St. John's University Athletics
Red Storm On The Road At James Madison
8/27/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Aug. 27, 2010
QUEENS, N.Y. - The St. John's women's soccer team will continue on its seven-game road swing as the Red Storm travels to Harrisonburg, Va., this weekend to take on two opponents from the Colonial Athletic Association at the James Madison University/Comfort Inn Harrisonburg Tournament. St. John's will face off against host school, JMU (0-1-0) on Friday, Aug. 27 at 7:30 p.m.; then Virginia Commonwealth (1-0-0) on Sunday, Aug. 29 at 11 a.m.
The Red Storm is 0-2-0 on the young season, after losing by one goal to Michigan State, who received votes in the preseason coaches poll, and 3-0 to then-No. 8 Texas A&M at the Aggies' season-opening tournament on Aug. 20-22.
Both JMU and VCU are coming off season-opening, one-goal victories. The Dukes edged past Richmond, 2-1, on Friday; while the Rams posted the same score over their in-state rival, Longwood.
Red Storm fans can follow all the action from the JMU Tournament via live stats provided by www.jmusports.com (available game time only).
A Look At The Competition
St. John's will face the Dukes of James Madison for just the second time. The teams last met on Aug. 31, 2003, with JMU defeating St. John's 1-0.
Seniors Teresa Rynier and Corinna Strickland scored for JMU in the Dukes' 2-1 victory over Richmond. Rynier scored in the 19th minute with an unassisted shot, while Strickland scored six minutes later with a 40-yard free kick for the game-winner. Richmond had scored first in the eighth minute of action.
JMU boasts the talent of redshirt senior goalkeeper Diane Wszalek. Wszalek had four saves against Richmond in her season-opening performance. In 2009, Wszalek started in all 21 games for the Dukes' allowing 23 goals and tallying 98 saves.
Rynier, the Dukes' three-time all-region and three-time all-conference midfielder, is the team's highest point scorer returning from the 2009 team. Rynier posted 19 points in 2009 on 15 assists and two goals. She was second overall on the team, with graduated senior Corky Julien leading the squad with 31 points (14 goals, 3 assists).
Last season, JMU went 11-8-2 overall and finished fourth in the CAA with a 6-3-2 record. The Dukes' return five starters and six letterwinners.
Sunday's game against Virginia Commonwealth is the first meeting between the Red Storm and Rams.
VCU is also 1-0 this season after a 2-1 win over in-state rival, Longwood. The Rams had 21 shots against Longwood, 10 on goal and picked up 10 corner kicks. Longwood only had three shots and one corner kick.
The Rams' first goal was scored by rookie Bex Kunz in the 14th minute. Longwood tied it up in the 63rd minute before Heather Hovanesian answered back for the Rams with a goal three minutes later. Megan Lynch was in goal for the Rams, saving two of three shots on goal.
Senior defender Myriam Bouchard is one of the Rams' key returners as she earned preseason accolades from the CAA when she was named to the preseason all-conference team. Bouchard is a two-time All-CAA honoree, with second team accolades in 2009 and third team honors in 2008.
Last Time Out
The Red Storm traveled to College Station, Texas and played two games against nationally recognized teams in then-No. 8 Texas A&M and Michigan State, who was recieving votes. Red Storm goalkeeper Kristin Russell saved three against MSU, but the Spartans' one goal in the 21st minute of play was enough to seal the deal on a 1-0 Michigan State victory.
The eighth-ranked Aggies scored three unanswered goals against St. John's, despite a nine-save performance by Russell between the pipes.
Up Next
St. John's will travel east on the Long Island Expressway to Hempstead, N.Y., where the Red Storm will face a pair of Atlantic 10 Rams in the Hofstra Tournament, Sept. 3-5. St. John's will face Fordham at 4:30 p.m. on Friday; then close the weekend on Sunday against Rhode Island at 1 p.m.
