Soccer on the Road With Impenetrable D

Two streaks have defined the women's soccer team's season thus far: three matches without a loss, and more than four-and-a-half hours of play without allowing a goal. The Lions will look to extend these runs tonight in Jamaica, Queens, against St. John's University.

The Lions, playing their first road match of the year, will be facing a Red Storm squad with the same record as theirs, 2-0-1. St. John's shut out Fairleigh Dickinson and St. Joseph's (Penn.) universities in its first two matches before playing to a 1-1 draw with Fairfield University on Tuesday night. Fairfield's goal in that match snapped a 258-minute goalless streak for the Red Storm.

Staying strong at the back will be key to the Lions' success on Friday night. The goalkeeping trio of junior Allison Vespa, sophomore Sara Ann Bennett, and sophomore Rebecca Taylor has not allowed a goal since the sixth minute of the season-opener against Iona College Since then, they have kept a clean sheet for almost five hours of play.

The back line of senior Emma Judkins, senior Cassie Hamar, and junior Cathleen Cimino has also done an excellent job of thwarting opposing attacks before they can pick up steam at the Columbia end.

On the offensive side of the ball, possession will be almost as important as scoring goals. Tuesday night's match with Army is a case in point. During the encounter, freshman striker Jenny Brandt and the Lions' midfielders were able to keep the ball in Army's end of the field for several minutes at a time throughout. The result: 19 attempts on goal, 10 shots on target, and a 2-0 victory. A similar performance on Friday night should be enough to give the Lions their four-match unbeaten streak.