Villanova Outlasts St. John's, 2-1

Wednesday, October 26

Villanova, Pa. (Higgins Soccer Complex)

3:00 PM

St. John's University

6-5-4, 2-3-2

Villanova

9-5-2, 4-2-1

St. John's

Villanova

10/26/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

Oct. 26, 2016

Final Stats | Box Score (PDF)

VILLANOVA, Pa. - Despite a furious second-half push that saw the Red Storm dominate possession and register a 15-6 shot advantage in the latter stanza, St. John's fell to Villanova, 2-1, on Wednesday afternoon at Higgins Soccer Complex.

Harry Cooksley scored the lone goal for the Red Storm (6-5-4, 2-3-2 BIG EAST), his fifth of the season, off an assist from Mauricio Rivas.

St. John's recorded a 24-15 shot advantage for the game, the team's second-highest single-game shot total of the season. The Johnnies also earned a 9-5 advantage in corner kicks on the match.

Andrew Withers recorded his second-straight six-save performance on Wednesday, tying a season-high.

Villanova (9-5-2, 4-2-1 BIG EAST) struck first in the 18th minute, as Zach Zandi had his shot blocked in front and the rebound went to straight to Miguel Polley, who slid it past Withers for an early 1-0 lead.

Less than three minutes later, the Red Storm answered in the form of a masterful goal from Cooksley. The play began with Rivas bringing the ball down the right side of the box before moving it through traffic to an open Cooksley just to the right of the penalty spot. The junior from London took possession of the ball on his right foot and gave it what appeared to be the faintest flick, but, in reality, it was powerful enough to rocket the ball into the upper left hand corner of the cage.

The Wildcats found the back of the net again in the closing minutes of the opening period, as Jacob Anderson made it 2-1 with 4:12 showing on the clock.

The Red Storm saw two great chances to tie the game before the intermission slip just beyond its reach, as Cooksley narrowly missed outside the right post with less than two minutes to go and Simon Tchoukriel had a header saved in the waning seconds.

St. John's controlled the possession game to start the second half, but the Johnnies were unable to convert on any chances.

The Red Storm recorded three stellar opportunities between the 67th and 70th minutes, beginning with a Mike Prosuk shot from 15 yards that the keeper corralled. Two minutes later, Thomas Mickoski played a ball into Marco Torriani that the freshman from Italy headed just wide. Less than a minute after that, Prosuk drew a foul near the top of the box that set up a Cooksley free kick, but Villanova keeper Will Steiner saw through the wall and made the stop.

Steiner made the save of the game in the 74th minute, using just his foot to deny an open Cooksley and preserve the lead.

The Johnnies earned another dangerous free kick in the 78th, but a Tchoukriel header went just wide on the ensuing sequence.

The Red Storm dominated the last 10 minutes, holding possession for nearly the entire stretch and registering a number of quality chances, but the Wildcats escaped with the 2-1 victory.

St. John's returns to action on Saturday night, playing host to the DePaul Blue Demons at 7 p.m. The contest will be broadcast on the BIG EAST Digital Network.