By Dylan Butler
With only a game at non-conference Iona left, St. John's (4-6, 2-6 Northeast Conference) is guaranteed to have its first sub-.500 record since 1995, when the Red Storm went 4-6.
Freshman punter Lawrence Tunnell fumbled three snaps in the first quarter. His second drop led to a 23-yard drive capped by a 10-yard pass from Bill Rankin to Uriel Riley to give Monmouth a 7-0 lead.
The Red Storm answered right back to tie the game on a five-play, 70-yard drive as Matt McGuire found the end zone on a 26-yard run.
But Tunnell fumbled another punt attempt an after an unsportsmanlike penalty the Hawks started their next drive from the Red Storm 16-yard line.
Another St. John's penalty – this time for delay of game on fourth down – kept the Hawks' drive alive and Matt Merklinger put Monmouth (4-6, 4-4) ahead, 14-7 with 12:53 left in the second quarter.
The Red Storm had a chance to cut its deficit to four when Tunnell set up for a 32-yard field goal attempt, but holder Anthony Muniz dropped the snap and threw an incomplete pass to end the drive.
The Hawks took possession and scored again seven plays later, when Rankin hit Merklinger for an 7-yard touchdown pass to extend Monmouth's lead to 21-7 with 2:21 left in the half.
After Monmouth went ahead 24-7 on a 24-yard field goal by Chris Mandell in the third quarter, Danny Kelskey blocked a punt giving the Red Storm the ball at the Hawks three-yard line. Two plays later Durron Newman scored on a one-yard run to cut the Hawks lead to 24-14.
Mandell's second field goal of the game – a 40-yarder – capped the scoring.
The Red Storm head to New Rochelle to take on former MAAC rival Iona Saturday at 1 p.m. The Gaels are 4-6 and snapped a four-game losing streak with a 31-21 win over Siena last weekend.
SJU Women's Soccer Falls in ECAC final
The St. John's women's soccer team fell in the ECAC tournament championship game for a second straight year, dropping a tough, 1-0 decision to the University of Pennsylvania Sunday at Parsons Field in Northeastern University in Brookline, Mass.
Angela Konstantaras scored the game's lone goal in the 65th minute off a feed from Sabrina Fenton to give the second-seeded Quakers (10-8-1) a 1-0 lead. The Red Storm (12-9) pushed forward to net the equalizer and had a great chance in the 77th minute when Lisa Kaczmarski crossed the ball to Erin Zambelli, whose shot went wide right. Two minutes later Jamie Clark had an opportunity, but her shot was stopped by Penn keeper Kathie Hunt.
The Red Storm garnered the top seed in the tournament and defeated No. 4 Lafayette in the semifinals, 3-0, Saturday. Kaczmarksi had two goals and Zambelli added another to lead the way. Clark picked up her 11th assist of the year, tying the Red Storm record for assists in a season with Jen Contesini, who set the mark in 1996. Clark, a senior from Massapequa, is the all-time assist leader at St. John's with 27 assists.
York soccer ousted in NCAA tournament
The York men's soccer team's first NCAA tournament bid was a short one as the Cardinals lost to the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, 2-0, last Wednesday.
The win for fourth-seeded Kings Point (18-2) was the school's first NCAA tournament win in any sport.
The Marines dominated possession and peppered York sophomore keeper Stephane Koutoud, who had to make 22 saves. Kings Point outshot the Cardinals, 42-6.
Kings Point got on the board in the 34th minute when William Corrigan passed to Ryan Brune, who put the ball into the upper left hand corner of the net. A header by Seamus Hunt from four-yards out in the 63rd minute put the Mariners ahead, 2-0.
York's season ends at 8-6-2.
Gibson to Hofstra
After losing out on Queens native Kenny Adeleke to DePaul, Hofstra coach Jay Wright secured a commitment from Molloy forward Wendell Gibson last Tuesday.
Gibson, a 6-foot-7 forward, chose the Pride over Ohio University, Miami of Ohio and George Mason. He averaged 18 points, 14 rebounds and two blocks per game for Jack Curran's Stanners last year and played his summer ball with Riverside Church.
Queens volleyball garners NCAA berth
The Queens College women's volleyball team earned its first ever NCAA Division II tournament berth and will face Bryant in the first round of the Northeast Regional Thursday at 5 p.m. at the University of New Haven.
The Lady Knights (19-11) garnered the fifth seed, while Bryant is seeded fourth. Top-seeded Mercy and Pace have a bye through the first round of the single-elimination round. University of Massachusetts-Lowell round out the region as the sixth seed.
Leading the charge for Queens was Noelia Castillo, who was named to the All-New York Collegiate Athletic Conference first team. Annie Williams and Natasha Arthurton were named to the All-NYCAC second team.
Women's Volleyball
University of Connecticut 15-15-15, St. John's 13-11-12. Stephanie Schindel tallied a team-high 14 kills to lead the Huskies to a three-game sweep over the Red Storm at Alumni Hall.
The Huskies (18-11, 7-4) clinch the fourth and final berth in the Big East tournament, edging out St. John's (24-8, 7-4). Amanda Berg led the Storm with 14 kills, while Olga Roudovski finished with a match-high 17 kills and 14 digs.
Women's Basketball
EOS Malbas 66, St. John's 50. Forward Anette Percy scored a team-high 15 points to lead EOS Malbas from Sweden to a 66-50 win over the Red Storm in the team's final exhibition game last Thursday at Alumni Hall.
Junior point guard Rasheedah Brown led the Storm for the second straight game with a game-high 16 points. Seniors Latasha Thompson and Tynisha Myles added 11 and 10 points, respectively.
St. John's opens the regular season against St. Francis (NY) at Alumni Hall at 7:30 p.m.
