Women's Soccer Battles St. John's to Scoreless Draw By: Columbia University Athletics

QUEENS -- Despite outshooting the opposition 16-9 and having the better chances in extra time, the Columbia University women's soccer (2-1-1) settled for a scoreless draw against St. John's (3-1-1) on the opening day of the St. John's NYC Nike Classic in Queens on Friday. The 0-0 result marks the first time a Columbia women's soccer squad has came up with a result against the Red Storm on the road.

The match was very even over the first 45 minutes, as St. John's narrowly edged the Lion in shots, 5-4. Senior goalkeeper Rebecca Taylor stopped three shots in the opening half while Kristin Russell stopped a pair for the Red Storm.

In the second half, Columbia picked up its play and controlled much of the action. After St. John's took a pair of shots to begin the stanza, the Lions took the next seven attempts and sent a flurry toward goal with less than ten minutes to play. First-year Nora Dooley fired a shot that was blocked in the 84th minute and less than a minute later, junior Sophie Reiser took another one that got through to Russell who made the save. Reiser took another try at it but her second attempt in the run sailed wide.

Junior Ashley Mistele opened the first overtime session with a pair of shots on target but Russell was again up to the task, saving them both. In the 99th minute, Reiser appeared headed for a golden goal but her shot was saved by defender Tara Mendoza to keep the match at 0-0. Reiser would finish the contest with a match-high eight shots, five of which were on goal. A pair of those attempts on target came in the second extra period, each of which were denied by Russell.

Taylor finished play with five saves and extended Columbia's scoreless minutes streak to 358 minutes, 22 seconds.

The Lions will conclude play at the St. John's NYC Nike Classic on Sunday, Sept. 14, with a noon match with Seton Hall.