St. John's University Athletics
Thursday, August 13
Queens, N.Y. (Cox Family Field at Belson Stadium)
7 p.m.
St. John's University
0-1-0, 0-0-0
1
vs
2
UMass
1-0-0, 0-0-0
| Team | 1 | 2 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Massachusetts | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| St. John's (NY) | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Photo by: Vincent Dusovic
St. John’s Comeback Falls Short against UMass in Season Opener, 2-1
8/13/2026 9:45:00 PM | Women's Soccer
Nora Basile nets the Red Storm’s first goal of the 2026 campaign
QUEENS, N.Y. – St. John's women's soccer opened the 2026 campaign with a close 2-1 loss against Massachusetts on Thursday night, 2-1.
The Red Storm rallied from an early two-goal deficit to climb within one in the 66th minute at Cox Family Field at Belson Stadium. The Johnnies continued to apply pressure outshooting the Minutewomen 5-1 over the final 45 minutes, but ultimately fell short on a beautiful August night in Queens.
Nora Basile netted her first goal of the 2026 campaign for the Red Storm to chop the UMass deficit in half. After missing all of last season due to injury, the sophomore made her first appearance since her last tally in a 1-0 win over Creighton on Oct. 31, 2024. The Rockville Centre, N.Y., native tied a career-high and led all players with five shots.
Kayla Bower, fresh off a 94-save season campaign in 2024 logged 6 stops on opening night. The graduate student has racked up six or more saves in eight of her last 10 appearances. Sia Bharadwaj hit the crossbar in her collegiate debut.
Annie McCaffery led the way with three points (one goal, one assist) for UMass.
The Minutewomen struck twice in the opening half. The first goal was headed in by Caroline Dickson from McCaffery and Kaila Steen in the eighth minute. Exactly four minutes later, McCaffery found the back of the net on a set piece to double the visitors lead, 2-0, in the 12th minute.
The Red Storm cut the Minutewomen's lead in half in the 65th minute, with Basile picking off an attempted clear from the UMass goalie, Leah Nisenfeld, burying the ball into the unprotected net. Despite a strong final push over the final 25 minutes, the Minutewomen clenched onto the single-goal advantage for a 2-1 final score.
St. John's will travel to Boston College for a contest on Monday, Aug. 17, at 4 p.m. at Newton Campus Lacrosse & Soccer Field.
The Red Storm rallied from an early two-goal deficit to climb within one in the 66th minute at Cox Family Field at Belson Stadium. The Johnnies continued to apply pressure outshooting the Minutewomen 5-1 over the final 45 minutes, but ultimately fell short on a beautiful August night in Queens.
Nora Basile netted her first goal of the 2026 campaign for the Red Storm to chop the UMass deficit in half. After missing all of last season due to injury, the sophomore made her first appearance since her last tally in a 1-0 win over Creighton on Oct. 31, 2024. The Rockville Centre, N.Y., native tied a career-high and led all players with five shots.
Kayla Bower, fresh off a 94-save season campaign in 2024 logged 6 stops on opening night. The graduate student has racked up six or more saves in eight of her last 10 appearances. Sia Bharadwaj hit the crossbar in her collegiate debut.
Annie McCaffery led the way with three points (one goal, one assist) for UMass.
The Minutewomen struck twice in the opening half. The first goal was headed in by Caroline Dickson from McCaffery and Kaila Steen in the eighth minute. Exactly four minutes later, McCaffery found the back of the net on a set piece to double the visitors lead, 2-0, in the 12th minute.
The Red Storm cut the Minutewomen's lead in half in the 65th minute, with Basile picking off an attempted clear from the UMass goalie, Leah Nisenfeld, burying the ball into the unprotected net. Despite a strong final push over the final 25 minutes, the Minutewomen clenched onto the single-goal advantage for a 2-1 final score.
St. John's will travel to Boston College for a contest on Monday, Aug. 17, at 4 p.m. at Newton Campus Lacrosse & Soccer Field.
Players Mentioned
Forward
/ Women's Soccer
Midfielder
/ Women's Soccer
Goalkeeper
/ Women's SoccerTeam Stats
UMass
STJ
Goals
2
1
Shots
12
8
Shots on Goal
8
3
Saves
2
6
Corners
3
1
Fouls
11
8
Scoring Plays
Caroline Dickson (1)
Assisted By: Kaila Steen , Annie McCaffrey
GOAL by UMass Dickson, Caroline Assist by Steen, Kaila and McCaffrey, Annie.
07:52
Annie McCaffrey (1)
Assisted By: Amelia Deren , Peyton Costello
GOAL by UMass McCaffrey, Annie Assist by Deren, Amelia and Costello, Peyton.
11:57
Nora Basile (1)
GOAL by STJ Basile, Nora.
65:14
Game Leaders
fwd
Shots
5
SOG
2
Goals
1
Assists
0
Shots
1
SOG
1
Goals
0
Assists
0
Shots
1
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
0
def
Shots
1
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
0
Saturday, October 25
Sunday, August 24
Thursday, October 31
Sunday, September 15