St. John’s Welcomes DePaul for Saturday Night Showdown

Saturday, October 20

Queens, N.Y. (Belson Stadium)

7:00 P.M.

St. John's University

DePaul

Tickets

St. John’s Welcomes DePaul for Saturday Night Showdown

10/18/2018 11:33:00 AM | Men's Soccer

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Red Storm will look to grab third BIG EAST win of the season

By: Andrew O'Connell

The St. John's men's soccer team will look to secure three crucial BIG EAST points when the Johnnies host DePaul on Saturday night at Belson Stadium.

Kick-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. and will be broadcast live on the BIG EAST Digital Network with Ralph Bednarczyk on the call.

Following a road loss to Marquette last Saturday night in Milwaukee, the Red Storm (6-6-1, 2-2-1 BIG EAST) will eagerly return to action at Belson Stadium, the site of both the team's conference wins this season. The Johnnies began BIG EAST play with a 1-0 win over Seton Hall before topping Butler at Belson by a score of 2-0 two weeks later.

With five league games in the rearview mirror for all 10 BIG EAST squads, Saturday's contest between St. John's and DePaul will prove critical in the conference standings. Entering the weekend, St. John's is locked in a three-way tie for fourth place with Xavier and Marquette at seven points while DePaul (4 points) is part of a two-way tie with Seton Hall for seventh in the standings. The top six teams in the final league ledger will earn a spot in the BIG EAST Tournament, which kicks off on Nov. 3. No team has yet to secure a spot in the tournament and no team has yet to be eliminated from postseason contention.

Despite a recent cold streak that has seen the team go two games without a goal, the Red Storm still boasts one of the most well-rounded offensive attacks in the league. Led by Matt Forster (5 G, 4A), who ranks second in the BIG EAST in total points and points per game, the Johnnies are one of just four teams in the league to sport three different players with at least three goals in 2018. Additionally, the Johnnies are the only team in the conference to have two freshmen score three goals or more this season. Skage Simonsen remains tied for the lead league among rookies in scoring with four goals on the year while classmate Tani Oluwaseyi, who is coming off his first career start at Marquette, has found the back of the net three times.

With Oluwaseyi making his way into the Starting XI against the Golden Eagles, St. John's has now had 20 different field players earn their way into the starting lineup at least once this season. Of those 20, 15 are in their first year with the program while 13 are in their debut season of Division I soccer.

DePaul comes to Queens with a record of 4-7-2 and a 1-3-1 mark against BIG EAST opposition. The Blue Demons are 0-4-2 in their last six outings, having last picked up a victory against Providence on Sept. 14. Since their loss to DePaul, the Friars have won four-straight league matches.

The Blue Demons are led offensively by sophomore midfielder Istvan Wilhelms, who has recorded a team-high three goals on the 2018 campaign. Senior midfielder Harry Hilling paces DePaul in points despite having scored just one goal so far this season, as his five assists are tied for the league lead.

Indiana transfer Drew Nuelle has played every minute between the pipes so far for the Blue Demons, tallying a 1.16 goals against average to go along with a .765 save percentage.

St. John's and DePaul will meet for the 15th time in program history on Saturday. St. John's holds an 8-3-3 advantage in the previous 14 contests between the two schools, including victories in two of their past three matches.