St. John's University Athletics
Gotsmanov Named BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week
11/1/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Nov. 1, 2004
Queens, NY - St. John's University freshman forward Andrei Gotsmanov (St. Paul, MN) has been named the BIG EAST Conference men's soccer Offensive Player of the Week, it was announced today.
The Red Storm went 1-1 last weekend at the FIU Classic, closing out the tournament with an impressive 5-0 win over No. 24 South Florida on Saturday night.
Gotsmanov led the way for No. 9 St. John's, registering an assist in a 2-1 loss to Florida International on Friday, and then scoring three goals in the Red Storm's 5-0 win over South Florida the next night. He scored the team's first goal, giving St. John's a 1-0 lead at the break, and then added two more in the first 10 minutes of the second half en route to the win.
The hat trick was the second this season for the freshman, who leads the Red Storm (10-4-4 overall, 6-1-3 BIG EAST) in scoring with seven goals and three assists for 17 points.
In recording his second hat trick this season, Gotsmanov became the first St. John's player with a pair in one year since 1996, when Jesse Van Saun accomplished the feat. The only other player to record two hat tricks in one season in St. John's was Fred Bischoff, who scored a school-record five goals against Iona and had three against New York University in 1982.
Gotsmanov is tied for fifth in the league in scoring with 17 points and tied for fourth in goals with seven.
It is the first league award for the rookie this season, and the third for a Red Storm men's soccer player. It is the second individual award for Gotsmanov, who was named Player of the Week by BigAppleSoccer.com after his first hat trick in early October.
The Red Storm closed out the 2004 regular season last weekend and will host a BIG EAST Quarterfinal match on either Saturday, November 6 or Sunday, November 7 against an opponent to be announced.