During the St. John’s women’s soccer team’s 1-0 loss to Providence at Belson Satdium on Sunday, one of the most plaguing issues about the team was their inability to capitalize on offensive opportunities.

With many rookies seeing time up front, the Red Storm have been relying on their veterans to control the midfield and create scoring chances.

Throughout the past couple of games, senior midfielder Anna Torregiano has emerged to be an offensive catalyst for the Red Storm.

Torregiano, who had one shot against the Friars, dominated the midfield for portions of the

game and created lots of offensive opportunities for the Red Storm.

“Anna is a phenomenal soccer player,” said Coach Ian Stone. “Her skill level and range of passes is second to none on our team.”

Her notable play has helped her move into the starting lineup and has made it hard for Stone and his coaching staff to take her out of the game, but what has been most impressive about her play is that she’s only appeared in two games prior to this season due to various knee injuries.

“As a coaching [and] training Staff, we were being very cautious with Anna’s knee at the beginning of the season,” Stone said. “We had to see how much she could physically handle. She has thoroughly deserved to start and play for the majority of the game because she has been playing very well.”

Stone had very high hopes for Torregiano prior to her freshman season. After a successful high school career at Friends Seminary in New York City, where she scored 90 goals and 42 assists, Torregiano was set to be an impact player for the Red Storm, but her debut on the soccer field was delayed after suffering a torn ACL and fighting off related injuries for the next three years.

“It has definitely been hard being injured over the years, but with the support of all

the girls on the team, the coaching staff and the trainers it made things a lot easier,” said Torregiano.

 She even joked about how the Trainer’s room became a second home to her.

“Going through so many injuries, it would be easy for one to just give up, but that never crossed my mind and I was determined to make it back on the field and get my shot,” she said.

This year has been a long time coming for Torregiano, who has two assists so far, including one during the Red Storm’s 2-1 road win over Connecticut.

“Being able to play my senior year means a lot to me,” she said. “I have been working my whole life to play soccer at the college level, and to finally be able to do it, especially as a senior means a lot to me.”

With the tough portion of the season ahead, Stone will be looking for others to feed off the success that she has this season.

“[Torregiano] serves as an example of the type of adversity you can come through to excel if you truly love the game of soccer,” Stone said. “She also exhibits an outstanding soccer I.Q., which our young players can learn from. She is well on the way to becoming the complete soccer player that our program strives to develop on a daily basis.”