St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
Butler
Butler Holds Off St. John's, 1-0
10/8/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - Despite a strong second-half push, the St. John's women's soccer team fell to Butler, 1-0, at the Sellick Bowl in Indianapolis on Sunday.
The Bulldogs (10-1-3, 3-0-2 BIG EAST) outshot the Red Storm (5-8-1, 1-4-0 BIG EAST) by a slim 8-7 margin. St. John's earned five corner kicks to the Bulldogs' three and redshirt freshman Jordan Kamp made three saves for the Johnnies.
Butler broke the scoreless tie just seconds before the end of the first half when Paige Monaghan found the back of the net for her fifth goal of the season. Monaghan sent what initially looked to be a cross into the box but the ball continued to drift towards the far post and barely snuck in between Kamp's hand and the crossbar.
The Bulldogs, who entered the contest as the nation's leader in save percentage, shutout percentage and goals against average, posted their 12th shutout of the season.
Butler controlled the pace for the first 20 minutes of the opening half but the Red Storm began to pressure the Butler defense midway through the opening stanza. The Johnnies earned back-to-back corner kids in the 24th and 25th minutes but the Butler defense held strong.
Later, the Bulldogs picked up the offensive pressure and earned a corner kick in the 31st minute. After a scramble in the box that caused Kamp to come off her line, Butler's Breann Pempek sent a shot towards an empty net but Allie Moar was there to stop it, resulting in a team save for the Red Storm.
Then, in the 38th minute, Zsani Kajan flicked a shot on that hit the post after it was deflected by a Butler defender. The Red Storm earned a pair of corner kicks in the following seconds, the second of which nearly found the back of the net. Junior Christina Bellero sent a cross into the box that Mariela Jacome headed past goalkeeper Hannah Luedtke but a Butler defender was there to clear the danger and keep the Johnnies off the board.
In the 45th minute, Butler earned a free kick to the right side of the box. The ball was sent in and eventually found the foot of Julia Leonard, who sent a shot on goal that would have gone in if it weren't for Moar getting a head on the ball and clearing. After the ball was sent back down to the Butler zone, Monaghan and Elena Gutlove used a combination to get Monaghan space down the near sideline. Monaghan then sent the ball into the box and past Kamp for the goal with just 25 seconds left in the opening half.
Trailing 1-0 to start the second half, the Johnnies searched for an equalizer throughout the latter stanza.
In the 80th minute, Madeleine Watson sent a tailing shot towards the net that bent just outside the right post. The Johnnies had their best scoring chance in the 83rd minute when Bellero got in behind the defense but her one-touch shot went just high. That shot followed a long attempt from Moar that missed high over the bar. Later, in the 88th minute, Claudia Cagnina sent a long shot towards the net but her try sailed high as Butler was able to hold off the Red Storm's second-half push for the win.
St. John's returns to the pitch on Saturday, Oct. 14 when it hosts Seton Hall at 8 p.m. at Belson Stadium. Saturday's contest will be carried live on the BIG EAST Digital Network.
