The St. John’s Women’s Soccer team remains winless in Big East play, thanks 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 surely been shut out for a second consecutive game.
These poor offensive performances of late can be attributed to the complacent play of the team’s most impactful players. Senior forward Jordyn Levy’s struggles have been the focal point behind the team’s cold streak.
Since the start of in-conference games, Levy hasn’t been involved in the offense nearly as much as the early season matches. In the past three games, she’s attempted two shots and has only scored one goal in the entirety of Big East play.
For more competent offensive performances, Levy and 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 games 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 the uninquisitive and 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 than they already have.