The dream for the nine seniors on the St. John’s women’s soccer team was to advance beyond the first round in this year’s Big East Tournament.

Those aspirations, though, came to a bittersweet end last weekend as the Red Storm dropped a pair against Southern Florida and Marquette, eliminating them from the tournament and consequently ending their season sooner than expected.

“To be fair, they played hard and really well,” St. John’s coach Ian Stone said. “Looking back at the whole season, the lack of depth and playing seniors every game with multiple games a week, it was demanding. Had we had the numbers earlier, it would have been different. Some of those close Big East losses could have been different.”

St. John’s (6-10-3, 2-7-2) began the weekend in the driver’s seat for the fifth and final spot in the “A” division.

Entering Friday’s game, they were tied with Pittsburgh, whom they held a tie breaker over. After dropping a double-overtime contest 3-2 to USF, the Johnnies knew what they would face the next day.

With its back against the wall, the Red Storm entered Sunday’s game versus No. 11 Marquette with a simple mission: win and they’re in.

Battling a combination of rain and chilly weather, St. John’s couldn’t deliver on their goal as Marquette shut out the Storm, 3-0 in Wisconsin, officially ending the team’s run at the tournament and their disappointing season.

After sophomore goalkeeper Jaime Beran allowed an early goal in the 24th minute, St. John’s played well to keep the score at bay.

But in the second half, Marquette added to its lead with a pair of goals, five minutes apart, against freshman goalkeeper Rebecca Capinera, who despite allowing the goals made five saves.

In retrospect, Stone recognizes that although the end result was disappointing, the team did leave it all on the field.

“It was a difficult weekend with the amount of travel,” Stone said. “We played well on Sunday, although the score was misleading. The performance in the first half on Sunday was one of the best of the season, and I was proud of the effort they put it against a good team.”

Stone said the program already has nine players committed to come aboard next season and expressed his excitement of what he feels is one of the best recruiting classes he’s had.

Yet with the nine seniors leaving, Stone could only praise them for their dedication and commitment to the program, sighting how important their leadership was over the course of their run.

“I give them credit for all they went through and the great job they did over not just this season,” Stone said, “but over last few years to improve the program.”

South Florida 3, St. John’s 2

St. John’s fell to the University of South Florida, 3-2, in double overtime at the USF Soccer Stadium in Tampa, Fla. last Friday afternoon.

Just one minute into the second extra session, Bulls senior Katie Reed got a pass from senior Erica Lewis close to the goal.

Reed fired and the ball sailed by St. John’s freshman goalkeeper Rebecca Capinera to clinch the South Florida victory.The dream for the nine seniors on the St. John’s women’s soccer team was to advance beyond the first round in this year’s Big East Tournament.

Those aspirations, though, came to a bittersweet end last weekend as the Red Storm dropped a pair against Southern Florida and Marquette, eliminating them from the tournament and consequently ending their season sooner than expected.

“To be fair, they played hard and really well,” St. John’s coach Ian Stone said. “Looking back at the whole season, the lack of depth and playing seniors every game with multiple games a week, it was demanding. Had we had the numbers earlier, it would have been different. Some of those close Big East losses could have been different.”

St. John’s (6-10-3, 2-7-2) began the weekend in the driver’s seat for the fifth and final spot in the “A” division.

Entering Friday’s game, they were tied with Pittsburgh, whom they held a tie breaker over. After dropping a double-overtime contest 3-2 to USF, the Johnnies knew what they would face the next day.

With its back against the wall, the Red Storm entered Sunday’s game versus No. 11 Marquette with a simple mission: win and they’re in.

Battling a combination of rain and chilly weather, St. John’s couldn’t deliver on their goal as Marquette shut out the Storm, 3-0 in Wisconsin, officially ending the team’s run at the tournament and their disappointing season.

After sophomore goalkeeper Jaime Beran allowed an early goal in the 24th minute, St. John’s played well to keep the score at bay.

But in the second half, Marquette added to its lead with a pair of goals, five minutes apart, against freshman goalkeeper Rebecca Capinera, who despite allowing the goals made five saves.

In retrospect, Stone recognizes that although the end result was disappointing, the team did leave it all on the field.

“It was a difficult weekend with the amount of travel,” Stone said. “We played well on Sunday, although the score was misleading. The performance in the first half on Sunday was one of the best of the season, and I was proud of the effort they put it against a good team.”

Stone said the program already has nine players committed to come aboard next season and expressed his excitement of what he feels is one of the best recruiting classes he’s had.

Yet with the nine seniors leaving, Stone could only praise them for their dedication and commitment to the program, sighting how important their leadership was over the course of their run.

“I give them credit for all they went through and the great job they did over not just this season,” Stone said, “but over last few years to improve the program.”

South Florida 3, St. John’s 2

St. John’s fell to the University of South Florida, 3-2, in double overtime at the USF Soccer Stadium in Tampa, Fla. last Friday afternoon.

Just one minute into the second extra session, Bulls senior Katie Reed got a pass from senior Erica Lewis close to the goal.

Reed fired and the ball sailed by St. John’s freshman goalkeeper Rebecca Capinera to clinch the South Florida victory.