Kajan’s Hat Trick Lifts St. John's Past Saint Joseph’s, 5-0

Sunday, August 22

Philadelphia, Pa. (Sweeney Field)

1 p.m.

St. John's University

2-0-0

Saint Joseph's University

0-2-0

St. John's

Saint Joseph's

Kajan’s Hat Trick Lifts St. John's Past Saint Joseph’s, 5-0

8/22/2021 4:28:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

St. John’s scores all five goals in the second half

For the third time in her storybook St. John's career, Zsani Kajan recorded a hat trick on Sunday, leading the Red Storm to a 5-0 victory over Saint Joseph's at Sweeney Field in Philadelphia.

The Budapest, Hungary, native tallied a trio of goals in a game for the first time since Oct. 24, 2019, when she tallied a hat trick against BIG EAST foe Villanova. The season before that, Kajan notched the first three-goal outing of her collegiate career against Stony Brook on Dec. 2, 2018.

The hat trick against Saint Joseph's was the quickest of Kajan's career, as the 5-foot-7 forward recorded all three goals in just 12 minutes.

Through two games this year, Kajan has already found the back of the net five times. The Red Storm's active leading scorer has bumped her career total up to 33 goals and is just five shy of moving into third on the Red Storm's all-time scoring list.

Checking into the game with just under 15 minutes remaining on the clock, Samantha Gordon found the back of the net twice over an 11-minute span. The pair of goals marked the first and second of Gordon's Red Storm career.

Redshirt junior Kayla Mesaros and freshmen Jadyn Rupnow and Maya Alberts all registered assists on the day.

Goalkeepers Naya Lipkens and Meghan Groah both earned minutes between the pipes, helping the Red Storm secure its second-straight clean sheet. The duo each recorded a save on the afternoon.

Neither side mustered up much offense during the first 45 minutes of action. St. John's, however, controlled possession for a majority of the opening stanza, holding a 5-2 advantage in shots at the intermission.

Following a scoreless first half, the Red Storm broke through in the 55th minute as Mesaros played a magnificent through ball into the box for Kajan, who finished on the ground to give the Red Storm the 1-0 advantage.

Seven minutes later, Katherine Turner sent a long pass up to Kajan who corralled the ball and dribbled toward the net before sending it into the top of the cage for her second goal of the contest.

Less than six minutes after completing the brace, Kajan put the Red Storm up 3-0, converting on a penalty kick for her third score of the match.

The Red Storm continued to control the pace of play in the second half, as Gordon converted on her first career goal for St. John's in the 77th minute. The sequence began as Rupnow send a long pass up from center field to Gordon just outside the 18-yard box. The Amityville, N.Y., native buried it into the back of the net to give St. John's a four-goal advantage.

With under a minute to play, Gordon struck again, adding on another insurance tally for St. John's. The senior forward converted on a deflection off the foot of a Hawks' defender to put the game to bed.

St. John's dominated Saint Joseph's on the scoresheet all game, claiming a 14-5 shot advantage, including an 8-2 edge on target.

The Red Storm returns to action on Aug. 27, as the Johnnies welcome Columbia to Queens for a 6 p.m. meeting.