St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
Fairleigh Dickinson
No. 19 St. John's Downs FDU, 3-1
9/20/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
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QUEENS, N.Y. - Behind a five-point outing from Rachel Daly, the RV/19 St. John's Red Storm (8-1-0) closed out its non-conference season with a convincing 3-1 win over Fairleigh Dickinson (4-5-0) at Belson Stadium.
"Tonight was weird for me because there were times when we were really, really good and other times where the way that we played almost played into their hands," said Head Coach Ian Stone. "I'll give FDU a lot of credit; they didn't get 14 wins last season for being a bad team. They're tough, they're physical, they work hard, but I said to the girls after the game: we have to find a way to be a little bit better in those situations where they put pressure on us and play our game as oppose to playing their game."
Following the win, the Red Storm is now tied for the best start through nine games in program history. Two other St. John's teams have registered 8-1 records to start the season, the 1992 squad and the 2009 team that made the program's first-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
With two goals and an assist on the evening, Daly now sits with 38 tallies for her career, passing Cristin Burtis for second place on the St. John's career list and placing herself just two goals behind Adriana Viola for first all-time. The Harrogate, England, native also passed Burtis for second on the career points list and is just five away from tying Viola for the top spot in that category.
Sunday evening marked Daly's second-straight contest with a pair of goals and the 12th multi-goal game of her St. John's career. It also signaled the third time in her career that Daly has recorded multiple goals in consecutive games. Her longest such streak came in 2013, when she pieced together multi-goal efforts in three-straight games, a pair of two-goal performances and a hat trick in games against North Dakota State, Central Connectiuct and Brown, respectively.
Lucy Whipp notched the first goal of her St. John's career and added an assist on the evening, playing with a maturity and confidence well beyond her years.
Emily Cubbage also added an assist while serving as an anchor for St. John's in the midfield.
Katie DeVault picked up the win in net, improving to 4-0-0 on the year and marking 270 minutes of scoreless play for the graduate student this season. DeVault played the first 45 minutes before being subbed out for Diana Poulin at the beginning of the second half. Poulin was at the other end of an FDU offensive onslaught to begin the second stanza, facing six FDU tries on target and turning away five. The reigning BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year had a brilliant stretch beginning at the 10-minute mark of the period, acrobatically turning away four FDU chances in the span of just over six minutes.
The Red Storm got on the board early, as Whipp netted the first goal of her St. John's career in the sixth minute. Daly started the play, as she found her countrywoman with a great feed through traffic near the top of the box. Whipp then took the ball and beat a pack of FDU defenders followed by a charging keeper before finding the back of an empty net.
St. John's next goal came less than eight minutes later on a penalty kick from Daly. While her efforts on the play would not etch her name on the score sheet, Shea Connors made it all happen with some brilliant footwork. The sophomore from New Haven, Conn., toyed with her defender for several seconds in the box before generating enough frustration with her dribbling to draw the penalty. Daly then placed the ball at the dot and performed a move that sent the goalkeeper flying in the wrong direction, allowing the senior forward to easily send it home.
After 50 minutes of scoreless action from both sides, the Knights made it a one-goal game in the 74th minute. Following nearly 20 minutes of close calls that Poulin managed to turn away, FDU finally found a bit of luck when a substantial amount of contact in front caused the ball to bounce to an open Carly Tice, who subsequently netted her team-leading fifth goal of the year.
The Red Storm wasted no time in responding, as a bout of brilliant ball movement allowed the Red Storm to score its third goal of the game in the 78th minute. The sequence began as Whipp controlled the ball of the near side of the goal deep in her own zone before playing it up to Cubbage near the top of the box. The Rio Rancho, N.M., native quickly touched it through traffic to the far side post, where Daly was waiting to bang it home.
The Red Storm returns to action on Sunday, Sept. 27, kicking off BIG EAST play with a 7 p.m. match against Seton Hall at Belson Stadium. The game will be broadcast on the BIG EAST Digital Network, the first of seven St. John's women's soccer games on the platform this season.
