Caruso Scores on Direct Free Kick Highlighting Women's Soccer Debut Under Coach Lawson

NEW YORK — Junior co-captain Christina Caruso (Astoria, N.Y./St. John's Prep) brought the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) women's soccer team to within one goal with a perfect strike on a direct free kick, but the Bears fell short in the collegiate debut for Head Coach Gary Lawson, dropping a 5-1 decision to John Jay College in their season opener at the Big Apple Classic.

The Basics

• Final Score:  John Jay 5, St. Joseph's 1
• Records: John Jay (2-0), St. Joseph's (0-1)
• Location: New York, N.Y.
• Field: Randall's Island Field 84

How It Happened

• A pair of Bloodhound goals from Kayla Talbot in the 13th and 35th minutes put the hosts up 2-0, but the Bears responded one minute later with a beautiful strike from Christina Caruso from about 20 yards out on a direct free kick that put the Bears at a one-goal deficit.
• John Jay snuck in a late goal just before the intermission to go up 3-1 and tacked on two more goals in the final 45, dictating most of the play, also aided by the wind in their favor for the second half.
• The Bloodhounds held the Bears to just a pair of shots over the contest and finished with a 24-2 shot differential.

For the Bears

• Caruso's goal was the 11th of her career.
• Nilevi Irizarri recorded the only other shot for the Bears.
• Kristen Candelaria made 11 saves in her first start in goal after playing as a field player last season.

Quotable

Made my coaching debut for @SJCBears. Despite not getting the result we hoped for, I am proud of the start we've made. Love the journey!

— Gary Lawson Soccer (@grlawson) September 4, 2016

The Bear Facts

• The goal is the first scored by the Bears, snapping a seven-game scoreless streak to end last season.
• John Jay levels the all-time series at 1-1 after St. Joseph's captured the first meeting 2-0 in October 2013.

Next up for St. Joseph's

The Bears will resume a five-game road stretch to open the season heading to the Garden State to face Rutgers-Newark in a non-conference affair at 7:30 p.m. Links to the live video webcast of the game (via Rutgers-Newark) will be available on SJCBears.com