St. John's Charges Back, Downs Princeton, 3-1

Thursday, September 8

Princeton, N.J. (Roberts Stadium)

7:00 PM

St. John's University

2-1-1

Princeton

0-2

St. John's

Princeton

9/8/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

Sept. 8, 2016

Final Stats | Box Score (PDF)

PRINCETON, N.J. - Trailing Princeton, 1-0, 65 minutes into the game, St. John's finished the contest like a team on a mission, scoring three goals over the course of just 17:25 to come away with a 3-1 victory over the Tigers at Roberts Stadium on Thursday night.

Alistair Johnston tallied his team-leading third goal of the season, while Mauricio Rivas and Mike Prosuk added their first goals of the campaign. Andrea Previati, Filippo Ricupati, Ben Roth and Harry Cooksley registered assists on the evening.

Andrew Withers played phenomenally in the second half for the Red Storm (2-1-1), recording four stellar saves, including several at point blank range, to pick up the win.

"We had a lot of good character from guys off the bench which really helped out," said Head Coach Dr. Dave Masur. "I think it was a little bit of a choppy first half where we had to be more consistent, more connected and more focused as a team. We were better in the second half, wore them down and got the result. Princeton is always a good program and a good team. It was a great team to come play against and now we've got to get ready for Holy Cross."

The fresh-faced Red Storm sent out its youngest starting lineup to date on Thursday, dispatching seven freshmen, two sophomores, one junior college transfer and one graduate student.

Princeton recorded the game's first goal just 65 seconds into the action, as Harry Heffernen found the back of the net for the Tigers. Vikram Pothuri and Brian Costa registered assists on the tally.

Ludvik Benco saw a great chance at the equalizer in the seventh minute, but the Princeton keeper made a skillful save at point blank range to preserve his team's lead.

The Tigers nearly went up by a pair on a header off a corner kick in the 22nd minute, but Matt Forster was there to make a heads up play on the goal line, stopping the ball before it could enter the net.

Cooksley checked into the game in the 28th minute and provided an immediate spark for the Red Storm. In the 33rd minute, the London native nearly found the back of the net on a free kick from 25 yards out, but the try floated just over the bar.

The Red Storm came out of the locker room with a renewed vigor after the intermission, dominating the possession game and firing a number of dangerous tries toward the net.

The Johnnies finally broke through in the 66th minute, knotting the game at one apiece. The play began when Rivas sent a ball from the left side into the box, which bounced off several players before finding Ricupati in front. The sophomore from Milan played it to the right for Johnston, who took advantage of space and sent one on the ground past the keeper. Roth also registered an assist on the goal.

Less than 10 minutes later, the Red Storm recorded the go-ahead tally following a persistent effort in the offensive zone. The sequence started with Marcus Lindqvist playing a ball into the box, which was battled for in front by several players from both teams. After a significant struggle, Previati took control of the 50/50 ball and tapped it out to Rivas, who buried it into the empty net.

With just under seven minutes to play, the Red Storm made yet another push into the offensive zone. Cooksley took possession of the ball and drew the attention of several defenders in the box before pushing it off to Prosuk, who finished on the ground to extend the advantage to a pair.

The Red Storm returns to action on Sunday evening, welcoming Holy Cross to Belson Stadium at 7 p.m.