After falling to Georgetown University in their Big East home opener, the Seton Hall women’s soccer team returned to Owen T. Carroll Field to host St. John’s University on Saturday.
With St. John’s failing to secure a win against both the University of Connecticut (UConn) and Providence College last week, both teams entered this game in search of their first win in conference play this season.
Conference play aside, the Pirates hope to earn their first win since August: after starting the season unbeaten through their first five matches (3-2-0), the Pirates have failed to win in their last six games this month (0-3-2). Nevertheless, despite losing their last two, SHU boasts an even 3-3-4 record through their first ten games.
Although SHU started the game with the ball, St. John’s controlled most of the possession in the first half. As such, SHU played more of a counter-attacking game, creating chances through turnovers and attacking transition.
In addition to controlling most of the possession, the Red Storm also managed to earn several set-piece opportunities—they managed five corner kicks in the first half alone.
At halftime, SHU edged out St. John’s in shots by just one, leading 6-5, three of which were shots on goal for both teams. Both teams also recorded three saves each, with both goalkeepers being tested mostly from distance in the first half—more quality chances wouldn’t materialize until the second half.
Hungry for their first conference win and first win of the month, SHU were more aggressive to start the second half. They pressed higher into St. John’s’ half, trying to force the Red Storm into mistakes and turnovers that they could capitalize on. But St. John’s stayed composed and were able to match the Pirates’ energy—thanks in part to their bench, who were loud and rowdy throughout the entire game, and supplied the team with energy.
Despite a more contested second half, neither team was able to score, as the game ended in a 0-0 draw. At full time, SHU recorded eight shots on the in the second half, while their opponents managed only two. Because of the Pirates’ more aggressive second half, St. John’s senior goalkeeper recorded five saves in the half alone, and eight total saves in the game.
Although neither team emerged victorious, SHU head coach Josh Osit gave kudos to both his team and their opponents after the game, starting with the latter.
“[St. John’s] is just a really well-coached team,” Osit said. “I knew it was gonna be a tight game—one goal either way or a tie—but I was just hoping we would be able to figure it out.”
He then praised the younger players on SHU’s team, who make up more than half of the roster—of the 13 newcomers to the team this year, ten of them are freshmen.
“But I'll tell you what: our young [players] go out there and compete,” he added. “So it's hard to be upset about that.”
Like men’s soccer head coach Andreas Lindberg, coach Osit mentioned how different conference play—particularly Big East conference play—is different from non-conference play, especially for student-athletes.
“The way I look at it, you only get so many games before you have to hang the boots up and that’s it, so every game counts the same for me,” Osit said. “But the way that athletes are, especially student-athletes, the conference games just have a little more ‘juice’ to them.”
“And [the Big East] is a tough conference,” he added. “You can play well, and still not win.”
And that was the case for the Pirates today: en route to a draw, they recorded 14 total shots to their opponents’ seven. Although shots do not always translate to success, they are usually telling for the outcome of the game, and today’s game was not an example of such.
With the draw, the Pirates are now 3-3-5 on the season and hold a three-way tie in the conference for most ties on the season so far. Looking ahead, SHU will have another opportunity to earn their first conference win of the season a week from this game, as they travel to Rhode Island to face the Providence Friars on Saturday.
Zachary Mawby is the head editor for The Setonian’s Sports section. He can be reached at zachary.mawby@student.shu.edu.
