The St. John’s Women’s Soccer team remains winless in Big East play, due to an uninspiring offensive showing against the Marquette Golden Eagles. The loss was the team’s first defeat at home this season as their record drops to 5-3-4 (0-2-2 in conference play).
Despite only being down by one goal the entire game, the Red Storm’s offense couldn’t keep up with the Golden Eagles. Marquette hounded the St. John’s back line, having nine of their 13 shots being on goal. They were able to hold on to the ball and run out the clock for almost the entirety of the second half, the Johnnies didn’t even get a shot off in this half.
Without the senior midfielder duo of Lauryn Tran and Jailene DeJesus, the team would have been shut out for the second time this season. DeJesus is currently tenth in the Big East in shots, leading to her placement on Sept. 30’s BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll.
These poor offensive performances of late can be attributed to the complacent play of the team’s most impactful players. For more complete offensive performances, other crucial playmakers need to get involved to help DeJesus and Tran.
Tran has assisted DeJesus on goals in the last two games and DeJesus has carried the team with three goals in the last two games.
More offensive cohesion would also help alleviate the pressure put on the defense. The Johnnies have found gold with the goalkeeping tandem of senior Malene Nielsen and junior Kayla Bower. They have combined for an impressive 51 saves on the season.
Blown leads like the 3-3 draw to the University of Connecticut and a 2-2 tie to Seton Hall can be attributed to a tired and overworked defense. UConn’s offense put up a monster 24 shots against the Johnnies in this game, compared to a measly six for SJU. St. John’s led 3-0 in the first half but due to a content offensive output after their third goal, UConn possessed the ball for the rest of the game and harassed the defense until the final whistle.
Marquette’s similar strategy of wearing down the defense should be a wake-up call for St. John’s. If the team continues to not shake up play calling then they risk falling down the Big East standings even further.
