St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
0-1-0, 0-0-0
UMass
1-0-0, 0-0-0
St. John’s Falls at UMass in Season Opener, 1-0
8/14/2025 6:23:00 PM | Women's Soccer
The Red Storm will be back in action at Saint Joseph’s on Aug. 24
AMHERST, Mass. – The St. John's Women's Soccer Team (0-1, 0-0 BIG EAST) fell in its season opener at UMass (1-0, 0-0 MAC), 1-0, on Thursday afternoon.
The Minutewomen's Amelia Daren provided the difference maker with a long-range strike with 22 minutes remaining in the match to give the home side the victory at Rudd Field, in the school's first athletic contest as a member of the Mid-American Conference (MAC).
Senior goalkeeper Kayla Bower made a career-high five saves in her season debut on Thursday afternoon. The Lincoln Park, N.J., native surpassed her previous personal best of four, which she set on three occasions.
Leah Anand, Samantha Goldberg, Nia Derodel, Alina Lagace, Julia Lombardo, Lauren Spence, Leana Ruiz, Maya Terwilligerand Jaylen Vallecillo all made their collegiate debuts in Amherst on Thursday.
Emily Riggins paced the squad with a pair of shots in the 2025 opener. Vallecillo, Madison Mariani and Molly McGlame each added one strike apiece. The Minutewomen outshot the Red Storm ,13-5
In the opening 20 minutes, the Minutewomen earned four corner kicks but the Johnnies held them at bay and looked to turn the tides and spring on the attack.
The first strike of the season came from the freshman Vallecillo, as the forward launched a shot from 30 yards out into the waiting arms of the UMass' goalkeeper Leah Niselnfield.
As the opening 45 minutes concluded, the two sides went into the halftime break tied 0-0. The Minutewomen led the Red Storm in shot attempts at the break, 4-3.
In the second half, the St. John's defense continued to hold strong clearing away the oncoming Minutewomen chances.
In the 68th minute, UMass struck first as Sarah Defreitas laid a pass off to Amelia Daren, who launched a left-footed strike just outside the 18-yard box that deflected into the twine and put the homeside up, 1-0.
As UMass continued to keep play in its offensive zone, the Minutewomen generated a pair of chances in the final minutes. In the 88th, the home side looked to double the score off a corner but were halted by a spectacular satop on the goal line from Anand, who logged the team save to keep the deficit at one. UMass held on in the final minutes to claim a 1-0 victory.
St. John's will be back in action in 10 days when it heads to Saint Joseph's for a 1 p.m. kickoff on Aug. 24.
Team Stats
Amelia Deren (1)
Assisted By: Sarah Defreitas
GOAL by UMass Deren, Amelia Assist by Defreitas, Sarah.
67:46
