Men's Soccer Opens BIG EAST Conference Play This Weekend

Sept. 21, 2007

QUEENS, N.Y. -

The men's soccer team opens BIG EAST play this weekend with a pair of games. St. John's hosts No. 5 West Virginia tonight and Pittsburgh on Sunday.

Stormwatch

St. John's is 12-2-2 in BIG EAST openers under head coach Dr. Dave Masur.
Adam Himeno leads the team with five points and a career-high two game winning goals.
Eight different players have tallied at least one point, while 16 different players have started.
Career firsts established this season:
Alex Paszek tallied his first career assist vs. Fairleigh Dickinson (Aug. 31).
Joel Gustafsson notched his first career assist vs. Seton Hall (Sept. 13).
Nelson Becerra scored his first career goal for St. John's vs. VCU (Sept. 7).
Neal Kitson started his first career game and earned his first career win and shutout vs. Fairleigh Dickinson (Aug. 31).

Scouting the Mountaineers

The Mountaineers (4-1-0) are coming off of a 1-0 win over then-No. 5 Duke. This will be the 12th meeting between the two schools and St. John's holds a 7-2-2 edge. The last time the schools met was in the 2006 BIG EAST Championship game. The Red Storm won the game 1-0 after Adam Himeno scored with 4.4 seconds remaining in the first overtime.
Dan Stratford leads the team with two goals and five points. Andy Wright and Paul Paradise each have a goal and an assist, while Mike Anoia has a team-high two assists.
Zach Johnson posted four shutouts and allowed just one goal in five games (0.20 GAA).

Scouting the Panthers

This will be the 21st meeting between Pittsburgh and St. John's. The Red Storm holds a 14-3-3 edge in the series and has won the last three meetings each by a 1-0 score.
E.J. McCormick leads the Panthers (1-4-1) with three goals and six points. Matt Langton has two goals and one assist for five points.
Jordan Marks has started four games and posts a 1.76 GAA.

St. John's University Athletics