NCAA Men’s Soccer (10/15): St. John’s 2, Butler 1
The Red Storm men’s soccer team took on No. 11/14 Butler on Saturday at Belson Stadium and came away with a 2-1 victory. Alistair Johnston scored St. John’s first goal in the 37th minute assisted by Mauricio Rivas. Butler fired back in the 64th minute with a goal from Lewis Suddick, but Johnnies goalie Andrew Withers saved three other shots in the second half to keep the game tied at one. This allowed the Red Storm to take the lead in the 84th minute with a beautifully placed goal from Harry Cooksley.
This was a big win for the Johnnies having defeated a nationally ranked opponent and it will create a ton of momentum for their next match in Washington, D.C. versus Big East rival Georgetown on October 22.
NCAA Women’s Soccer (10/15): St. John’s 1, DePaul 0
St. John’s women’s soccer snapped DePaul’s seven-game win streak on Saturday while handing them their first conference loss of the season with a 1-0 victory. Their defense played an exceptional match while goalie Diana Poulin grabbed her 10th clean sheet of the season, tying the St. John’s single-season record. Her impressive tally of nine saves was her best since the 2013 season when she stopped 10 shots versus Marquette.
Samie Scaffidi scored a tremendous goal in the 70th minute to take the lead that would eventually result in the win.
The Johnnies will face Xavier on Thursday and try to carry the energy from this big win out to Cincinnati with them.
NCAA Volleyball (10/14): Creighton def. St. John’s, 25-16, 25-13, 25-14
St. John’s volleyball faced up against Creighton in Omaha on Friday and lost in three straight sets for the first time this season (25-16, 25-13, 25-14). The Bluejays hit at a hot .356 clip led by Lauren Smith and Lydia Dimke. For the Johnnies, Gaia Traballi had six kills while Erica DiMaulo contributed 17 assists; the pair had solid outings for an otherwise tough defeat for the Red Storm.
NCAA Volleyball (10/16): Providence def. St. John’s, 25-21, 25-22, 21-25, 25-19
On Sunday, the Johnnies showed some real fight against another Big East opponent at Providence, but could not pull away the victory (21-25, 22-25, 25-21, 19-25). They made a late comeback but the Friars held onto the lead. SJU was led again by Traballi (13 kills, 10 digs) and DiMaulo (47 assists). Julia Cast also pitched in 11 kills and six blocks. The Red Storm (12-10) will head to Xavier on October 20 for their next match.
NCAA Men’s Tennis: Oracle ITA Masters
Roberto Livi of the St. John’s tennis team made it to the finals of the men’s singles consolation bracket this past weekend. He was defeated in the first match of the tournament by top-25-in-the-nation Or Ram-Harel from Tulsa, but Livi didn’t let it get to him. He went on to win the next three matches on his way to the finals, defeating Nathan Boniel of Portland St., No. 117 in the country Guilherme Hadlich from Pepperdine, and Vinny Gillespie of Drake.
Squaring off against No. 52 in the nation Andrew Watson of Memphis, in the finals, Livi was defeated but nonetheless had an impressive showing at the tournament. Assistant Coach Cory Hubbard said, “This result shows Robbie can play with top players from around the country and overall was a great experience.”
NCAA Cross Country: SJUXC Fall Festival
The St. John’s cross country team was victorious on Sunday, taking first overall at the annual SJUXC Fall Festival. Antonia Howard finished second overall while Elizabeth Costantino and Stephanie Gerland both also finished in the top-8 to contribute to the Johnnies’ 41 total team points. Melissa Hidalgo and Therese Gallagher also took 11th and 14th respectively to add a few points as well.
The cross country team has been performing very well having finished fourth and first in their last two meets respectively as well. They will now head into postseason races as they will compete in the 2016 Big East XC Championship that will take place in the Bronx (Van Cortlandt Park) on October 28.
