Zsani Kajan led the Big East with 11 goals i 2019. (Photo courtesy of St. John’s)

QUEENS, N.Y. – Four days after earning a spot on the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List, St. John’s University women’s soccer redshirt senior Zsani Kajan tabbed Big East preseason offensive player of the year, as voted on by the league’s coaches.

Kajan, the reigning conference offensive player of the year also received unanimous selection to the preseason All-Big East team for the 2021 spring season.

The conference’s top returning goal scorer from a season ago, Kajan found the back of the net a team-most 11 times in 2019. The Budapest, Hungary, native averaged a conference-leading 1.67 points per game over nine Big East contests, scoring a league-best seven goals against conference foes.

With 11 tallies in 2019, Kajan tied her season-high total, as she became one of just three players in program history to record double-digit scoring in multiple seasons, joining Rachel Daly and Cristin Burtis.

Last year, Kajan provided a strong skill set under pressure, scoring a trio of game-winning goals for the Red Storm. Kajan’s most notable performance came Oct. 24, 2019 when she recorded the second hat-trick of her collegiate career in a 4-3 win at Villanova University

The preseason All-Big East team was announced in conjunction with the annual preseason coaches’ poll. The conference schedule will feature two geographic divisions this spring, with Georgetown University favored in the East Division and Xavier University picked to win the Midwest Division. In the East Division, the Hoyas were followed by Villanova University and Providence College.

Returning to Big East play for the first time since 2012, the University of Connecticut was slotted fourth in the East, followed by St. John’s in fifth and Seton Hall University in sixth.

BIG EAST Women’s Soccer East Division Preseason Poll

1. Georgetown  25 (5 first-place votes)

2. Villanova        19

3. Providence    18 (1)

4. UConn            12

5. St. Johns        11

6. Seton Hall      5

BIG EAST Women’s Soccer Midwest Division Preseason Poll

1. Xavier             16 (4 first-place votes)

2. DePaul            12 (1)

3. Butler             11

4. Marquette     6

5. Creighton       5

 

Preseason Offensive Player of the Year

Zsani Kajan, St. John’s, R-Sr., F

Preseason Defensive Player of the Year

Jenna Royson, Georgetown, Jr., D

Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year

Stephanie Rodriguez, Butler, R-Jr., GK

 

Preseason All-BIG EAST Team^

Stephanie Rodriguez, Butler, R-Jr., GK

Anja Savich, Butler, Jr., F

Katie Soderstrom, Butler, Jr., F

Skylar Heinrich, Creighton, So., F*

Kristen Boos, DePaul, So., F

Morgan Turner, DePaul, Sr., F

Jenna Royson, Georgetown, Jr., D

Hannah McNulty, Providence, Sr., F*

Zsani Kajan, St. John’s, R-Sr., F*

Brice McInroy, Villanova, Jr., M

Molly McLaughlin, Xavier, Jr., M

Brooke Sroka, Xavier, Jr., F

^extra player added due to a tie in voting

*unanimous selection

Front Row Soccer editor Michael Lewis has covered 13 World Cups (eight men, five women), seven Olympics and 25 MLS Cups. He has written about New York City FC, New York Cosmos, the New York Red Bulls and both U.S. national teams for Newsday and has penned a soccer history column for the Guardian.com. Lewis, who has been honored by the Press Club of Long Island and National Soccer Coaches Association of America, is the former editor of BigAppleSoccer.com. He has written seven books about the beautiful game and has published ALIVE AND KICKING The incredible but true story of the Rochester Lancers. It is available at Amazon.com.