St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
FDU
St. John’s Opens 2023 Campaign against FDU on Thursday Night
8/16/2023 9:52:00 AM | Women's Soccer
The Red Storm were slated to finish third in the BIG EAST Preseason poll
QUEENS, N.Y. – The 2023-24 athletic year for St. John's will get underway on Thursday night when the women's soccer team hosts FDU at Belson Stadium.
The match will kick off at 7:30 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN+ with Nick DeLuca and Zach Weiss on the call from Queens.
The 2023 season marks the 30th season at the helm for Head Coach Ian Stone, who is one of just six active NCAA Division I women's soccer coaches to spend 30 or more years at the same school. Last year, Stone led the group to a 7-5-7 record and another trip to the BIG EAST Tournament, the 20th postseason appearance in St. John's women's soccer history.
In last week's BIG EAST Preseason Coaches' Poll, the Johnnies were slated to finish third, their highest ranking since 2015 when they won the regular season title. The 2023 roster features a slew of returning veterans, including seven regular starters from last year's team.
For the third time in as many seasons, Jessica Garziano was tabbed to the All-BIG EAST Preseason Team. The midfielder will enter her final season with the Johnnies having strung together an illustrious career so far. The Long Island native is a three-time all-conference player, one of just seven in the program's history. A prolific distributor, Garziano sits third all-time with 22 career assists, two shy of tying for second.
Garziano is joined by Angelina Scoma, Frederique St.-Jean and Katherine Turner as this year's team captains. Turner, a staple at center back, was named to the league's all-tournament team and played 1,749 of 1,750 possible minutes last season.
FDU will arrive after winning the NEC title in 2022, its second-ever and first in 21 years. The Knights were selected third in their conference's preseason poll and return a trio of NEC All-Rookie Team selections from a year ago in Emma Moe, Mona Schlegl and Katie Ward.
Thursday night's opener will mark the fourth time the two schools have met on the pitch with the Red Storm leading the series, 3-0. The last time both programs faced off, St. John's captured a 3-1 victory on Sept. 20, 2015, fueled by a brace from Rachel Daly. Earlier today, Daly punched her ticket to the World Cup Final with the English Women's National Team.
The Red Storm will look to extend its lengthy 11-match winning streak in home openers, which dates back to the 2012 season.
