St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
Brown
Late Goal Downs Johnnies
9/5/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Sept. 5, 2014
QUEENS, N.Y. - With a spotless record so far in overtime this season, it appeared that the Red Storm would get another opportunity at extra time late in the second half with the score tied at one. With just under three minutes to go, however, Brown (1-0-0) scored off a broken play and handed the Johnnies their first home loss in nearly two years on Friday night at Belson Stadium.
With the defeat, St. John's falls to 3-2-0 on the year.
"I thought Brown came in an executed a game plan where they were going to be physical with us," said St. John's Head Coach Ian Stone. "I don't think we played very well and I give [Brown] a lot of credit because they came into our home field and deserved the win at the end of the day."
Prior to Friday, the Red Storm's last home loss came on September 16th, 2012, when the Johnnies fell to UConn at Belson Stadium. Over the stretch that followed, Coach Stone's squad was 11-0-4 on home turf.
Rachel Daly scored the lone goal for St. John's on Friday, her fifth of the season. Jen Gibbons found the Harrogate, England, native in the offensive zone in the 11th minute, and after a nifty move to get free, Daly buried a shot from 20 yards out.
Daly's stunning strike gave the Johnnies an early lead that they would hold onto for 19 minutes before Brown's leading scorer from last season, Chloe Cross took a feed from teammate Mikela Waldman and buried it to tie the game at one.
The game, which grew very physical and produced a combined 30 fouls, remained level for nearly the next sixty minutes. During that time, St. John's peppered the Brown cage, but keeper Mallory Yant held tough and kept them off the sheet. She finished with six saves on the evening.
Then, with just about three minutes to go, Brown drew a foul and sent a long free kick toward the St. John's net. The Bears' first shot rang off the cross bar, but the rebound fell right onto the leg of Waldman, who found the back of the net and put Brown ahead 2-1.
Down late, the Johnnies refused to concede. Moving the ball over midfield, St. John's generated a chance in front of the net that appeared to end with Daly knocking it home with her right foot and tying the contest. The referee, however, thought otherwise, blowing the play dead on an offside call and maintaining the Brown lead at one.
After a mini homestand, The Red Storm hits the road for its next three contests, beginning with a trip to Tallahassee to square off against Florida State, the National Runner-Up from 2013.
