St. John’s soccer earns second straight victory against CCSU

St. John’s soccer grabs another home win against Central Connetisut State in convincing fashion. 

On Labor Day at Belson Stadium, the St. John’s soccer program picked up its second straight victory in a convincing 3-0 win against Central Connecticut State, building off the 2-0 win on Friday night against Navy.

This was a game that was originally set to be played in the Spring 2021 season, but was canceled due to COVID issues within the Blue Devils program.

The Red Storm dominated the action throughout the first half, outshooting the Blue Devils 11-1 and having a lion’s share of the possession.

Junior midfielder Ava Collins turned that dominance into a lead just seven minutes into the game, slotting home from inside the box off a low cross from fellow junior Nicole Gordon.

St. John’s were unlucky not to have more of an advantage on the scoreline as Gordon, in particular, hit the post and just missed the net on a few shots.

The early portion of the second half saw CCSU have some more posession and get a few shots off, but St. John’s would regain much of the control displayed in the first half and grabbed some insurance goals in the process.

ALSO READ: St. John’s back to winning formula against Navy

In the 61st minute, Collins would get her second goal of the day.

Graduate Student Kayla Mesaros slit a pass into the six yard box to Collins who tapped it home for the 2-0 lead after a few chances at the net were blocked.

Mesaros would add a goal to go along with the earlier assist in the 76th minute after the Pennslyvania native won the ball back high up the pitch and powered a shot to the top left-hand corner to give the Red Storm the 3-0 lead.

There were several chances to have made the score even more lopsided in St. John’s favor, but it was a pretty commanding victory overall from head coach Ian Stone’s side.

It was also another clean sheet over a CCSU program that has been a consistent NCAA Tournament caliber side in the last few years.

St. John’s soccer set for big road trip leading into conference play

After earning two straight wins this weekend at home, St. John’s now moves to a 3-1-2 overall and will now get set for its longest road trip of 2022.

The Red Storm will be off until Sunday when they will travel to take on Lehigh at 1:00pm, followed by a trip to Cornell on September 17.

ALSO READ: St. John’s thrashes Lehigh for first win of season

St. John’s will start conference play against the Georgetown Hoyas on September 22.

This will be such a critical stage of the season for the Red Storm to build momentum heading into a massive conference opener against the Hoyas on the road, who have been so dominant in the Big East for the last decade.

It is not exactly a make or break part of the season, but coming out of it with a good record would be huge for the team’s confidence.