St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
DePaul
St. John's Blanks BIG EAST Leading DePaul, 1-0
10/15/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Final Stats | Box Score (PDF) | SJU-TV Postgame Recap
QUEENS, N.Y. - Taking on a DePaul team that had won seven-straight games coming into Saturday's match, the St. John's women's soccer team blanked the Blue Demons, 1-0, to hand DePaul its first loss in conference play this season.
The Red Storm (7-3-5, 2-2-2) counted on its defense throughout the contest, shutting out a Blue Demon team that had scored 24 goals during a seven-game win streak and were averaging more than three goals per game in conference play. Senior keeper Diana Poulin picked up her 10th clean sheet of the season, tying the single-season program record held by Kristin Russell (2008-2011). Poulin made a season-best nine saves, her most in a game since she made 10 stops at Marquette during the 2013 season. Poulin's goals-against average dropped to 0.44 on the campaign, while her save percentage rose to .881.
Samie Scaffidi tallied her third goal of the season in the 70th minute after dribbling her way through three defenders and sending a right-footed shot into the bottom left corner for a sensational goal.
For the game, DePaul (8-5-2, 5-1-0 BIG EAST) held advantages in most offensive categories. The Blue Demons outshot the Red Storm, 18-3, and sent nine shots on target to St. John's two. DePaul also earned six corner kicks, while the Red Storm won just one.
From the opening kick, the Blue Demons controlled the pace. In the fourth minute, Alexa Ben sent a header on goal that Poulin handled. From there, DePaul took three more shots over the next 12 minutes. In the 20th minute, Ben sent another shot on goal but Poulin turned it aside.
DePaul went on to take a total of 10 shots in the first 45 minutes. Poulin stopped all five that were on target.
St. John's shifted the momentum in the 75th minute. After Madeline Frick sent a header on goal that Poulin stopped, the Red Storm went on the attack. Morgan Tinari found Scaffidi at the top-right of the box and from there, Scaffidi made her way through three quarters of the Blue Demon defense before setting the ball on her right foot and sending a shot just inside the lower left post, giving the Red Storm the 1-0 advantage.
Over the final 16 minutes of play, the St. John's defense held the Blue Demons to just one shot that was turned aside by Poulin, and the Red Storm closed out their seventh win of the season.
St. John's returns to action on Thursday when they head to Cincinnati to take on Xavier in a BIG EAST battle. The opening kick is slated for 6:30 p.m. on the BIG EAST Digital Network.
