By Dylan Butler
Standing outside the St. Francis College soccer team’s locker room Friday night at the Metropolitan Oval, Carlo Acquista let out a long sigh of relief. Just 10 minutes earlier the Terriers defeated Quinnipiac, 1-0, in overtime, marking the Whitestone native’s first collegiate coaching victory.
“I didn’t think it would be this hard,” said the 24-year-old former Holy Cross and St. John’s standout, one of the youngest collegiate coaches in the country. “But what I was happy with … is that we were fighting, getting fitter, becoming more of a team. The word for today before the game was, ‘opportunity.’ ”
Sterling Brathwaite made the most of his opportunity, scoring the game-winner off his chest from six yards out on a cross by Ricardo Ordain 2:04 into overtime.
The win improved St. Francis’ and Acquista’s record to 1-3-1 and 1-0 in the Northeast Conference. Two days later the Terriers improved to 2-0 in the NEC thanks to an overtime penalty kick goal by Alessandro Acquista, Carlo Acquista’s younger brother, that lifted St. Francis to a 1-0 win over Central Connecticut State.
Friday night’s home opener against Quinnipiac was an emotional one for St. Francis players, who were facing their former coach Sam Carrington, who left after 13 years to take the job at Quinnipiac in May. Two months later Acquista was hired after stints on the St. John’s and Hofstra coaching staffs.
“It was really hard to play tonight, but we had to beat him,” said St. Francis senior defender Joe Afful. “Some of us wanted to prove to him that we’re a good team.”
But Carrington, whose team dropped to 0-5-1, 0-2 in conference and have yet to score a goal, had no hard feelings about his ruined homecoming.
“It was tough because almost half of my players are on that team. Just to compete against them was difficult; it was an emotional game for me,” Carrington said. “As soon as I got the job at Quinnipiac, I couldn’t wait for this night. It was an excellent college game and I’m happy for St. Francis College and Carlo to get his first win. I wish them luck.”
York 1, John Jay 0. Alfred Hunt scored the winner in double overtime for York (3-1-1, 2-0-1 CUNY) Saturday.
St. John’s football falls to Central Connecticut
Led by Major Cole, who rushed for 177 yards on 30 carries and a pair of touchdowns, Central Connecticut State handed the St. John’s football team its third straight defeat, 16-8 in New Britain, Conn. Saturday.
After Derek Pearson’s 35-yard field goal put Central Connecticut (1-4) ahead, 3-0 in the second quarter, Cole scored on runs of one and two yards to give the Blue Devils a 16-0 fourth-quarter lead.
Matt Millheiser (21-34 for 186 yards) connected Matt May on an 11-yard touchdown pass with 2:52 left in the game, cutting the Red Storm’s deficit to 16-6. Millheiser then hit Eric Romeo with a crossing pass for the two-point conversion. St. John’s (1-3) attempted an onside kick but Central Connecticut recovered the ball and ran out the clock.
St. John’s has a bye week and returns to action Oct. 12 when they travel to Poughkeepsie to face Marist at 1 p.m.
SJU Women’s Golf tee off while men win McLaughlin title
The St. John’s women’s golf team finished fourth in the Princeton Invitational this weekend, the first event in program history. Freshman Christin Thomson finished sixth, carding a 14-over par 158 to lead the Red Storm, which finished with a two round score of 656.
Tracey Bolger was tied for 13th with an 18-over par 168, while Jennifer Rhee placed 30th at 24-over par 168.
The St. John’s women’s golf team returns to action Oct. 18 when they play in the Rutgers Invitational in Piscataway, N.J.
Led by Andrew Svoboda, who carded a six-under par 134, the St. John’s men’s golf team won the title at The McLaughlin this weekend, played on the Bethpage Red Course.
The Red Storm won by two strokes over Princeton, shooting a two round score of 566. Maryland, McNeese State and James Madison round out the top five.
Women’s volleyball
Notre Dame 30-25-30-31, St. John’s 26-30-20-29. Sarah McCrary had 19 kills and 17 digs, and Robyn Kurasaki had 50 assists and 14 digs, while Jackie Ahlers had 20 kills and nine digs for the Red Storm (12-8, 1-1 Big East) Sunday in South Bend, Ind. Led by Emily Loomis, who had 20 kills and 10 digs, Notre Dame improves to 11-3, 2-0 in the Big East.
St. John’s 30-27-30-30, Syracuse 27-30-27-20. Kurasaki had 53 assists and McCrary added 20 kills and 11 digs for the Red Storm.
Women’s tennis
St. John’s 7, Fairfield 0. Nataliya Kostova defeated Diana Webb, 6-1, 6-3 in first singles while Kristina Bothova easily defeated Megan Stauffer, 6-0, 6-0 in second singles for St. John’s (1-0), which plays Hofstra, Fordham and LIU in a tri-meet match at Hofstra.
Reach Associate Sports Editor Dylan Butler by email at TimesLedger@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 143.
