St. John's University Athletics
St. Johns Women's Soccer Year in Review
11/24/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
QUEENS, N.Y. - With the 2014 season officially in the rearview mirror, supporters of the St. John's women's soccer team can now take a step back and truly appreciate the success that the Red Storm achieved this fall.
"This was another historic year for the St. John's Women's Soccer program," reflected head coach Ian Stone. "We enjoyed our best overall season against BIG EAST opponents, were honored with two players receiving major conference awards for the first time ever, and showed tremendous character in turning our season around to get as far as PKs in the conference semis."
For the seventh time in the past nine seasons, the Red Storm made an appearance in the BIG EAST Tournament, coming within one game of the championship for the second-consecutive year.
In that semifinal match up with Georgetown, an eventual NCAA Tournament team, the Red Storm hung tough with the second-seeded Hoyas, forcing the game into penalty kicks despite being outshot by a wide margin. The Red Storm's ability to come within one penalty kick of the conference final could be credited in large part to the team's innate toughness, the defining characteristic of the 2014 squad, as the team made countless hustle plays down the stretch to keep the contest within reach.
Prior to the conference tournament, the Red Storm enjoyed its best BIG EAST regular season in program history. With a record of 6-2-1 against league opponents, the Red Storm registered a conference winning percentage of .722, shattering the previous school record set in 2009. During league play, the Red Storm defense proved impenetrable at times, surrendering only three goals in its first eight games.
In addition to great team success, several individuals recorded accolades, compiling the program's largest ever haul of year-end awards. Senior Georgia Kearney-Perry was named the BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year, while teammate Diana Poulin took home the hardware as the conference's top goalkeeper.
Finishing the season with eight goals and a pair of assists, Rachel Daly earned a spot on the All-BIG EAST First Team for the second year in a row. While the Harrogate, England, native did not produce the eye-popping numbers that she did as a sophomore in 2013 when she led the nation in goals, Stone was often quoted this year as saying that Daly had developed into an even more complete player than she was a year ago, mastering the subtleties of the game and putting her team in a better position to come out on top.
Stepping up at the midfield position for the Red Storm this season, Emily Cubbage enjoyed her best season in red and white, earning All-BIG EAST Second Team honors.
In addition to these all-conference honorees, the Red Storm also placed three of its starters on the BIG EAST All-Rookie team, as freshmen Shea Connors, Allie Moar and Jesse Schaefer were recognized for their stellar first collegiate campaigns. In addition to these three acknowledged by the conference, freshmen Mariela Jacome and Mikhaila Martinov were also instrumental to the Red Storm's success.
Redshirt senior midfielder Jen Gibbons also earned recognition for her gritty performance during the BIG EAST Tournament, finding a spot on the All-Tournament Team. In addition to picking up an assist in the Red Storm's game against Georgetown, the Bellport, N.Y., native also battled back from injuries on several occasions, allowing nothing to keep her on the sidelines for very long.
The 2014 season also saw the St. John's career of several important contributors draw to a close. Chelsey Martino, a former forward for the Red Storm, proved to be one of the team's most important pieces on the back line as a senior. The leading offensive producer in the class of 2015, Caitlyn McLaughlin registered three assists in just two games during the BIG EAST Tournament, capping a stellar career in Queens. In addition to these players, the Red Storm will also have trouble filling the shoes of players like Sandra Osborn, Rachel Hoffman, Marisa Ammaturo, Jazmine Rhodes and Deanna Murino.
While replacing the contributions of these seniors will prove to be a monumental task, the Red Storm returns a core group of starters for next season, giving Red Storm supporters more than enough reason to be optimistic when looking forward to 2015.
"The future looks very bright indeed," said Stone.
