Russell finished her career at St. John's as the record holder in shutouts (32), wins (32) and g
SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. - Amid rainy, cold and windy conditions at Owen T. Carroll Stadium on Thursday night, the St. John's women's soccer team's run at a BIG EAST Championship title fell short as Seton Hall scored in 89th minute to advance to defeat the Red Storm and advance to the BIG EAST Quarterfinals.Ashley Beamish scored for the Pirates, with 1:33 remaining in the match, as she rebounded her own blocked shot in front of the net for a second-chance goal."It was an evenly played game by two excellent teams," remarked head coach Ian Stone. "Sometimes soccer can be a cruel sport in that one bad bounce can make a difference in a game. But the experience of playing in a BIG EAST Tournament game will only benefit our young team in the future."As he has done for most of the season, seven sophomores started for the Red Storm, including goalkeeper Lauren Ferris(3-6-0), who took on the starting role after four-year starter Kristin Russell was injured in mid-September. Ferris had five saves in goal for St. John's in her first-ever BIG EAST Championship, including a key stop in the 59th minute as she went sliding down in the opposite direction for a hand save on Seton Hall's Stephanie Soma's rebounded blocked shot.The Red Storm had its best chance to score in the first half, as sophomore Morgan Ritter angled for a goal after a corner kick from Runa Stefansdottirin the 23rd minute. Ritter's shot aiming just inside the pipes was grabbed by Seton Hall's keeper, Jennifer Pettigrew.St. John's senior Jen Leavertonled the way for the Red Storm in shots with three. The Pirates and Red Storm were closely matched in the first period, going into the break with six shots by Seton Hall and five for St. John's. Seton Hall had possession for most of the second half, and sent 11 shots toward the Red Storm goal. SophomoresMichelle Murino, Michelle Iannacchino and Sarah Ashmore as well as junior Patrice Casimirworked tirelessly to keep clearing the ball out of the Red Storm's defensive third.
The Red Storm had defeated Seton Hall (9-7-3) earlier in the season, 2-1 in South Orange on Oct. 2. St. John's finished the season at 9-9-1 and 5-6-0 in the BIG EAST. The Red Storm scored twice as many goals in 2011 from the previous season and made its return to the BIG EAST Championships after defeating Syracuse 2-1 in front of a record-breaking crowd of 1,910 on Oct. 21. The 2011 Red Storm was dominant among its in-state rivals, with an unbeaten record of 4-0-1.
"This season we did a good job of learning lessons, and in the last couple of games we really came together as a team," said Stone. "We are still growing and we are still a primarily young team that has matured with every match. Tonight we started seven sophomores and a lot of our student-athletes got a tremendous amount of experience over the course of the year, which will really bode well for the future."
The 1-0 loss was the final game for the Red Storm's senior class consisting of Leaverton, Russell, Stefansdottir, Lindsey Hall, Anna Torregiano, Megan Klement and Raelynne Lee.
"The senior class is a tremendous group of individuals. I am happy to have seen them develop as soccer players and as people. On behalf of St. John's women's soccer we thank them for the investments they have made over the years with our program. We wish them the best of good fortune in their future endeavors, where we know they will succeed," remarked Stone.
The senior class not only helped St. John's to its first-ever NCAA Tournament berth in 2009, but also boast three President's Society members, consistent BIG EAST All-Academic Team honorees and hours and hours of dedicated community service among them. In 2011, Klement and Leaverton spearhead the "Score For A Cure" campaign in support of breast cancer research and awareness and raised almost $7,000 in less than a year.
Russell finished her career as St. John's as the record holder in shutouts (32), wins (32) and goals against average (0.76). Russell broke the all-time wins record on her 22nd birthday, while also recording her first-ever collegiate assist. She also became No. 4 in saves with 295. Leaverton, St. John's leading scorer in 2011, also made a name for herself in the St. John's record books as her 22 points ranked her at No. 7 in the St. John's single season records; and her 10 goals tied her for No. 5 with Kaitlyn Schmidt '02. Leaverton scored 17 goals over the course of her four-year career with the Red Storm, as she took over the No. 9 spot in the career record book. Leaverton also had six game-winning goals in 2011, the most in the BIG EAST Conference.
