join Leaverton at attack. Standing at 5-9, Marron has considerable strength and an ability to win balls in the air. A two-time All-League Player of the Year in high school, Marron will team her power with Leaverton's speed to form a formidable attacking unit.

Freshmen Morgan Ritter, who scored a goal in the preseason game against UMass, and Francisca Okoko will provide valuable depth in the forward position.

Midfield

The St. John's midfield will be patrolled by veteran leader Nicole Pasciolla. A fifth-year senior out of Park Ridge, N.J., Pasciolla is a three-time All-BIG EAST selection and has played in 60 career games for the Red Storm.

While Pasciolla will play the role of the defensive central midfielder, fellow senior Raelynne Lee will look to push the attack from the other central midfield position. A native of Lake Stevens, Wash., Lee scored one goal and notched three assists last season on her way to garnering NSCAA/adidas Scholar All-East Region accolades.

Stone will look to freshmen Jen Gibbons and Sarah Ashmore to start at the wide midfield positions. Gibbons is a versatile player from Bellport, N.Y., who can also play right back in the defensive unit. Ashmore is a more explosive player, who will be making the move from wide forward, a position she played in high school, to the left side of the midfield.

"Jen is someone that we feel very confident about putting in several different positions on the field," said Stone. "Sarah is an example of someone who has stepped up to learn our system very quickly and she will get the chance to play right away."

Depending on which personnel formation St. John's decides to employ, senior Anna Torregiano and freshman Kerry Cummings can play in the central midfield while Kristina Quan will be called on to sub in for the wide positions.

Back Line

The middle of the Red Storm defense will be patrolled by junior Megan Klement and freshman Michelle Iannacchino. Klement returns as the experienced leader who has the ability to organize the defense while Iannacchino has the complementary athletic aggressiveness and ability to win balls in the air.

Runa Stefansdottir, a sophomore from Reykjavik, Iceland, who scored two goals as a forward last season, will move to left back in 2010.

"We wanted to have a left back who is left footed and we decided to move Runa to that position," said Stone. "She has great speed coming forward and has a great range of passes. We want to have an attacking philosophy so utilizing someone who played forward last year shows that we want to be aggressive all over the field and not overly cautious."

Battling for the right back position is senior Nicole Canning and freshman Michelle Murino. While Canning has an early edge because of her experience and leadership, Murino is very skillful and could see playing time more as she learns the intricacies of the defense.

Sophomore Patrice Casimir, and freshmen Sandra Osborn and Casey Marks are all in the mix for playing time on the back line.

Goalkeepers

Junior goalkeeper Kristin Russell returns to lead the St. John's defense. A starter in all 21 games last season, Russell recorded 10 shutouts and a save percentage of .879 while posting a 0.59 goals against average. Russell is the school record-holder for most career shutouts and is ranked in the program's top 10 all-time in saves, saves per game, goals against average and victories.

The two returning players backing up Russell are sophomore Meredith Kenyon and junior Lindsey Hall. Freshman Lauren Ferris comes to St. John's to provide a solid corps of players for practice and scrimmages.

Schedule

The Red Storm will host eight contests at Belson Stadium, participate in two tournaments and will face seven teams that reached the NCAA Tournament a year ago.

"After enjoying our best season in history last year with our first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance, we have once again put together a challenging schedule for the team," Stone said. "We start the regular season at the site where last year's College Cup was held, participating in the Texas A&M Tournament, playing Michigan State and Texas A&M. Top-ranked North Carolina will also be playing in the tournament. We start the season among the best teams in the country, which is where we aim to finish."

The Red Storm will open regular-season action by participating in three tournaments on the road. STJ will play in the Texas A&M Tournament Aug. 20-22 and will face 2009 NCAA Tournament participant Michigan State in addition to the host Aggies. The Red Storm will then participate in the James Madison Tournament Aug. 27-29, playing the host team and VCU. STJ will return to the area Sept. 3-5, playing in the Hofstra Invitational where the Red Storm will face Fordham and Rhode Island.

St. John's will open BIG EAST action on the road at Syracuse on Sept. 17 and then will return to Belson Stadium on Sept. 19 for its home-opener against Columbia at 5 p.m.

After a road trip to UConn on Sept. 23, STJ will return to Queens to host Providence on Sept. 26, before hitting the road to face DePaul on Oct. 1 and Notre Dame on Oct. 3. The Notre Dame game is slated for telecast on CBS College Sports.

St. John's will return to Belson Stadium for a four-game homestand - its longest of the season - when it hosts Pitt on Oct. 8, West Virginia on Oct. 10, Seton Hall on Oct. 15 and Rutgers on Oct. 17. The Red Storm will close out regular-season action on the road, traveling to USF on Oct. 22 and to 2009 BIG EAST American Division champion Marquette on Oct. 24.

The BIG EAST Tournament will take place Oct. 28-Nov. 7, with Rutgers hosting the semifinals and finals Nov. 5-7.