St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
Fairfield
St. John's Explodes for Five Goals Against Fairfield
9/4/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
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QUEENS, N.Y. - Looking to tie the second-longest unbeaten streak to start a season in program history on Sunday night against Fairfield, the St. John's Red Storm put forth its best offensive performance in over three years, registering a 5-1 win over the Stags on Belson Stadium.
"We worked really hard this week because we were frustrated with the couple of results last weekend where we dominated possession but we could not get the ball in the back of the net," said Head Coach Ian Stone after the game. "I give the girls a lot of credit. I pushed them pretty hard... Getting two in on Friday and then getting five in at home tonight is fantastic. I said to the team, there are a lot of times when we will play really well on Belson, but to score five goals is a special night."
Sporting a balanced offensive attack, five different players found the back of the net for the Red Storm (4-0-2). It was the first goal of the year for all five.
Ten different members of the Red Storm have now found the back of the net this season, one more than did for the entirely of the 2015 campaign.
The Red Storm last reached the five-goal plateau on Sept. 1, 2013, as Amy Marron tallied a hat trick and Rachel Daly added two more in a 5-0 win over North Dakota State at Belson Stadium.
Shea Connors and Morgan Tinari led the way for the Johnnies, tallying a goal and an assist each. It was the first goal for each upperclassman since the 2014 season, as last year both Tinari, who led the BIG EAST in assists with nine, and Connors, who ranked second on the team with five helpers, were more facilitators than goal scorers.
Alexa Dolgos and Maria Gonzalez Bullon recorded the first goals of their St. John's careers against the Stags (1-5-0), while Lucy Whipp, a 2015 BIG EAST All-Freshman selection, found the back of the net for the first time in 2016.
Diana Poulin recorded 74 minutes of shutout action before being replaced by Sarah Chaides in the second half. Sunday marked the first time in her career that Chaides, a redshirt junior, has seen game action for the Red Storm. Poulin, the Red Storm's all-time wins leader with 36, now has a goals against average of just 0.16 on the season.
The Red Storm's first goal came in just the 12th minute, as Claudia Cagnina, who made her first career start, sent a cross from the right side into the box toward Samie Scaffidi. The sophomore then played it through traffic to Connors, who buried it to put St. John's up, 1-0.
Less than five minutes later in the 16th minute, Connors played a ball from just outside the six to Tinari past the top of the 18-yard box and the senior from Holbrook, N.Y., chipped it over the goalkeeper to give her team a commanding early lead.
The Red Storm's third goal of the half came off a set piece in the 37th minute, as Tinari played a corner kick to the near post for Dolgos. The sophomore from Bethpage, N.Y., headed it past the keeper to give her team the 3-0 lead with which it would enter the intermission.
Just over seven minutes into the second half, the Red Storm made it 4-0 on Whipp's goal. Senna Brennan, who recorded the first point of her St. John's career, sent a ball into the box for Whipp, who showed incredible composure to corral the pass, evade her defender and put it past the keeper.
The Johnnies saved the best for last in terms of highlight reel goals, as Gonzalez Bullon blasted a curving shot from 25 yards out perfectly into the upper-right hand corner of the net. Christina Bellero picked up an assist on the tally.
Fairfield recorded its lone goal of the game 80 seconds later to make it 5-1.
St. John's will to return to action on Friday afternoon, traveling to the West Coast for the Nike Portland Invitational. The Johnnies will take on perennial Pac-12 power Washington on Friday before playing Portland on Sunday.
