St. John's University Athletics
Athina Sofroniou Named BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week
8/21/2023 3:00:00 PM | Women's Soccer
The junior tallied a goal in the 3-0 win over FDU on Thursday
NEW YORK – St. John's Women's Soccer defender Athina Sofroniou was named the BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week, as announced by the league office on Monday.
The junior orchestrated a stellar start to the 2023 campaign, burying a strike to the bottom left corner to increase the Johnnies lead in the season opener against FDU on Aug. 17. The goal marked the second of her career and the first since Oct. 14, 2021, at Marquette during her freshman year.
Defensively, the Dix Hills, N.Y., native played a pivotal role in two lockdown performances to open the season. Sofroniou started both games and played 173 of 180 possible minutes in a 1-0-1 start for the Red Storm. The junior propelled the Johnnies' backline unit to two-straight shutouts and allowed just two shots on target and nine shots total in their season opening contests against FDU and Navy.
Sofroniou becomes the first Johnnie to be named the conference's defensive player of the week since Jesse Schaefer on Oct. 16, 2017.
In her third year with the squad, Sofroniou has appeared in 42 matches, making 17 starts for Head Coach Ian Stone. During her rookie season in 2021, the defender was tabbed to the BIG EAST All-Freshman Team.
Sofroniou and the Red Storm will be back in action on Aug. 27 at Colgate for a 1 p.m. kick-off.
