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St. John’s soccer gets narrow victory over Massachusetts

By Michael Szabo

St. John's soccer (Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports)
St. John's soccer (Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports) /
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St. John’s soccer gets a narrow home win over Massachusetts on Sunday. 

The Red Storm’s first two wins of the season featured plenty of goals, nine goals over two games to be exact, but this game was much different as the St. John’s soccer team had to dig deep to get a narrow victory at home over Massachusetts, 1-0.

Sunday was the final scheduled non-conference game of the season and it pushed the Johnnies to a 3-0 start in this spring season.

The Red Storm are well on their way to improving on their disappointing 2019 season as they are already just two wins off its season total from a year ago.

ALSO READ: St. John’s falls in conference opener against Seton Hall

Despite just the slim 1-0 scoreline, the Red Storm were knocking on the door the entire game as St. John’s had 10 shots overall and five shots on goal.

Big East Preseason Offensive Player of the Year Zsani Kajan flashed a shot wide in just the 7th minute and was denied a goal in the 56th minute by UMass goalie Alyssa Chase.

The deadlock was finally broken by sophomore midfielder Jessica Garziano on a penalty kick in the 66th minute to give the Johnnies the lead and eventually the win.

St. John’s soccer midfielder stays hot

The Melville, New York native got her first career hat-trick against Sacred Heart on Thursday, making it four goals in the past two games for Garziano.

The sophomore’s recent hot streak earned her Big East Offensive Player of the Week award.

Even though the game was a contrast to the first two wins, it was important for the Red Storm to be able to find a way to win a tight game.

ALSO READ: St. John’s defeats Sacred Heart in comfortable outing

It is a sign that this team is improving that even though it dominated the game.

St. John’s didn’t get frustrated and then were gifted the opportunity it was looking for through a penalty to get the win and some momentum going into Big East play.

Next up, the Red Storm will open up Big East Conference play at home against Villanova on Thursday at 6:00pm EST.