BALTIMORE – The UMBC women's soccer team saw its unbeaten streak halted as the Retrievers fell 2-0 to the St. John's Red Storm on a sunny Thursday afternoon at Retriever Soccer Park. The match featured back-and-forth play, with both teams demonstrating strong defensive efforts before St. John's ultimately pulled ahead in the second half.
UMBC (3-1-1) matched their Big East opponent stride for stride in the opening half, controlling possession and dictating the pace of play. Despite several promising attacking sequences and pressure in the final third, the Retrievers were unable to break through, leaving the first 45 minutes deadlocked at 0-0.
With scoring opportunities scarce early on, Retrievers' sophomore midfielder
Zoe Brossman sparked life into the offense in the 34th minute. Brossman threaded a perfect through ball from near midfield to the right edge of the penalty area, finding
Cami Mink in stride. Mink drove into the box and faced St. John's goalkeeper Kayla Bower in a one-on-one opportunity, but Bower made a nice diving save to her left, deflecting the ball just wide of the near post.
UMBC nearly found the net with 7:45 left in the opening half after earning a corner kick. Amid the ensuing scramble and a deflection inside the box, senior midfielder
Regan Rubin collected the loose ball near the top right corner of the penalty area. Rubin unleashed a powerful shot, but her effort sailed narrowly over the center of the crossbar, keeping the contest scoreless.
St. John's (2-2-1) finally broke the deadlock just 4:12 into the second half, capitalizing on a well-executed attacking sequence. Junior Janelle Sylvestre delivered a pinpoint cross from the left flank, which found freshman midfielder Carly Schuler near the penalty spot. Schuler controlled the ball and quickly slotted it past UMBC junior goalkeeper
Amara Codd from close range.
The Red Storm extended their lead in the 72
nd minute when sophomore defender Daisy Burt made a run down the middle. Burt latched onto a long, perfectly placed through ball, drove into the penalty area, and finished with a low shot past Codd into the bottom left corner of the net, sealing the victory for St. John's.
UMBC will hit the road for the first time this season when they travel to Delaware on Sunday at 1:00 p.m.
