Georgetown Adavnces in Shootout against Red Storm

Friday, November 7

Queens, N.Y.

7:30 PM

St. John's University

Georgetown

11/8/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer

Nov. 8, 2014

Final Stats | Photo Gallery

QUEENS, N.Y. - A few weeks ago, head coach Ian Stone was asked to describe the difference between his current team and the group that advanced to the NCAA Tournament last year. While he praised the talent of the 2013 team, he identified a certain unquantifiable quality about the 2014 squad: its unrivaled toughness. The Red Storm displayed that characteristic in spades on Friday night, playing Georgetown to a 1-1 draw before the Hoyas advanced in penalty kicks.

"It was an unbelievable performance in terms of playing against a phenomenal team, hanging in there, bettling, finding a way to come back after being a goal down," said Coach Stone after the game. "Everyone left everying they had out on the field. I'm so proud of them."

Georgetown got on the board early at Belson Stadium, as Marina Paul scored her second goal of the year off a header in the seventh minute.

Faced with an early deficit, some teams might have quit. This thought never crossed the Red Storm's mind.

Georgia Kearney-Perry, the BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year who had yet to score a goal in her St. John's career at the beginning of this week, found the back of the net for the second time in as many games on Friday night, knotting the game at one in the 73rd minute. Two members of the Red Storm picked up assists on the score: Caitlyn McLaughlin, who registered her third assist in the last two games, and Jen Gibbons, who battled back from injury on multiple occasions during the contest.

McLaughlin also found herself to be the victim of some misfortune on Friday night. On two occasions, once during the 22nd minute and again during the 52nd minute, it appeared as if she had tied the game with the Red Storm's first goal of the contest. Instead, a linesman ruled her offsides on both plays. A pair of plays that would normally be certain momentum killers did not stop the Red Storm, as they recovered from both.

Kearney-Perry's equalizer came after a dominant performance by the Hoyas to open the game. Georgetown outshot the Red Storm 11-1 in the first half, but the Johnnies held tough, limiting the Hoyas to only one goal.

For the game, the Hoyas outshot the Red Storm by a 24-5 margin, a spread that would normally lead to easy victory for most teams. Unfortunately for the Hoyas, they had to deal with a St. John's defense that sported not only the Defensive Player of the Year in Kearney-Perry, but also the BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year in Diana Poulin, who made six saves in the contest. In addition to an outstanding pair of performances from those two players, the entire Red Storm squad worked to make sure that Georgetown's attempts were without reward.

Following the game-tying goal in the 73rd minute, the two teams threw everything they had at one another through the end of regulation and both overtime periods. During that stretch, several players on each side went down with injuries that would have knocked lesser women out of the match, but each time they got right up and kept fighting.

After 110 minutes of play produced no victor, the teams went to a shootout.

First up for Georgetown was BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year and Midfielder of the Year Daphne Corboz. The All-American found the back of the net, giving the Hoyas an early advantage.

Shelby Halasz stepped up to the spot first for the Red Storm. The Milford, Conn., native, who has one of the most powerful legs on the team, put everything she had behind a right foot to the extreme far corner, sending it beyond the reach of the keeper and knotting the score at one.

Next up for the Hoyas was Vanessa Skrumbis, a double-digit scorer during the regular season. Skrumbis kicked to Poulin's left, but the Hauppauge, N.Y., native saw it coming and dived to make the terrific stop.

After a St. John's misfire in the second round, Taylor Pak gave the Hoyas an advantage with a goal in round three. The Red Storm, however, had the phenomenal leg of Rachel Daly lying in wait, as the All-BIG EAST First Team selection knotted the score again.

Kaitlin Bast, who had not played a minute all game stepped forward next for the Hoyas, finding the back of the cage. The Red Storm responded with a player of their own who had yet to see action on Friday, Sandra Osborn. The senior stutter-stepped to knock the keep off her bearings before sending it home with a soft touch to the right.

Round number five proved to be decisive, as freshman Rachel Corboz scored to lead things off. The Red Storm sent senior Marisa Ammaturo to the spot, but Emily Newins turned her shot aside and clinched victory for the Hoyas.

With the victory, the Hoyas advance to face top-seed DePaul on Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. in the conference title game. That game will be televised nationally on FOX Sports 1.