St. John's University Athletics
St. John's Travels to Face Towson on Friday
8/25/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
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TOWSON, Md. - After kicking off the 2016 season in dominant fashion with a pair of back-to-back shutouts last weekend, the St. John's Red Storm will return to action on Friday at 4 p.m., traveling to Towson for the first of two consecutives contests in Charm City. The game will be streamed live for free on the Towson Sports Network.
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For their efforts in a pair of consecutive clean sheets, two Johnnies found themselves honored in the first set of 2016 BIG EAST Weekly Awards. Alexis Urbanski garnered her first career BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week accolade after a spectacular weekend that included a goal and an assist. The graduate student from Aberdeen, N.J., played a part in both game-winners, scoring a golden goal in the 97th minute against CCSU on Friday before sending a corner kick that led to Anna Maria Baldursdottir's deciding tally on Sunday versus Albany. Aided by the efforts of Urbanski and the back line, Diana Poulin was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll after going 2-0 with a pair of shutouts to open the campaign. The senior from Hauppauge, N.Y., became the Red Storm's all-time wins leader with her 33rd career victory against CCSU, surpassing Kristin Russell (2008-11) for the top spot on that ledger.
The Red Storm received three votes in the latest edition of the NSCAA Coaches' Poll released on Tuesday. Last season, the Red Storm rose as high as No. 22 in the NSCAA Poll and No. 15 in the Soccer America Poll.
Through the first two games of the season, four different Johnnies have found the back of the net for Head Coach Ian Stone. Last season, a fourth different member of the Red Storm did not register a goal until the team's seventh game, a 1-0 win over Campbell on Sept. 11.
While the Red Storm's historic senior class dominated headlines last season, the Johnnies' sophomore class has quickly proven that they are ready to step up and fill the void. Second-year players registered all three goals for St. John's on Sunday, as Baldursdottir converted on the game-winning corner kick before Samie Scaffidi and Christina Bellero added unassisted insurance tallies in the second half.
SCOUTING TOWSON
The Tigers enter Friday night's contest coming off a disappointing opening weekend, losing both of their games by a combined score of 8-1. Towson's first loss came in overwhelming fashion to preseason BIG EAST favorite Georgetown, as the Hoyas cruised past the Tigers, 6-0. Two days later, Towson fell to East Carolina at home by a score of 2-1.
Freshman Elizabeth Coletti registered the lone goal of the weekend for Towson.
The Tigers return their top goal scorer from 2015 in forward Natalia Pinkney, who found the back of the net seven times as a junior last season.
ST. JOHN'S VS. TOWSON -- THE SERIES
The Red Storm and the Tigers have met on a pair of occasions in the history of the two programs, with the Johnnies coming away with victory in both contests.
St. John's triumphed in both games by a score of 1-0, with the first win coming back in 2008 and the second occurring last year.
Shelby Halasz scored the game winner on a strong right foot in the second game of last season and Jen Leaverton, now an assistant coach with the Red Storm, scored her first collegiate goal to give St. John's the victory back in 2008.
