St. John's University Athletics
No. 17 Red Storm Falls To Cincinnati, 2-1
9/30/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
- Box Score
- Postgame Audio
Cincinnati scored two late goals, including the game-winner in the 81st minute, as the Bearcats defeated the No. 17 Red Storm, 2-1, at Belson Stadium on Saturday night. Ryan Soroka scored his fourth goal of the season in the 28th minute to give St. John's a 1-0 advantage and the Red Storm created a number of opportunities to build upon the lead, but a score by Kenny Anaba with less than 10 minutes remaining completed the comeback and propelled Cincinnati to its school-record sixth straight win.
With the loss, St. John's fell to 6-3-2 overall and 3-2-2 in the BIG EAST, while Cincinnati improved to 8-3-1 and 5-2-0 in league action.
The Red Storm defense silenced one of the league's hottest offenses, holding the Bearcats to no shots on goals in the first half and keeping them off the scoreboard through the first 77 minutes. Team captain Georgios Spanos and the back line kept preseason BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year Omar Cummings surrounded for much of the night, but the senior broke loose to score the equalizer in the 78th minute.
Early in the first period, senior Patrik Engstrom sent a free kick into the Cincinnati box from 40 yards, and the left-footed shot sailed over traffic and caromed off the crossbar. The rebound bounced out to Jara Habib, who controlled and fired a shot that deflected off goalkeeper Mike Vessells fingertips for the first corner kick of the match.
Soroka got the Red Storm on the board in the 28th minute, running on to a Jeff Stepan pass and finishing low and to the right of Vessells. Rory Quinn sent the initial ball into the box that Stepan touched with his back to the goal, and Soroka converted for his fourth goal of the season.
With 2:56 remaining in the half, Soroka nearly tallied his second goal of the game, but Vessells cut off the freshman's wide angle and turned away his shot from 12 yards. Danny Dragoi sent a through ball to Soroka, who touched once and sent a ball low and to the near post that Vessells pushed wide.
St. John's again carried play to begin the second half, attempting four quick shots and nearly scoring twice in the opening 17 minutes of the period. Soroka hit the post with a skillful shot from 15 yards just 45 seconds in and then fired a shot that Vessells turned away in the 63rd minute.
Cummings tied the game up at 1-1 in the 78th minute and Kenny Anaba broke the tie less than three minutes later with his fifth goal of the season. The duo extended Cincinnati's streak of games with at least two goals to six and preserved the Bearcats' lead in the BIG EAST Red Division.
St. John's begins a stretch of three straight road games on Wednesday with a non-conference matchup with Princeton. The Red Storm and Tigers play at 8 p.m. in the Red Storm's final non-conference game of the season.
