The St. John’s University Women’s Soccer team (4-11-0, 1-5-0) fell to Big East opponent Xavier University (11-3-2, 4-2-0) at Belson Stadium on Oct. 20 at 1pm.
The history between St. John’s and Xavier looks to a six-year winning streak by the Johnnies. In last year’s game at the Xavier University Soccer Complex in Cincinnati, Ohio, the Red Storm held a 1-0 lead over the Musketeers. St. John’s goalkeeper, Meredith Reinhardt, found herself with a career-high nine saves in net that game.
Attendees filled the rainy stands to see this matchup as the Johnnies were hoping to leave with a win. Not only looking to keep their winning streak with Xavier but also their winning streak at Belson Stadium this season, the Lady Johnnies found themselves fighting hard in their end of the field. Xavier’s strong offense was keeping the Johnnies’ defense on their feet throughout the game.
Goalkeeper Reinhardt had many great saves in the net for the second year in a row versus Xavier. Her stellar performance in net held off nine of Xavier’s twelve attempts to find the back of the net.
Sunday’s game marked a season-high number of stops for St. John’s. This was the career-high number she held last year against Xavier. This Redshirt Junior now has a combined 39 saves this 2019 season.
Three Johnnies, Isabella Aviza, Jessica Garziano, and Zsani Kajan, each had one attempted shot to get St. John’s on the scoreboard. Aviza’s attempt was the only one on target, yet the Musketeers’ goalkeeper got hold of it. The Red Storm just could not quite find their target, as Garziano’s shot veered left of the goal.
Xavier found the back of the net early in the game. Samantha Dewey had a great pass from Sydney Schembri, bringing her shot past Reinhardt.
Throughout the first half, the Musketeers had six more shots, but the St. John’s backline withheld these. This left the score at the end of the second half as 1-0 with the Musketeers’ advantage.
Just minutes into the second half, Xavier again found themselves adding one to the scoreboard. Carrie Lewis and Schembri assisted Brooke Sroka’s shot that fired past Reinhardt.
The Musketeers then held two goals over the Johnnies early in the second half. With enough time to get back a win, the Johnnies never gave up.
During the second half, the Red Storm had their greatest opportunity to find the back of the net. Kayla Mesaros sent a pass down the field to Kajan who was wide open with a shooting opportunity. Kajan fired it towards the goal, but it echoed off the crossbar. This kept St. John’s scoreless throughout the second half.
The Musketeers once more found the back of the net later in the second half. With just over two minutes left to play, Xavier’s Maddie Thiss scored her first goal of the season. This gave Xavier a 3-0 advantage over the Johnnies to end the game.
Although they could not find the back of Xavier’s net, the Red Storm kept up an aggressive fight until the last minute.
The St. John’s Women’s Soccer team has their next Big East Conference matchup this upcoming Thursday, October 24, when they take on Villanova University at Higgins Soccer Complex in Pennsylvania at 4pm.
