St. John’s Takes Down UConn, 3-0, in BIG EAST Opener

Thursday, September 23

Storrs, Conn. (Joseph J. Morrone Stadium)

7 p.m.

St. John's University

4-2-1, 1-0-0

University of Connecticut

4-4-0, 0-1-0

St. John's (NY)

UConn

St. John’s Takes Down UConn, 3-0, in BIG EAST Opener

9/23/2021 9:59:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Boyd, Kajan and Aviza all find the back of the net for the Red Storm

The St. John's women's soccer team connected on three goals in just 12 minutes, defeating Connecticut, 3-0, in its BIG EAST opener on Thursday night.

Brooke Boyd netted her third goal of the season with a game-winner in the 43rd minute to give St. John's (5-2-1, 1-0-0 BIG EAST) an early edge that would not relinquish.

Zsani Kajan, who ranked second in the nation for scoring entering the contest, converted on her 10th goal of the year in the 46th minute. Kajan is now the only player in program history to record double-digit scoring in three different seasons. The Budapest, Hungary, native logged a career-high 11 scores in 2018 and again in 2019. With the tally against the Huskies, Kajan improved her career total to 38 goals, surpassing Cristin Burtis and moving into third on the Red Storm's all-time scoring list.

Isabelle Aviza notched her second goal of the season, adding an insurance tally off a pass from Jessica Garziano in the 55th minute. The helper was one of two on the evening for Garziano. Shannon Aviza also logged an assist on Thursday night.

Naya Lipkens played all 90 minutes between the pipes for the Red Storm, making two critical saves to preserve the clean sheet. All five St. John's wins this season have come in shutout fashion.

UConn (4-4-0, 0-1-0 BIG EAST) controlled possession early in the match, going up 7-0 on shots through the first 21 minutes of action.

The Johnnies retaliated with five-straight shots over the next 15 minutes, all of which were on target.

With two minutes remaining in the first half, Boyd converted off a header from Shannon Aviza to send St. John's into the lockeroom with a 1-0 advantage.

The Red Storm's late spark carried over into the second half, as Kajan found the back of the net just seconds into the second stanza. The 5-foot-7 forward struck from just outside the 18-yard box to give the Johnnies a 2-0 advantage.

Nine minutes later, Aviza netted her second goal of the season to seal the decision. The sequence began as Garziano sent a pass inside to Aviza, who quickly corralled the ball before rocketing a shot over the head of UConn's keeper to bump the Johnnies' lead to three.

The Red Storm will return to action on Sunday afternoon when the Johnnies welcome DePaul to Queens for the team's BIG EAST home opener. Kick-off is slated for 1 p.m.