St. John’s Draws with Villanova, 2-2

Sunday, March 21

Villanova, PA. (Higgins Soccer Complex )

3 p.m.

St. John's University

5-2-1, 2-2-1

Villanova University

2-6-2, 1-3-2

St. John's (NY)

Villanova

3/21/2021 7:08:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Kajan and Collins scored for the Red Storm

By: Victoria Lanza

Trailing Villanova, 2-1, in the second half of Sunday's contest, the St. John's women's soccer team fought furiously to net the equalizer in the 83rd minute before eventually playing the Wildcats to a 2-2 double overtime draw at Higgins Soccer Complex.

Sunday marked the fourth-straight meeting between St. John's and Villanova that went into extra minutes.

Zsani Kajan and Ava Collins scored the goals for St. John's (5-2-1, 2-2-1 BIG EAST), striking in the 53rd and 83rd minutes, respectively. The goal for Kajan marked her third of the year and the 27th of her Red Storm career. Collins, the rookie from Auckland, New Zealand, found the back of the net for the second time this season. The duo of Kajan and Collins both assisted on each other's goals, to finish with game-high three points each on the afternoon.

St. John's outshot Villanova (2-6-2, 1-3-2 BIG EAST) by a wide margin, tallying 16 chances to the Wildcats' eight. The Johnnies also earned six corners to Villanova's four.

The Wildcats controlled possession early in the contest, firing off three shots to the Red Storm's one in the first 20 minutes of action.

Villanova jumped ahead, 1-0, in the 22nd minute as Reagan Smith sent one to the back of the cage.

The Johnnies unleashed a flurry of chances over the remainder of the half to own a 5-4 edge on shots after 45 minutes of action.

After the Johnnies registered a pair of looks in the 48th and 49th minutes, Kajan broke through in the 53rd to knot the game at 1-1. Collins played a long pass just outside the box for Kajan, who buried it home into the wide open net.

Just over 10 minutes later, the Wildcats struck again as Makayla Stadler scored in the 64th minute off a feed from Chloe O'Neill, giving Villanova a 2-1 advantage.

With seven minutes remaining in regulation, the Johnnies knotted the game at two with a goal from Collins. Kajan began the sequence sending a pass through traffic intended for Collins. The freshman forward corralled the pass before sending a right-footed blast on the cage.

The Red Storm had a great chance to end the contest in the 98th minute, but the Wildcats came up big to register the stop. Isabelle Aviza put a try on target but was denied by Villanova's goalkeeper. That was the Johnnies' lone look in extra time, as neither team was able to tally the golden goal.

St. John's returns to action on Thursday, when the team travels to South Orange, N.J., for a 6 p.m. meeting with Seton Hall.