St. John's University Athletics
St. John's to Welcome Albany on Sunday Night
8/20/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
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St. John's Game Notes
Albany Game Notes
QUEENS, N.Y. - Fresh off an overtime win over CCSU in the Red Storm's season opener at Belson Stadium on Friday evening, the Johnnies will return to action on Sunday night, welcoming the Great Danes of Albany for a 7:30 p.m. contest.
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After making two saves in the Red Storm's 1-0 triumph on Friday, Diana Poulin notched the 33rd victory of her storied St. John's career, moving into sole possession of first place on the school's all-time wins list. The senior from Hauppauge, N.Y., moved past Kristin Russell, who tallied 32 wins for the Red Storm from 2008-11. The two-time defending BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year, Poulin has 21 career shutouts to her name, good enough for second place in Red Storm history but 11 shy of Russell for the top spot on that ledger.
Alexis Urbanski registered the first goal of her St. John's career on Friday night, firing the ball into the lower right-hand corner of the cage in the 97th minute to lift St. John's to a 1-0 overtime victory. Morgan Tinari, who led the BIG EAST in assists last season with nine, recorded a helper on the play, as did Mariela Jacome.
With the victory over CCSU, the Red Storm is now undefeated in its last five season openers. In 2013, the Johnnies kicked off the season with six-straight wins, tied for the second-longest winning streak in program history.
The BIG EAST released its Preseason All-Conference Team on Aug. 10 and the Red Storm was well represented, placing three players on the squad. Led by Poulin, who took home unanimous preseason goalkeeper of the year honors, the Red Storm also saw super sophomores Anna Maria Baldursdottir and Lucy Whipp find spots on the team. Both Baldursdottir and Whipp were members of the BIG EAST All-Freshman Team in 2015.
SCOUTING ALBANY
The Great Danes will enter Sunday night's contest coming off an impressive win to start the season, downing Army, 2-0, on the road. Alexa Schneider and Caitlyn Paltsios picked up the tallies for Albany in the victory.
After finishing tied for second in the America East Regular Season last year, the Great Danes won a pair of games in the conference tournament to earn their first-ever appearance in the NCAA field of 64. Albany drew eventual National Champion Penn State in the opening round, losing 5-0.
The America East's coaches expressed their confidence in the Great Danes before the season, picking them to win the conference title in league's preseason poll.
ALBANY VS. ST. JOHN'S -- THE SERIES
St. John's and Albany have only met on one occasion in the history of the two programs.
That meeting came on Sept. 2, 2011, when the Red Storm ran past the Great Danes, 2-0, in the opening game of the St. John's NYC Classic.
Senior forward Jen Leaverton, now an assistant coach for the Red Storm, scored the eventual game-winner in the 16th minute and picked up an assist on Raelynne Lee's insurance goal 10 minutes into the second half.
