A valiant effort by the Seton Hall back five was not enough, as the Pirates came up short, 1-0, on the road against St. John’s. The offense was simply not there for the Pirates as they only took five shots during the entire game, with only being on goal. The Red Storm, on the other hand, put the Pirates defense under constant duress, taking 18 shots, with eight of them on goal.
That pressure by St. John’s made for a busy day for Pirates goalkeeper Laura Dramis, who put in an admirable effort protecting her goal with seven saves. The one that got away was a goal from Red Storm midfielder Christina Bellero in the 67th minute of the match; the rare time the Pirates defense lost their shape.
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Photo via SHU Athletics[/caption]
With Seton Hall beginning to fatigue, Pirates defender Lauren Dao failed to track her runner, who got to the end-line and played the ball on the ground to an open Bellero, who calmly scored her sixth goal of the year.
Possession was back and forth, but it was St. John’s who were more effective with their possession. The Red Storm started taking their shots in the first six minutes of the match, taking three early on, but finding out quickly that Dramis was up to the task.
Chances came thick and fast as time winded down in the first half, with Red Storm midfielder Maia Cabrera taking two shots around the 30th minute, one of which just missed, blasting off the crossbar.
The crossbar was not done taking goals from St. John’s, as later on in the first half, forward Zsani Kajan put one off the bar, with the follow-up ending up in the hands of Dramis.
The Red Storm could have gotten on the board earlier had it not been for the combination of the crossbar and Dramis. The junior goalkeeper put up two saves in a flurry that followed a Kajan free kick, but minutes later, Bellero scored the goal which ultimately sunk the Pirates.
Seton Hall’s two best chances to score came from their two most dangerous players on the day: Julia Stirpe and Dani Camilleri. Stirpe was able to weave around defenders in the box and find a clear look on goal, but shot it straight into Red Storm goalkeeper Jordan Kamp. Camilleri quickly rushed to the follow-up, but Kamp was able to get her hands on it just a moment sooner.
The match was the fourth in Big East play in which the Pirates could not score, and the eighth on the season overall. They still remain winless on the season, and with the loss drop from eighth to ninth in the conference. A win could have moved them as high as sixth.
The next time the women’s soccer team will be in action is this Thursday, Oct. 19, when they take the field in Cincinnati against Xavier.
Jose Feliciano can be reached at Jose.feliciano@student.shu.edu or on Twitter @Jfeliciano1101.
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