Spring sports have begun to start up but that doesn’t mean that fall sports take a back seat.That being said, the Women’s soccer team is scheduled to play seven spring games over the course of March and April.
The first matchup took place against Sky Blue FC at Sportika Sports in Manalapan Township, New Jersey. Sky Blue FC is a member of the NWSL (National Women’s Soccer League), who call New Jersey home.
Sky Blue FC features not only professional soccer players, but they have Olympic pedigree prowling the net mouth with Goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan, who plays for Team Canada in Olympic competition. Sheridan and the 4-4-2 formation that Sky Blue FC rolled out on Saturday would prove to be too much for the Red Storm, as they fell six-nothing, giving up five goals in the first half.
While most matchups of this kind tend to give the advantage to the professional side, the main objective of the game is to compare yourself and your game to how a professional team conducts their team and their play style. The score itself was not pretty, but for the players, having the opportunity to go up against some of the best soccer players in the world is a moment that they can take with them for the rest of their life, be it in soccer or outside of it.
Coming off of a solid season that saw the Red Storm finish nine wins, nine losses and one draw with a conference record of five wins, three losses and one draw coming against Providence, the Red Storm are looking to get an early start to the
2019 season.
Some subtractions from the Red Storm include Forward Christina Bellero and Midfielder Claudia Cagnina. Both Students were recognized not only for their play on the pitch for St. Johns but both sported GPA’s in the 3.6 range. Both earned spots on the All-Big East second team and were recognized by the United Soccer Coaches Division 1 Women’s Scholar All-East Region Second team. The Leadership and skill that both Cagnina and Bellero demonstrated are hard to replace, but the Red Storm was made some new additions to account for the empty spots on the roster.
The Johnnies were quick to begin the process of acquiring new players for the 2019 season by signing four high school players and Fairfield transfer Alex Madden. Madden is the most interesting because of her experience in international football, playing with Leicester City Women’s FC Last season. Madden was a standout at Fairfield and she was named to the All-Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference First Team in her first year of play. She will be counted on to be a key player for the Red Storm as so far she has been the biggest addition to the team for the 2019 season.
The Red Storm will have Zsani Kajan of the Hungarian Olympic National Team return for her Junior season. Kajan had a busy start to 2019 as she appeared for the Hungarian National team in the Cyprus Women’s Cup. Kajan will continue to play a major role for the Red Storm in the 2019 season.
The Red Storm play their next Spring Exhibition game on March 20 against FC Girondins de Bordeaux.
