The women’s soccer team’s attempt at a Cinderella run in the NCAA Tournament came to an end last night. The Red Storm offense struggled to get anything going on Friday night versus Arkansas, in a hard fought 1-0 defeat.
“We had a remarkable season,” head coach Ian Stone said. “It’s important not to let tonight define our season. We are disappointed in tonight, but we will grow from this experience.”
“We had an outstanding season,” defender Georgia Kearney-Perry said. “We played great offensively and were solid on defense. We all worked really hard this season.”
The team was lead throughout the season by the aforementioned twelve seniors and they will never be forgotten by the underclassmen.
“The seniors will be greatly missed on an off the field,” Kearney-Perry said. “Next season others are going to have to step into their roles. But we really are going to miss them.”
“These twelve seniors are a tremendous group,” Stone said. “Not just on the field, but in the classroom and in the St. John’s community. They set a great example for others. We are going to try and continue what they have brought to this team.”
The Red Storm was also led by the outstanding play of sophomore forward Rachel Daly. Daly was named as 2013 Big East Offensive Player of the Year as well as 2013 Big East Newcomer of the Year. Daly also leads the nation with 23 goals and a 2.50 goals per game average.
Freshman Diana Poulin and the St. Johns defense had a fantastic season for the Red Storm as well, combining for 10 shutouts on the season.
The Red Storm (12-6-3, 4-4-2 Big East) went to Durham, N.C to face off against the Razorbacks (15-8-0, 5-6 SEC) in the second round of NCAA Tournament.
Both teams were coming off their first ever NCAA Tournament victory.
The Red Storm had a rough night trying to test the Razorbacks defense. The team as a whole had three shots on goal for the night, all-coming from senior Amy Marron.
The Red Storm defense held up all night with the exception of Arkansas Claire Kelley lining up a shot from 23-yards out and finding the back of the net for her second goal on the season. The game went into halftime with Arkansas leading 1-0, a lead that the Razorbacks would sustain until the final horn would sound.
“Arkansas did a tremendous job of putting pressure and playing very physical with us tonight,” Stone said. “We tried to put pressure on them throughout the game, but we couldn’t put enough pressure on them.”
The women’s soccer season has come to a close, but the precedent set by this team will linger on for years to come.
