St. John's University Athletics
2011 Women's Soccer Preview
8/17/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Aug. 17, 2011
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QUEENS, N.Y. - Head coach Ian Stone will commence his 18th season at the helm of the St. John's women's soccer program with a veteran core of 10 starters, including six seniors who are driven to return to the NCAA Tournament.
In addition to the Red Storm's 10 returning starters, St. John's will host 10 home contests which includes the return of the New York City Classic to Belson Stadium.
St. John's lost just two players from last year, Nicole Canning and Nicole Pasciolla, which gives the Red Storm almost a full roster of student-athletes who have played together for at least one year. Both Canning and Pasciolla were commanding presences on the pitch for the Red Storm, as Canning was key starter in the backfield and Pasciolla brought both scoring and defense as the core of St. John's midfield.
At the backbone of the Red Storm defense, which recorded seven shutouts in 2010 with a 1.07 team goals against average, is senior goalkeeper Kristin Russell. Russell was a 2010 All-BIG EAST honoree and has moved her way up in the record books to be the program's all-time leader in career shutouts (27) and goals against average (0.71), No. 2 in career wins (26) and No. 5 in career saves (253). Russell has been a consistent starter between the pipes for three years and is looking to continue her steadfast defense in goal for St. John's. Backing her up is classmate Lindsey Hall, junior Meredith Kenyon and sophomore Lauren Ferris, who as a rookie saw time in two games in 2010, including a come-from-behind win at Connecticut.
Heading up the returners on offense are two redshirt seniors in Raelynne Lee and Anna Torregiano, both were starters and point contributors in 2010. Senior Jen Leavertonwill also aid St. John's scoring efforts as she was a 2010 NSCAA Scholar Athlete Team honoree with Lee and also added a goal and assist last year.
Other returning scorers include sophomore Amy Marron, who led the 2010 squad in points with seven (three goals, one assist), junior Runa Stefansdottir, who was the team's second leading scorer with six points (two goals, two assists) and sophomores Jen Gibbons and Morgan Ritter.
Sophomore Sarah Ashmore, who's summer league team was runner up at the 2011 Nationals in Phoenix, Ariz., and classmates Sandra Osborn and Rachel Hoffman will also help the St. John's offense after a year of collegiate soccer under their belts. Sophomore Casey Markswill also return to the pitch with some unfinished business, as she played just five games including four starts before a knee injury ended her rookie season early.
In the backfield, senior Megan Klement will lead a sophomore-laden defense with returning starters Michelle Iannacchino and Kristina Quan. Classmates Hailey Hemmer and Michelle Murino also return. Juniors Patrice Casimir and Kathy Gualotunawill add even more depth. Casimir started four games in 2010. She returned to the pitch after being sidelined with an injury for the first eight games of the season. Gualotuna was a transfer who joined the Red Storm in 2010.
Adding to the roster for 2011, the Red Storm welcomes five rookies to the pitch, bringing their talent with them from all over the United States and across the pond.
From Bohemia, N.Y., Deanna Murino, will join her sister Michelle on the Red Storm, as she will bring depth to the midfield. She was ranked No. 11 is New York State's Regional Top 20 in 2010 and was one of Top Drawer Soccer's Top 100 "Players To Watch."
Moving across the country from the Pacific coast, Sam Whiteheadwill also help bolster both the midfield and forward lines. She was a four-time first team All-Del Ray League selection out of Pasadena, Calif.
Stone added two more forwards/midfielders to his offense in Caitlyn McLaughlin and Chelsey Martino. McLaughlin hails from Fairfax Station, Va., and played as part of the 2010 Disney Showcase Championship squad and 2009 Virginia State Cup finalist team. Martino, a native of Framingham, Mass., was named to the ESPN Rise All-Massachusetts squad and was a three-year Bay State all-league honoree.
Rookie Georgia Kearney-Perrymakes the move across the Atlantic Ocean from Tring, England, to add depth to the Red Storm defense. In England, she played for Watford and the Club Arsenal academy. She was Watford's three-time U-16 Performance Player of the Year (2007-09) and part of Watford's two-time County Cup Championship team (2009, 2010).
With a roster full of experience and youth, St. John's will play a competitive schedule starting at William & Mary on Aug. 19. The Red Storm was undefeated in exhibition play as St. John's shut out both Long Island University and Stony Brook, 1-0 and 3-0. Four different players scored in the scrimmages.
After playing two games in Virginia at William & Mary and George Mason, the Red Storm will host Fordham in a Friday home-opener under the lights of Belson Stadium (Aug. 26). St. John's will go back south of the Mason Dixon Line to have rematch of the 2009 NCAA Tournament game vs. University of Virginia (Aug. 28).
St. John's opens September with the return of the New York City Classic to Queens, hosting Albany and Columbia (Sept. 2 & 4). Hofstra will also play in the tournament. The Red Storm will stay home the following weekend as Yale comes to town (Sept. 11).
In mid-September, BIG EAST play begins as St. John's will welcome Connecticut, Villanova, Georgetown, Marquette, USF and Syracuse. The Red Storm will play Providence, Rutgers, Seton Hall, West Virginia and Pittsburgh on the road. St. John's was picked to finish sixth in the American Division in the BIG EAST Preseason Poll.
The BIG EAST Tournament starts in late October with the Championship game slated for Sunday, Nov. 6. The NCAA Tournament first round games will begin Friday, Nov. 11.
Follow all the home action live viaGameTracker (free) and StormTracker All-Access (subscription) on RedStormSports.com. Check the Women's Soccer Blog for weekly updates, previews, postgame interviews and short video features. For twitter updates, follow @stj_wsoccer and search the hashtag #stjwsoc.
To be added to the St. John's women's soccer fans e-mail list, please e-mail duffyk@stjohns.edu with the subject line "Women's Soccer E-Mail Fan."
