St. John's University Athletics
Ian Stone Announces 2015 Women's Soccer Schedule
5/13/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
2015 Women's Soccer Schedule (PDF)
QUEENS, N.Y. - Coming off a 2014 season that saw the Red Storm register its best-ever record in BIG EAST play, Head Coach Ian Stone has announced the 2015 St. John's Women's Soccer schedule, an 18-game slate with match ups against some of the top teams in the nation.
"This schedule is designed to severely challenge our team in the non-conference portion in preparation for the BIG EAST Conference games," said Coach Stone. "I feel that we have the depth, experience and talent to get back to the NCAA Tournament in 2015."
The Red Storm will tune up for the 2015 season with a pair of exhibition tilts at Belson Stadium, the first of which will come against local foe Iona on Tuesday, Aug. 11, at 7 p.m. St. John's will then conclude its preseason with a Saturday morning contest against the Drexel Dragons, facing off on Aug. 15 at 11 a.m.
Following its preseason matches, the Red Storm will kick off the 2015 regular season on the road, heading east on the Long Island Expressway for a 7 p.m. contest against Stony Brook on Friday, Aug. 21. The Seawolves finished last season with a record of 5-10-2 and return NSCAA All-Region Third Teamer Tessa Deveraux to lead the squad as a senior.
Two days later on Sunday, Aug. 23, the Red Storm returns to Queens for its 2015 home opener, hosting Towson at 7:30 p.m. on Belson Stadium. In 2014, Towson finished seventh in the CAA, compiling an overall record of 6-9-4 with a 3-4-2 mark in conference.
The following weekend, St. John's will take on the first of two ACC opponents in its non-conference slate, heading to Syracuse. While at Syracuse, the Red Storm will compete against the Orange on Friday, Aug. 27, at 7 p.m. before taking on Colgate on Sunday, Aug. 30, at 12 p.m. Coming off a 5-10-2 campaign in 2014, the Orange returns junior forward Stephanie Skilton, who led Syracuse in shots (33), shots on goal (20), points (18) and goals (8) a season ago. The Raiders of Colgate put together a stellar campaign in 2014, compiling a record of 14-3-2 and falling just one game shy of the Patriot League title.
After a weekend in Upstate New York, the Red Storm will then spend a few days in New England, taking on Brown on Friday, Sept. 4, in Providence before heading to Beantown for a Sunday afternoon tilt against Boston College. Last year, the Bears won their first game of the year 2-1 against the Johnnies at Belson Stadium en route to a 6-8-3 finish. Boston College turned in a 10-8-1 record, including a 7-1-0 mark in non-conference play, in 2014. The Eagles will be led by junior forward Hayley Dowd, who finished third in the ACC in scoring with 15 goals a season ago.
The following weekend, the Red Storm will take part in its second and final tournament of the non-conference season, traveling to UNC-Wilmington for the UNCW Hilton Garden Inn Mayfaire Invitational. St. John's will not take on the host Seahawks while in the Tar Heel State, instead facing off against Campbell on Friday, Sept. 11, and Richmond on Sunday, Sept. 13. Last season, the Camels and the Spiders each finished with winning percentages above .500.
Upon returning home to New York, the Red Storm has one game remaining in its non-league slate, closing out non-conference play with a 7 p.m. match up against Fairleigh Dickinson at Belson Stadium on Sunday, Sept. 20. The Knights registered a banner year in 2014, finishing the season 14-5-1 and advancing to the NEC Championship Game.
The Red Storm will kick off BIG EAST play on Sunday, Sept. 27, playing host to local rival Seton Hall at 7 p.m. on Belson Stadium. The Pirates are one of the most frequently played opponents in series history, with St. John's holding a 14-5-1 advantage all-time against its neighbors from The Garden State.
After the BIG EAST home-opener against Seton Hall, the Red Storm will make its first conference road trip of the season, heading to Indianapolis for a showdown with Butler on Thursday, Oct. 1, at 7 p.m. Last season, the Red Storm downed the Bulldogs, 2-1, in overtime at Belson Stadium, a game in which Rachel Daly netted both goals for the home team. Butler went on to finish the season 9-8-1.
Three days later on Oct. 4, the Red Storm return to Belson Stadium for a Sunday matinee, hosting the Marquette at 1 p.m. Last season, the two squads played to a thrilling 1-1 tie in Queens, as the Golden Eagles ended up finishing one spot behind the Johnnies in fourth in the final BIG EAST standings.
The Red Storm hits the road again the following week, traveling to our nation's capital for a 3 p.m. showdown with Georgetown on Thursday, Oct. 8. The tilt will be a rematch of last season's BIG EAST Semifinal, a gritty contest that went to penalty kicks before seeing Georgetown advance. Georgetown was one of two BIG EAST squads to qualify for the NCAA Tournament in 2014.
After the team's anticipated rematch with the Hoyas, the Red Storm returns to Belson Stadium for another Sunday afternoon match, hosting Creighton on Oct. 11 at 1 p.m. Creighton finished eighth in the BIG EAST last season in its second year in the conference, posting an overall record of 10-6-2 with a 2-5-2 mark in conference.
The Red Storm will enjoy a week off following its match with the Bluejays, resting up for a road tilt with the defending BIG EAST Champs, DePaul, in The Windy City on Sunday, Oct. 18. Last year, the Blue Demons were undefeated heading into the NCAA Tournament, finishing the campaign with a mark of 16-1-4.
Following its crucial match with the Blue Demons, St. John's will play its regular season home finale on Thursday, Oct. 22, welcoming the Xavier Musketeers to Queens to a 7 p.m. tilt. Last year, the Musketeers finished last in the conference, turning in a league mark of 0-8-1 and an overall record of 3-13-3.
The Red Storm will then wrap up the regular season with a pair of road matches, taking on Villanova on Sunday, Oct. 25, at 1 p.m. before traveling to Providence for the BIG EAST finale on Friday, Oct. 30, at 7 p.m. The Red Storm won a pair of games against Villanova last season, blanking the Wildcats, 1-0, on the road during the regular season before registering a 2-0 victory in the BIG EAST Quarterfinals at Belson Stadium. The match against the Friars will mark the 28th meeting all-time between the two schools, the most in program history against a single opponent.
After hosting the BIG EAST Tournament in 2014, the Red Storm will travel to Omaha, Neb., for this season's conference championship, hosted by Creighton. The semifinals will be played on Friday, November 6, while the championship game will take place on Sunday, November 8.
