Oct. 26, 2007

Box Score

QUEENS, N.Y. - The St. John's women's soccer team stunned No. 18 Connecticut after Maria DeMatteo tallied the game-winning golden goal in the 103rd minute to lift the Red Storm to a 1-0 win. The Red Storm improves to 10-5-2 (5-5-0 BIG EAST), while UConn drops to 11-4-1 (7-2-1 BIG EAST).

The Huskies dominated the first half of play, yet could not find the back of the net. UConn tallied nine shots in the opening half of action, but Red Storm keeper Jaime Beran stopped all five shots that were on net. Kelly McConnell had a good chance in the 23rd minute when UConn keeper Stephanie Labbe was caught out of position, but the forward's shot was stopped by a UConn defender to keep St. John's off of the board.

The Red Storm's Krystle Jalalian had two great chances in the second half, but Labbe was up to the challenge both times. The first chance came in the 51st minute when Jalalian fired a hard shot into the upper corner, but Labbe barely tipped it over the top of the net. Minutes later Jalalian again forced Labbe to tip a shot over the crossbar. In both cases, the Red Storm could not convert on the ensuing corner kick. The last shot for either team came in the 66th minute and, still scoreless, the game went into overtime.

The Huskies had a great chance in the 92nd minute, but Beran was able to deflect a shot just enough to keep it from going in. The only chance for St. John's came on a shot by Jalalian, but it was well wide of net. In the second overtime, the Red Storm quickly applied the pressure on the Huskies. In the 103rd minute Jalalian took a pass and brought the ball into the box. As Jalalian attempted to shoot, she had the ball knocked loose by a UConn defender and it went straight to DeMatteo. DeMatteo quickly gathered it and fired a shot from 12-yards out into the top of the net to give the Red Storm the 1-0 upset win.

The game marked the first win for the Red Storm over UConn since 1994. Beran improved to 5-2-2 on the season and made eight saves in the game. The goal for DeMatteo, meanwhile, was the third of her career and second game-winner.

The Red Storm plays its final regular season game of the year on Sunday, October 28 against Providence.