Men's Soccer 2007 Review Notebook

1/17/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer

Jan. 17, 2008

QUEENS, N.Y. - The men's soccer team once again used strong defensive play and goalkeeping to notch a 9-7-5 record during the 2007 campaign, while facing one of the toughest schedules in the country. In fact, six of the Red Storm's opponents were ranked in the Top 25 in the final regular season NSCAA poll and nine opponents qualified for the NCAA Tournament. Despite a top-40 RPI and three wins over ranked teams during the season, the Red Storm was denied in its quest to reach a sixteenth straight NCAA Tournament. Still, however, the Red Storm recorded its seventeenth consecutive winning season under head coach Dr. Dave Masur.

Throughout the season St. John's had contributions from up and down the roster as ten different players tallied at least one goal and fifteen different players picked up at least one point. Senior captain and defender Jeff Stepan, senior forward Omar Alfonso and sophomore midfielder Michael Luk each finished with a team-best nine points. Stepan and Alfonso had a team-best four goals to go with an assist, while Luk tallied two goals and a team-best five assists. Sophomore midfielder Adam Himeno and sophomore forward Ryan Soroka each added seven points, while sophomore midfielder Nelson Becerra added six points on the year.

Jason Landers battled injuries and posted a 5-3-3 record in 12 starts. The tri-captain still managed to post seven shutouts (one shared) and hold a 0.65 goals against average. Previously a back-up for Landers, Neal Kitson was thrust into the spotlight and made his first career start in the Red Storm's season opener. Kitson would finish the season with a 4-4-2 record and three shutouts (one shared) in nine starts. Defensively, the Red Storm was sound as usual. The team combined to post nine shutouts and also held the opposition to 0.86 goals per game.

Awards were aplenty as well in 2007 for the Red Storm men. Stepan garnered arguably the biggest honor of the year as earned Academic All-America honors from CoSIDA and ESPN the Magazine. This marks the second-consecutive year that the defender has earned Academic All-American status and he is the third player in St. John's men's soccer history to earn the honor at least twice. The chemistry major holds a 3.9 GPA. Stepan was also one of three players to earn All-BIG EAST as he was named to the All-BIG EAST second team. Landers was an All-BIG EAST third team selection, while sophomore defender Joel Gustafsson was named an All-BIG EAST honorable mention. Gustafsson tallied the first two assists of his career while also contributing to the stalwart defensive efforts of the Red Storm.

The season itself opened with St. John's defeating Fairleigh Dickinson, 2-0, to improve to 14-1-2 in season openers under Coach Masur. Adam Himeno tallied the game-winner on an assist from Jara Habbib and Soroka added insurance after the first career assist for Alex Paszek. St. John's then fell to Fairfield, 2-1, as Soroka scored after the first career assist for Luk. The Red Storm would then begin a grueling road schedule and play six of the next nine games away from home. The Hokie Invitational was next on the docket for the Red Storm with a first ever meeting against Virginia Commonwealth before facing host Virginia Tech. St. John's earned a 1-1 draw with VCU before falling 2-1 to Virginia Tech, a team that finished the regular season in the top 25. Sophomore David Reed and freshman Alexandre Ivo were both named to the Hokie Invitational All-Tournament Team.

Further strengthening the schedule, the Red Storm next faced conference foe Seton Hall in a non-conference game. Adam Himeno tallied his second of a team-best three game-winners and the Red Storm defeated the Pirates, 1-0. Back on the road, St. John's faced then-No. 6 Virginia and forced overtime in front of nearly 3,000 Virginia fans before falling 1-0 midway through the first overtime. The Red Storm then opened its conference schedule at home against then-No. 5 West Virginia. After battling an injury and missing the first six games of the year, senior keeper and back-to-back BIG EAST Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year, Jason Landers made his debut against the Mountaineers. A well-played game throughout, Ivo tallied on a penalty kick in the 89th minute to give the Red Storm a thrilling 1-0 win. Maintaining the momentum at home, St. John's stormed past Pittsburgh with its best offensive game of the year, 4-1. Senior defender tallied two goals in the win, including the game-winner, en route to earning BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week honors for his performances against West Virginia and Pittsburgh. The Pittsburgh win was extra special as it marked the 300th career victory for Masur.

On the road again, St. John's saw its record drop to 4-4-1 after falling to then-No. 5 Connecticut by a 3-0 score. It was after this game, however, that the Red Storm began to turn the season around. Following the Connecticut game, the Red Storm was unbeaten in the next seven games (4-0-3) and the team's record climbed to 8-4-4. The unbeaten stretch began with a scoreless draw on the road against Providence. Against then-No. 23 Villanova, Michael Mingione tallied the game-winner and Ben Clack tallied his first career goal in a 2-0 Red Storm. The Red Storm battled its second-straight ranked opponent in then-No. 21 Michigan and defeated the Wolverines by a 2-0 score on goals from Becerra and Alfonso.

St. John's notched its fourth-straight shutout in a scoreless tie against Louisville. The unbeaten streak continued with a 1-1 draw against Princeton, but the scoreless streak came to an end at 488:13. The Red Storm then traveled to face Cincinnati and handed the Bearcats their first home defeat of the season, 2-0. Mingione added his second game-winner of the season, while freshman Tafadzwa Chiduku earned his first career goal against the Bearcats. The unbeaten streak reached seven games with a 1-0 win over Rutgers in front of a live television audience on ESPNU.

The unbeaten streak ended after the squad fell to DePaul, 2-1, on Senior Night. However, the Red Storm bounced back with a 3-1 victory at Syracuse that aired on ESPNU and was highlighted by a pair of goals by Alfonso. St. John's finished the regular season falling to South Florida 2-0, but earned a tie for second place in the Red Division with its 6-3-2 record.

The Red Storm hosted the first round of the BIG EAST Tournament and got a second look at Seton Hall. After 110 minutes, the teams remained tied at 2-2 and the game headed to a penalty kick shootout. Kitson stopped two penalty kicks and the Red Storm advanced to the quarterfinals after a 3-2 shootout victory. Up next for the Red Storm was a matchup on the road against then-No. 11 Notre Dame. A tightly played game ended in a 1-0 win for the Fighting Irish thanks to a goal in the 73rd minute, thus ending the Red Storm's quest to repeat as BIG EAST Tournament Champions.