St. John’s Drops Heartbreaker at UConn, 2-1

Sunday, September 24

Storrs, Conn. (Morrone Stadium)

1 p.m.

St. John's University

5-3-2, 0-2-0

UConn

5-2-2, 2-0-0

St. John's (NY)

UConn

9/24/2023 3:27:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Garziano headed home the equalizer in the 88th minute

STORRS, Conn. – The St. John's women's soccer team dropped a heartbreaker on a rainy Sunday afternoon at UConn, 2-1.

The Red Storm (5-3-2) equalized in the 88th minute at Morrone Stadium but the Huskies responded immediately with the game-winner just 22 seconds later.

Jessica Garziano scored her fourth goal in the last three games, heading home the late-game equalizer. The attacking midfielder now has seven goals on the year and reached the 20-point mark just 10 games into the year.

Frederique St.-Jean tallied her third assist of the year on a long ball into the 18-yard box that found the head of Garziano.

Goalkeeper Maria O'Sullivan logged three saves on the day, including a pair of acrobatic stops in the second half to keep the deficit at one.

Both teams frequented the corner marker on Sunday with each squad tallying eight corner kicks.

Off a Johnnies corner that was cleared out, UConn (5-2-2) went on the counter-attack, Jones found Cara Jordan on the left flank and she blasted one into the goal in the seventh minute to give the home side an early lead, 1-0.

The remainder of the opening frame was defensive-minded with neither team creating any threatening chances on goal. St. John's earned six corner kicks in the opening half.

Early in the second half, UConn took a corner and put a shot on frame that was blocked by Emily Riggins. The rebound bounced around the box before Chioma Okafor fired one up high that was knocked over the crossbar by the outstretched arm of O' Sullivan.

The Johnnies began to turn up the heat offensively and created a promising chance on their eighth corner of the afternoon. Garziano played a ball in and both teams attempted to gain control, Katherine Turner tried to back heel it into the goalmouth but it was picked up the Huskies goalkeeper.

As the Red Storm continued to search for the equalizer, Garziano put a free kick on target but it was caught by Mahoney.

Garziano engineered another chance in the 85th minute, Nicole Gordon played a terrific pass that allowed the veteran to slip by a pair of UConn defenders but the strike went just wide to the left of the net.

In the 88th minute, St. John's attack finally pulled through, St.-Jean delivered a long curling ball into the 18-yard box. With her back turned to the net, Garziano steered the header into the bottom corner of the twine to knot the match, 1-1.

On the ensuing kick-off, the Huskies immediately went on the offensive as Jordan played a cross in. Jones got on the end of it redirecting the shot to the other side of the net for the game winner in the 88th minute, just 22 seconds after the Johnnies game-tying goal.

The Red Storm will stay on the road for its next match when it travels to Seton Hall on Thursday night for a 6 p.m. start against the Pirates in South Orange, N.J.