St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
Villanova
St. John's Blanks Villanova, 1-0
10/23/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
QUEENS, N.Y. - Behind a strong effort from the Red Storm defense, the St. John's women's soccer team came away with a 1-0 win over Villanova on Sunday afternoon at Belson Stadium as senior Diana Poulin set a single-season program record with her 11th shutout of the campaign.
It was a tale of two halves for the Johnnies, who played with a strong wind to their backs in the opening 45 minutes. Villanova (3-14-0, 1-7-0 BIG EAST) controlled the pace throughout the first half, but the Red Storm came away with the better scoring chances despite the Wildcats attack.
St. John's (9-3-5, 4-2-2 BIG EAST), now winners of three straight, held a 6-3 advantage in shots in the first half. The Red storm sent four shots on target, all of which were stopped by Emma Meyer, while Poulin made a pair of saves in the opening half.
"In the first half, playing with the wind worked against us," Head Coach Ian Stone said. "We kept over hitting balls and they kept rolling through to the goalkeeper, so I said at halftime I think it was going to suit us a little more now where we can play a ball into feet."
In the second half, the Red Storm picked up the offensive pressure while continuing to hold off the Wildcats.
After Villanova took the first four shots in the second half, St. John's went on the offensive in the 66th minute. Samie Scaffidi sent a shot on goal before a Shea Connors attempt led to a corner. After Miranda Haraughty's initial header hit the crossbar, Anna Maria Baldursdottir connected and found the back of the net for her third goal of the season.
"I think we competed a little harder and there was a 15 minute period where we were playing better in the midfield, winning second balls, and that allowed us to get the ball on the ground and possess it," Stone said about the second half. "We had a few chances during that period where, for me, it was just a question of timing, when one was going to go in."
From there, Poulin and the Red Storm defense held off the Wildcats, who continued to pressure the Johnnies but only managed to get two shots on goal in the final 15 minutes of action.
In all, Poulin made eight saves to pick up her 31st career shutout, one shy of trying Kristin Russell (2008-11) for the program record.
St. John's returns to action on Friday when it hosts Providence in the 2016 regular season finale. Prior to the game the St. John's women's soccer team will be honoring those players who will be playing in their final home game at Belson Stadium. The first kick is scheduled for 7 p.m. on the BIG EAST Digital Network.
