By Dylan Butler
There is light coming out of the tunnel for the St. John’s football team and that illumination emerging from the darkness is Friday night’s season-ending game against Iona at DaSilva Memorial Field which caps one of the worst seasons in head coach Bob Ricca’s memory. Kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m.
Highlights for the Red Storm have been few and far between as injuries have decimated an already young group, especially on the offensive side where St. John’s has started four different quarterbacks this season.
The Red Storm closed out its Northeast Conference slate Saturday with a 34-0 loss at Monmouth in front of 2,289 at Kessler Field in West Long Branch, N.J.
Mark Marklinger put the Hawks in front with 5:55 left in the first quarter on a two-yard run set up by Raheem Byrom, who blocked a punt by freshman Marc Saracino to give Monmouth (7-2) the ball at the Red Storm 23.
Following a 33-yard field goal by Ryan Peterson, Monmouth went on a 12-play, 65-yard drive to open the second quarter capped by Marklinger’s five-yard touchdown run that put the Hawks ahead 17-0 with 8:56 left in the half. Marklinger, who finished with 111 yards on 25 carries, became the third player in school history to rush for 2,000 yards in his career.
After almost having a pass intercepted for what would have been a sure touchdown by former Christ the King standout Orion Sykes, Monmouth quarterback Chris Wieigosz threw a 27-yard fade to Tyhquan Walkers sending the Hawks into the locker room with a 24-0 lead.
Peterson kicked a 22-yard field goal and Bobby Smith capped Monmouth's scoring on an eight-yard touchdown run with 4:54 left in the game.
Playing in only his second game since returning from a fractured right foot that sidelined him for five games, Red Storm freshman quarterback Kyle Lauver completed 10-of-20 passes for 101 yards but threw two interceptions and was sacked 10 times.
York falls in NCAA tournament
After winning its second straight CUNYAC title and earning its second straight NCAA Division III bid, the York men’s soccer team fell in the first round of the tournament for a second straight year, as a goal late in the first half was all host Roger Williams University needed to secure a 1-0 win last Wednesday at Bayside Field in Bristol, R.I.
Forward David Hatch provided Roger Williams (17-5-1) all the offense it would need scoring off a feed from midfielder James Trill in the 41st minute to give the Hawks a 1-0 lead.
Roger Williams keeper Justin Hughes went largely untested, making just four saves to earn the shutout. York, who was outshot 23-9, ends its season with a 12-4-1 record.
Women’s Volleyball
St. John’s 30-30-30, Syracuse 25-26-20. Kristy Mercein had 14 kills and 12 digs to lead St. John’s (18-9, 6-6). Rachel Crooks paced Syracuse (14-13, 3-9) with nine kills.
Notre Dame 30-30-30, St. John’s 8-24-22. Robyn Kurasaki had 21 assists in the loss for the Red Storm. Notre Dame (17-5, 11-0) was led by Kristen Kinder, who had 35 assists.
SJU Men’s Swimming wins Army Invitational
Senior Jaak Savvi and freshman Pavel Sokolowski each won a pair of events to lead the St. John’s men’s swimming team to a first-place finish at the USMA Invitational in West Point Saturday. The Red Storm women placed fourth and the combined score of the two teams gave St. John’s a second-place finish with 442 points behind Western Kentucky (609.5 points).
Savvi captured the 100-yard fly (50.51) and the 200-yard fly (1:52.54) while Sokolowski won the 200-yard freestyle (1:40.63) and the 100-yard freestyle (46.02). They were also on the winning 400-yard medley relay team, along with Milos Cerovic and Danillo Perunovic, finishing in 3:27.52.
Michal Szapiel won the 600-yard free in 4:37.11 and the 1,650-yard free (16:10.12). Greg Danner captured the 400-yard individual medley (4:07.23), Arkadius Znachowski won the 100-yard breaststroke in 1:00.22 and Cerovic captured the 200-yard backstroke in 1:52.59.
Elizabeth Malinowski was the lone winner on the women's side, claiming the title in the 1,650-yard free in 17:51.05.
Reach Associate Sports Editor Dylan Butler by e-mail at Timesledger@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 143.
