St. John’s Surges in Second Half, Downs Butler, 3-1

Thursday, October 12

Queens, N.Y. (Belson Stadium)

7 p.m.

St. John's University

8-4-3, 3-3-1

Butler

5-6-4, 1-2-3

Butler

St. John's (NY)

St. John’s Surges in Second Half, Downs Butler, 3-1

10/12/2023 10:01:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Red Storm score three goals on five shots in the final 26 minutes

QUEENS, N.Y.- The St. John's women's soccer team used a second half surge to down Butler, 3-1, to earn three crucial points in BIG EAST play.

After a slow start offensively, the Red Storm attack surged in the second half netting three goals in the final half hour.

Jordyn Levy, Ava Collins and Jessica Garziano tallied goals on Thursday night at Belson Stadium.

Athina Sofroniou and Frederique St.-Jean logged assists on two of the three tallies.

Maria O' Sullivan made four saves while facing 13 shots. Over her last three outings, the Ballincollig, Ireland native is averaging 5.3 saves per game.

The Red Storm offense was incredibly efficient scoring three goals on five shots, which all came in the final 27 minutes of the match.

Butler had a few of glaring chances in the opening half, O' Sullivan made an acrobatic save on a long-range shot from Allie Leonard. As the strike approached the top right corner of the net the graduate student parried the ball out of bounds with a punch.

The two sides went to the break scoreless with the Bulldogs leading in shots, 5-0.

In the second frame, St. John's (8-4-3, 3-3-1 BIG EAST) struck gold on its first shot attempt of the game. Sofroniou won a challenge near midfield and played a long-ball over the top to Levy, the forward stopped to let an oncoming defender fly by, stopped the ball picked her spot and buried it to make the score line, 1-0, in the 64^th minute.

Just a couple minutes later, Garziano played a free kick into the box. As Butler attempted to clear with a header, it fell to the head of St.-Jean who bounced the ball back towards goal.  It fell into a crowd where Collins emerged and slipped a shot home for her second goal in the past three contests. After not logging a shot for 64 minutes, the Johnnies made it 2-0 with two tallies just 2:55 apart.

The Bulldogs quickly responded as Lucia Englund delivered a long-curling shot that soared into the goal and chopped the deficit in half, 2-1, in the 71^st minute.

With Butler (5-5-4, 1-2-3 BIG EAST) searching for an equalizer the visitors got their opportunity in the 86^th minute. A penalty was awarded and after a video review was ultimately upheld. Talia Sommer stepped up the spot and put the attempt wide to the left.

One minute later, the Red Storm went back on the offensive as Garziano tore through the Bulldogs' backline. The graduate student sent a rip into the twine for the exclamation point that secured the Johnnies' third BIG EAST win in their last four matches.

Garziano with her eighth goal of the season has now reached the 25-point mark for the year. The Melville, N.Y., native becomes just the eighth player in program history to record 25 points or more in a single-season.

Next up for the Red Storm is a trip to Cincinnati to face No. 19 Xavier on Sunday afternoon. The Johnnies and Musketeers will kick-off at 1 p.m. from Corcoran Field.