Three members of the St. John’s University women were honored by the Big East for their fall season exploits, it was announced Saturday.
The Red Storm’s leading scorer Zsani Kajan earned a spot on All-Big East first team, while seniors Christina Bellero and Claudia Cagnina received a nod to the second team.
Pacing the Red Storm offensively, Kajan has put together a spectacular season. In 18 appearances, the redshirt sophomore has recorded 11 goals and two assists for a team-high 24 points. Kajan’s 11 goals are tied for the second most in the conference and rank in the top-30 nationally. Her double-digit scoring made her the seventh Johnnie in program history to record 10 or more goals in a season.
Kajan has played an instrumental role for the Red Storm. The Budapest, Hungary native has recorded three multi-goal game, including a hat-trick against Stony Brook University. She became the first player to record three goals in a game since Oct. 11, 2015, when Rachel Daly hit a hat-trick in a 4-0 win over Creighton University at Belson Stadium.
Bellero earned her third career all-league honor after landing a spot on conferecne second team last season and preseason All-Big East team prior to the start of this season. The Melville, N.Y. senior has been a on a tear as of late, recording a combined three goals in two of her last three games. Bellero has registered two multi-goal games, most recently in a 3-2, overtime victory over Villanova University to earn Big East offensive player of the week.
A highly touted talent out of Lindenhust, N.Y., Cagnina played substantial minutes for the Red Storm, starting in all 18 matches this season. She ranks third on the team in assists with three. Cagnina’s pinnacle moment of the year happened Sept. 2 against Stony Brook, as the senior dished out a career-high three assists, one off the program record set by Jennifer Contesini in 1995 and by Marissa Stork in 1999. Cagnina’s assists marked the first three-assist match since 2008, the first year for which game-by-game records were readily available.
St. John’s, the third seed in the Big East Championship, will begin postseason play Sunday afternoon, welcoming sixth-seeded Providence College to Belson Stadium for a 1 p.m. match. The winner of that game will earn a date with second-seeded Butler University in Indianapolis Thursday.
BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year
Caitlin Farrell, Georgetown*
BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year
Meaghan Nally, Georgetown
BIG EAST Midfielder of the Year
Samantha Dewey, Xavier
BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year
Arielle Schechtman, Georgetown, Sr., GK
BIG EAST Freshman of the Year
Anja Savich, Butler, F
BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year
Georgetown
All-BIG EAST First Team
Paige Monaghan, Butler, Sr., M
Annika Schmidt, Butler, R-Jr., D
Taryn Jakubowski, Creighton, Jr., M
Franny Cerny, DePaul, Sr., F
Caitlin Farrell, Georgetown, Sr., F*
Paula Germino Watnick, Georgetown, Jr., F/M
Meaghan Nally, Georgetown, Jr., D
Arielle Schechtman, Georgetown, Sr., GK
Katie Day, Providence, Sr., D
Zsani Kajan, St. John’s, R-So., F
Samantha Dewey, Xavier, R-Jr., F
All-BIG EAST Second Team^
Anja Savich, Butler, Fr., F
Adrian Walker, DePaul, Jr., Center Back
Kyra Carusa, Georgetown, Grad., F
Grace Nguyen, Georgetown, So., M
Katrina Wetherell, Marquette, Fr., M
Shelby Hogan, Providence, So., GK
Hannah McNulty, Providence, So., F
Kayla Steeves, Providence, Sr., M
Christina Bellero, St. John’s, Sr., F
Claudia Cagnina, St. John’s, Sr., M
Kristin Barbour, Villanova, Jr., D
Grace Bahr, Xavier, Jr., D
All-Freshman Team^
Morgan Kloosterman, Butler, M
Anja Savich, Butler, F
Ansley Atkinson, Creighton, M
Mollie Eriksson, DePaul, GK
Ellie Mink, DePaul, M
Katrina Wetherell, Marquette, M
Alyssa Bombacino, Marquette, F
Hannah Morgan, Providence, D
Hensley Hancuff, Villanova, GK
Niki Molina, Villanova, M
Chloe O’Neil, Villanova, F
Hayley, Jakovich, Xavier, D
*unanimous selection
^extra player added due to a tie in voting