St. John’s has always been a defensive-minded team.
With a goalkeeper like Kristin Russell and a backline of seniors Tara Mendoza, Courtney Lane, Vaila Barsley, and Nicole Doran, coach Ian Stone knew that more times than not his defense was going to be what won him games.
The defensive unit is ranked No. 15 in the nation with a save percentage of .870 and No. 19 with a goals against average of .628. Russell is ranked 20th in the nation with a .866 save percentage.
It played an integral role in propelling the Red Storm to the NCAA tournament for the first time in program history and helped them nearly beat ACC powerhouse Virginia in the opening round of the women’s soccer NCAA tournament at Penn State. The Red Storm fell, 3-1, to the Cavaliers in penalty kicks.
“I think we defended really well and left everything out on the field,” Stone said. We played against an outstanding team and defended really well. I’m tremendously proud of my girls.”
The Red Storm had their hands full with the talented Virginia offense. The Cavaliers (9-5-6) outshot the Red Storm, 39-6. Russell once again had a great game in net, making 10 saves.
“Virginia’s offense was very fast and attacked us well,” Mendoza said. “As a team, from their defense to forwards, they were a very strong and technical team.”
“They possessed the ball really well,” Stone said. “We were forced to defend a lot. There were occasions when we had great situations, but were unable to finish.”
Out of the little opportunities the Red Storm had on net, they made the most of them as sophomore Jen Leaverton and senior Kelly McConnell had near misses in the first half.
In overtime, Katie Haas nearly ended the game when she had a one-on-one with Virginia goalkeeper Chantel Jones, but Jones made the diving save to keep the Cavaliers alive.
McConnell and junior Raelynne Lee each had a team-high two shots, while Haas and Leaverton each added a shot.
The loss to Virginia marks the end to one of the most successful seasons in the program’s history.
The Red Storm finish at 13-6-2, including a program-high 10 shutouts and three victories over Top-25 teams. They also made the NSCAA top 25 for the first time in program history, being ranked as high as No. 17. They were ranked as high as No. 11 in the Soccer America poll.
St. John’s also made a name for themselves in the semifinals of the Big East tournament when Doran scored the Red Storm’s first goal against perennial powerhouse Notre Dame in history. It was the first tally that Notre Dame gave up in a semifinal game since 2003.
“There were so many firsts – the NCAA tournament, getting as far as we did in the Big East. There have been so many great memories from the girls,” said Stone.
“We had a great start to the season and went undefeated until Princeton and we made it to this point. We learned from every loss,” Mendoza said. “It means a lot to us, from the freshman to the seniors, to the coaching staff, I feel privileged to be on this team.”