St. John’s Uses Early Goal to Edge Past DePaul, 1-0

Sunday, September 26

Queens, N.Y. (Belson Stadium)

1 p.m.

St. John's University

5-2-1, 2-0-0

DePaul University

3-6-0, 0-1-0

DePaul

St. John's (NY)

St. John’s Uses Early Goal to Edge Past DePaul, 1-0

9/26/2021 4:58:00 PM | Women's Soccer

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The Red Storm improves to 2-0-0 in BIG EAST action

Led by a brilliant effort between the pipes from redshirt junior Naya Lipkens, the St. John's women's soccer team needed just one goal to claim its second-straight conference victory, downing DePaul, 1-0, on Sunday afternoon at Belson Stadium.

Lipkens tallied a season-high 12 saves on the day, including a crucial stop in the 86th minute to keep DePaul off the board. The Bloomfield, Conn., native now has five shutouts on the season, to rank second overall in the BIG EAST.

Ava Collins, a product of Auckland, New Zealand, found the back of the net for the third time this season, surpassing her overall goal-total from the 2021 spring campaign. Forwards Zsani Kajan and Nicole Gordon both picked up an assist on Collins' tally.

With the win over the Blue Demons (3-6-0, 0-1-0 BIG EAST), the Johnnies improve to 2-0-0 in BIG EAST action and are boasting a 6-2-1 overall record on the season.

"That victory showed a lot of character from our team in that we played Thursday at Connecticut and we played great soccer, scoring three goals." said Stone. "Sometimes in the BIG EAST when you are playing Thursday and Sunday, especially when your opponent didn't play on Thursday, you just have to grind it out and I am just so proud of the effort from our team."

Collins struck in just the seventh minute to give St. John's an early 1-0 advantage. Kajan began the play, sending a behind-the-back pass up to Gordon just outside the box. Gordon played the ball up to Collins, who rocketed a shot over the head of DePaul's keeper for the lone goal of the match.

Following the Red Storm's tally, the Blue Demons began to apply pressure down the stretch, outshooting St. John's by a 6-2 margin. All of their chances, however, were turned aside by the Red Storm's defensive unit, as the Johnnies held on to a 1-0 advantage at the intermission.

Nearly 30 minutes into the second have, the Red Storm narrowly missed extending their advantage to a pair in the 74th minute off a strike from Isabelle Aviza. The Medway, Mass., native sent a shot towards an empty net, but saw her attempt bounce left off the woodwork to keep the score at bay.

The Blue Demons fired off three more shots over the final 10 minutes, all of which were stopped by Lipkens to earn the Red Storm three crucial points in the BIG EAST standings.

The Johnnies return to action on Thursday evening, welcoming Butler to Belson Stadium for a 7 p.m. meeting.