QUEENS, N.Y. --- The NJIT women's soccer team opened the 2021 campaign with a 3-0 defeat against the St. John's Red Storm Thursday evening at Belson Stadium.

NJIT (0-1) will begin this season with three high major opponents (St. John's, Seton Hall, Pitt) and a perennial NCAA tournament mid-major team (Monmouth) to test its mettle and the Highlanders came out the gates with a stellar defensive effort against its first-ever Big East foe. NJIT kept St. John's (1-0) in their defensive half for the first half of the opening period, building up a 5-0 advantage in corner kicks in the process.

That initial pressure was a theme all night, as NJIT won the corner battle 11-8 and recorded double digit corner kicks for the first time since putting up ten against LIU Brooklyn three years ago to the day. However, the Highlanders were unable to convert those opportunities into a high number of quality offensive chances.

St. John's took advantage of its ability to stay close, opening their scoring with their second shot of the game (26') and adding another less than ten minutes later (35'). Their final score came in the 79th minute as a shot that was forced to the left post ricocheted off the left post back to the Red Storm for an open second chance.

NJIT's six shots were all taken by different players, as Ciara Adams, Jennifer Callaghan, Ariana Caminos, Caroline Caputo, Lauren Chamberlain, and Tara Walenczyk all registered chances and Chamberlain and Callaghan's attempts were on goal.

Two of NJIT's best chances to score came in the second half. In the 56th minute, Conaghy took a corner from the right side that was deflected in the box but still nearly went in, bouncing off the left post instead.

Almost ten minutes later (64'), Highlander pressure off a Red Storm kick eventually led to a broken two-on-one, with Conaghy setting up Adams and her shot sailing over the top right of the crossbar.

Molly Saylor played all 90 minutes in goal and made four saves on the night, including a pair of punched-away corner kicks during a run of three straight St. John's corner kicks around the 50th minute.

NEXT UP
NJIT will host Monmouth on Sunday, August 22 for the Highlanders' 2021 home opener. Kickoff is scheduled for 4 p.m.

Fans are reminded to review NJIT's Fall 2021 Spectator Policy before attending Sunday's game.