St. John's Travels to Syracuse for Thursday Showdown

QUEENS, N.Y. (Aug. 22, 2018) – After splitting a pair of decisions to open up the 2018 campaign, the St. John's women's soccer team will travel to Central New York on Thursday night for a 6 p.m. showdown with former BIG EAST rival Syracuse. The contest between the Red Storm and the Orange can be streamed on ACC Network Extra, and available on WatchESPN.com and the WatchESPN app. The Johnnies enter the contest following 3-1 victory on Monday night against Buffalo. Lucy Whipp found the back of the net twice against the Bulls for the first multi-goal match of her career. Samie Scaffidi registered her first points of the season, dishing out two helpers for St. John's. One of those was a beautiful through ball to Zsani Kajan in the 27th minute as she found the back of the net to break a 1-1 tie and ultimately lift St. John's to victory. The Johnnies' three goals against the Bulls were the most by the Red Storm in a home opener since 2014. St. John's and Syracuse share a series history dating back to 1996, with the Orange holding a 9-7-2 all-time advantage over the Red Storm. The last meeting between the two schools came in 2015, when Rachel Daly broke a scoreless tie in the 55th minute to secure a 1-0 victory for the Johnnies at SU Soccer Stadium. During the 2015 campaign, St. John's opened up the season with four-straight wins after claiming a pair of victories over Syracuse and Colgate during the SU Soccer Tournament. Brittany Anghel, the newest member of the Red Storm staff, will have a home coming of sorts on Thursday night. Anghel, the Johnnies coordinator of operations starred at Syracuse from 2010-13. The 2012 BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year, Anghel still holds the Orange's career records for wins (28) and shutouts (21). The Orange enters Thursday's contest with a 1-1 record after falling to La Salle in the team's season opener before topping UConn, 2-1, on Monday night. In the win over the Huskies, Sydney Brackett found the back of the net in the eighth minute before Kate Hostage headed home the game-winning goal in the 64th minute to seal the victory. The Orange returns 14 letterwinners from the 2017 season, including nine starters. The team's key returners include Brackett, who led the squad in scoring with five goals last season, and sophomore Kate Donovan, who led all freshmen in goals (three), points (six) and shots (12).