Kajan, Bellero and Cagnina Claim BIG EAST Honors

The BIG EAST released its regular season awards on Saturday afternoon and the St. John's women's soccer team could count three of its own among the ranks of the league's best.

St. John's leading scorer Zsani Kajan earned a spot on All-BIG EAST First Team, while seniors Christina Bellero and Claudia Cagnina received a nod to the All-BIG EAST Second Team.

Pacing the Red Storm offensively, Kajan has put together a spectacular season for the Johnnies. In 18 appearances, the redshirt sophomore has tallied 11 goals with a pair of assists for a team-high 24 points. Kajan's 11 goals are tied for the second most in the conference and rank in the top-30 on the national level. In addition, Kajan's double-digit scoring over the course of the 2018 campaign makes her just the seventh Johnnie in program history to record 10 or more goals in a single season.

Kajan's talent on the pitch has played an instrumental role in helping the Red Storm succeed this season. The Budapest, Hungary, native has recorded three multi-goal contests, including a hat trick against Stony Brook during the first half of the fall slate. With three strikes, Kajan became the first player to record a trio of goals in a single contest since Oct. 11, 2015, when former St. John's standout Rachel Daly scored three times in a 4-0 win over Creighton at Belson Stadium.

Bellero earns her third career all-league honor after landing a spot on All-BIG EAST Second Team last season and Preseason All-BIG EAST team prior to the start of the 2018 campaign. The senior from Mellville, N.Y., has been a on a tear as of late, recording a combined three goals in two of her last three contests. Bellero has registered two multi-goal games this season, most recently in a, 3-2, overtime victory against Villanova to earn BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week.

A highly-touted talent out of Lindenhust, N.Y., Cagnina played substantial minutes for the Red Storm, starting in all 18 matches over the course of the 2018 season. Entering the postseason, she ranks third on the team in assists with three. Cagnina's pinnacle moment of the year happened on Sept. 2 against Stony Brook, as the senior dished out a career-high three assists on the evening, just one off the program record set by Jennifer Contesini in 1995 and again by Marissa Stork in 1999. Cagnina's trio of assists mark the first three-assist match since 2008, the first year for which game-by-game records were readily available.

St. John's, the no. 3 seed in the BIG EAST Championship, will begin postseason play on Sunday afternoon, welcoming sixth-seeded Providence to Belson Stadium for a 1 p.m. tilt. The winner of that contest will earn a date with the no. 2 seed, Butler, on Nov. 1 in Indianapolis.

BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year
Caitlin Farrell, Georgetown*

BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year
Meaghan Nally, Georgetown

BIG EAST Midfielder of the Year
Samantha Dewey, Xavier

BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year
Arielle Schechtman, Georgetown, Sr., GK

BIG EAST Freshman of the Year
Anja Savich, Butler, F

BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year
Georgetown

All-BIG EAST First Team
Paige Monaghan, Butler, Sr., M
Annika Schmidt, Butler, R-Jr., D
Taryn Jakubowski, Creighton, Jr., M
Franny Cerny, DePaul, Sr., F
Caitlin Farrell, Georgetown, Sr., F*
Paula Germino Watnick, Georgetown, Jr., F/M
Meaghan Nally, Georgetown, Jr., D
Arielle Schechtman, Georgetown, Sr., GK
Katie Day, Providence, Sr., D
Zsani Kajan, St. John's, R-So., F
Samantha Dewey, Xavier, R-Jr., F

All-BIG EAST Second Team^
Anja Savich, Butler, Fr., F
Adrian Walker, DePaul, Jr., Center Back
Kyra Carusa, Georgetown, Grad., F
Grace Nguyen, Georgetown, So., M
Katrina Wetherell, Marquette, Fr., M
Shelby Hogan, Providence, So., GK
Hannah McNulty, Providence, So., F
Kayla Steeves, Providence, Sr., M
Christina Bellero, St. John's, Sr., F
Claudia Cagnina, St. John's, Sr., M
Kristin Barbour, Villanova, Jr., D
Grace Bahr, Xavier, Jr., D

All-Freshman Team^
Morgan Kloosterman, Butler, M
Anja Savich, Butler, F
Ansley Atkinson, Creighton, M
Mollie Eriksson, DePaul, GK
Ellie Mink, DePaul, M
Katrina Wetherell, Marquette, M
Alyssa Bombacino, Marquette, F
Hannah Morgan, Providence, D
Hensley Hancuff, Villanova, GK
Niki Molina, Villanova, M
Chloe O'Neil, Villanova, F
Hayley, Jakovich, Xavier, D

*unanimous selection
^extra player added due to a tie in voting

St. John's University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Christina Bellero

Claudia Cagnina

Zsani Kajan

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