Tara Mendoza received the pass from CJ Ludemann and immediately recognized she was open from 30-yards out, but shooting was the last thing on her mind.
“When I got the ball, everyone was screaming at me ‘Look Courtney Lane is wide open’ and pretty much telling me anything but shoot because I don’t have the best shot on the team,” Mendoza said. “I was like you know what, why not?”
Mendoz let one rip. The shot went to the top right corner and through the hands of leaping Georgetown goalkeeper Elizabeth Hanna in the 102nd minute to give St. John’s a 1-0 double overtime win over Georgetown in the Big East tournament quarterfinals at Belson Stadium Sunday afternoon.
“Nothing really surprises me anymore about our team,” St. John’s coach Ian Stone said. “Obviously, we have a bit of a knack for scoring goals in overtime.”
St. John’s, which won its third overtime game of the season, had six shots on goal. Towards the end of the second half, Stone moved Ludemann from midfield to forward, a change that helped create the winning goal for the Red Storm.
“I was surprised that I played forward, but I love playing forward,” Ludemann said. “My favorite thing to do is attacking, so I just tried to get the ball at my feet as much as I could and find Kelly and Jen and distribute as much as possible,”
St. John’s (13-5-1) had to survive plenty of pressure from the Hoyas, which finished with 10 corner kicks and dominated play in the first half.
“We kept our focus and we kept relaxed,” St. John’s defender Vaila Barsley said. “Obviously, it was frustrating and very mentally tiring. It was a lot of pressure, but I thought we did well and Kristin [Russell] did an amazing job in goal.”
Russell, the St. John’s sophomore goalkeeper, played one of her best games, making five saves and setting a program record with her 19th career shutout. Russell and the defensive unit of seniors Mendoza, Barsley, Nicole Doran, Courtney Lane and Courtney Curby only allowed the Hoyas (12-6-2) five shots on goal.
“To be honest, I’d prefer the quarterfinal win,” Russell said. “It’s a great to beat the record, but I’m more focused on the post season.”
St. John’s advances to semifinals to play No. 5 Notre Dame 7:30 p.m Friday at UConn’s Morrone Stadium. The Red Storm has not faced Notre Dame this season. The Irish beat South Florida, 5-0, to advance to the semifinals.
“Anything can happen on any given day,” Mendoza said.
Mendoza certainly proved that.