Aug. 28, 2009
FULLERTON, CA - St. John's senior Vaila Barsley headed home a corner kick from teammate C.J. Ludemann in the fourth minute of overtime Friday night, giving the visiting Red Storm a 1-0 shutout victory over host Cal State Fullerton in a non-conference women's soccer match at Titan Stadium.
The Titans fell to 0-2 overall on the young season while St. John's won its season opener in improving to 1-0.
Fullerton had the first chance in overtime with a corner kick of its own, but was cleared to safety by the Red Storm defense. St. John's offense, however, would not let its opportunity go by the wayside as Ludemann curled a perfect ball to the far post, finding the head of Barsley, who finished into the ground to end the match.
The Titans had their chances in the second half, outshooting the Red Storm 6-2 at one point and controlling the first half of the period. With just under 31 minutes to play, Danielle Bitonti drilled a free kick over the wall, but right into the waiting hands of St. John's keeper Kristin Russell.
Four minutes later, sophomore Casey Volk made a long run down the right side and played a looping ball back to Lacey Califano who fired just wide.
Sophomore Stacey Fox, who was making her season debut after missing the opener against Utah due to injury, finished with three shots to lead the Titans. Runa Stefansdottir led all players with four shots for St. John's, which held a 12-9 advantage overall in the category for the match.
Cal State Fullerton closes out the 2009 Under Armour Invitational with a friendly exhibition against the Mexican Women's National Team on Sunday afternoon (Aug. 30) at 1 pm at Titan Stadium. Admission is free to the event.