Following a challenging 2-1 loss to Marquette University in their Big East conference opener on Friday at Morrison Stadium, the Creighton women’s soccer team battled to a scoreless tie against St. John’s University on Sunday in Queens, N.Y. The Jays (7-3-1) used stellar defense and 12 saves from freshman goalkeeper Danielle Rice to fend off the Red Storm’s attack. Despite struggling offensively to get good scoring opportunities, the Jays’ defensive effort ultimately made the difference.

“It was one of Dani’s best games,” women’s soccer head coach Bruce Erickson said. “It was probably one of our best games defensively. They were dangerous on probably four or five occasions and Dani came up and made a couple of great saves, but I thought a lot of what they brought to the table were shots that were a little bit weaker from distance, and we obviously dealt with those pretty well. Dani was huge when she needed to be and I think our back four was very stingy and did a nice job.”

Junior midfielder/defender Madelyn Buckner was equally impressed with Rice’s performance.

“Our freshman keeper Dani Rice had one of her best games,” Buckner said. “She kept us in the game. And we were playing against the top goal-scoring forward in the nation and we shut her out that game.”

The Jays did not get a corner kick until the 96 minute mark in the match from freshman defender Emily Roll. Roll had the Jays’ only other corner kick opportunity at the 106 minute mark, as the Jays managed just two corner kicks compared to the Red Storm’s 10 opportunities for the match. The Jays failed to break through offensively, as St. John’s held a dominant 30-8 advantage in shots on goal. Despite the lack of offensive success, Erickson said his team played well.

“I couldn’t be more pleased with how we competed today,” Erickson said. “It’s the hardest we’ve worked all year, and we had to. I think if we can continue to work that hard we’re going to get some good results.”

With the tie, the Jays earned their first point in the Big East standings. However, they are still looking for their first win in-0conference play (0-1-1). The team will get a chance to earn that first win during an East Coast road trip next weekend, beginning with a Thursday afternoon match against the Friars of Providence College (4-4-3) and ending with a Sunday midday battle against Seton Hall University (4-5-2).