By Dylan Butler
The St. John’s men’s soccer team was just 65 seconds into its highly anticipated 2002 season and already things had gone horribly wrong.
The Big East Preseason Offensive Player of the Year, Boston College striker Casey Schmidt, crossed the ball in the box and it deflected off St. John’s junior defender Chris Wingert, the conference’s Preseason Defensive Player of the Year, and into the net to give the host Eagles a 1-0 lead.
Boston College, ranked 18th in the country, added another goal just 3:30 into the second half and withstood a furious Red Storm second half attack to come away with an impressive 2-1 upset win over No. 3 St. John’s Sunday at Newtown Campus Soccer Field.
Guy Melamed scored on a free kick just outside the 18-yard box in the 49th minute to put Boston College in front, 2-0. Angel Rodriguez netted the lone Red Storm goal, also on a direct kick from just outside the box.
The upset snapped St. John’s 14-game win streak over the Eagles, dating back to Oct. 26, 1991.
St.John’s was supposed to open the new 2,300-seat Belson Soccer Stadium this weekend in the St. John’s Classic, but because construction has yet to be completed, the tournament has been moved to the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point.
After No. 1 Indiana takes on William and Mary at 6 p.m. Friday, the Red Storm face Florida International University at 8 p.m. St. John’s then plays the Hoosiers, who defeated the Red Storm, 2-1, in double overtime in last year’s national semifinal, Saturday at 8 p.m. following the William and Mary/FIU contest at 6 p.m.
Higgins earns MVP honors
Shaun Higgins’ senior year started with a bang as the Hofstra forward from Whitestone scored both of his team’s goals in a 2-1 come-from-behind overtime win over host University of Maryland-Baltimore County Friday.
The Pride went on to beat Mt. St. Mary’s, 2-0, Sunday to win the UMBC Kappa Kick-Off Classic crown and Higgins, a former Holy Cross High School standout, earned MVP honors.
Higgins, who was pushed up front after playing in the midfield the last three years, scored the Pride’s first goal of the year in the 77th minute, picking up Matthew Telling’s lead pass and beating UMBC keeper Brian Rowland from 10 yards out to tie the game at 1.
Higgins then ended the game 1:51 into overtime, taking Michael Hermann’s cross and blasting it into the net from almost the same spot to give Hofstra the win.
It is the first multi-goal game for Higgins in a Hofstra uniform. He came into the season with nine goals in his first three seasons, more than any other player on the team.
With a day off between games, Higgins, his father Richard, head coach Richard Nuttal and the rest of the Pride, decided to take in Carlo Acquista’s collegiate coaching debut just a few miles away at Loyola-Maryland.
Having also played at Holy Cross, Higgins is close to Acquista and the new St. Francis College coach, whose Terriers dropped a 3-0 decision to No. 22 Loyola-Maryland, spent time last year on Nuttal’s staff.
“It was nice, even though we’re playing [Hofstra], they’re one of our opponents, I think they still care how we do,” Acquista said. “[Nuttal] said after the match to keep my head up, it’s only one game and you’re going to go through wins and losses. To me that means a lot.”
St. John’s volleyball struggles out of the gate
It was a tough start of the year for the St. John’s volleyball team, which dropped all three of its matches at the North Carolina Nike Classic this weekend. The Red Storm lost to New Mexico, host North Carolina and No. 10 Wisconsin by identical 3-0 scores.
The Red Storm dropped its opening match of the tournament, 30-17, 30-15, 30-15 to Wisconsin Friday night at Carmichael Auditorium in Chapel Hill, N.C. Junior Rosalyn Dang had five kills, freshman Jackie Ahlers added six kills, junior setter Robyn Kuraski had 22 assists and Yana Ruban added six kills and five digs.
St. John’s returned to the court Saturday, but the result was the same, dropping a 30-10, 30-19, 30-20 decision to the Tar Heels. Senior Meaghan Creedon had seven kills, Ahlers added eight kills and Kuraski had 21 assists and nine digs.
In the nightcap, the Red Storm fell to New Mexico, 30-22, 30-17, 30-20. Kuraski had 42 assists and seven digs, sophomore Allison Heckl and Dang combined for 16 kills and Ruban added five kills and one service ace.
St. John’s will still be looking for its first win of the year when it hosts Stony Brook in a game scheduled for Tuesday night.
Reach Associate Sports Editor Dylan Butler by email at TimesLedger@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 143.
