St. John’s Draws with DePaul, 2-2

Saturday, October 20

Queens, N.Y. (Belson Stadium)

7:00 P.M.

St. John's University

6-6-2, 2-2-2BE

DePaul

4-7-3, 1-3-2BE

OT 3

OT 4

DePaul

St. John's

Johan Aquilon assisted on both of the Red Storm's goals. They were the first assists of his collegiate career.

10/20/2018 11:02:00 PM | Men's Soccer

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Forster and Simonsen scored for the Red Storm on Saturday

By: Andrew O'Connell

The St. John's men's soccer team earned a crucial point in the BIG EAST standings on Saturday night, tying DePaul, 2-2, at Belson Stadium.

Matt Forster and Skage Simonsen scored the goals for St. John's (6-6-2, 2-2-2 BIG EAST), striking in the 62nd and 81st minutes, respectively. The goal for Forster was his sixth of the year, tying him for the highest total by a Red Storm player since Nelson Becerra scored eight in 2008. Simonsen, who found the back of the net for the fifth time this season, has scored more than any other freshman in the BIG EAST in 2018.

Sophomore defender Johan Aquilon assisted on both of the Red Storm's goals. The helpers were the first of his St. John's career.

St. John's outshot DePaul (4-7-3, 1-3-2 BIG EAST) by a wide margin, tallying 18 chances to the Blue Demons' eight. The Johnnies also earned corners to DePaul's seven.

The Red Storm recorded the game's first true scoring opportunity in the 17th minute, as Forster banged a ball off the crossbar from distance. The junior midfielder from Bedford, England, registered a team-high four shots on the evening.

The Johnnies controlled possession for a majority of the opening half, outshooting the Blue Demons, 6-2, and earning four corners, twice as many as DePaul.

Following a flurry that saw the Johnnies register a pair of solid chances in the 59^th and 60^th minutes, Forster broke through in the 62nd with the game's first goal. Aquilon began the sequence with a run down the right side of the field before sending a cross into traffic intended for Forster. Despite the congestion in the box, Forster leapt and struck the ball in the air, flicking it past the keeper and putting the Johnnies ahead, 1-0.

With St. John's in the driver's seat and less than 15 minutes to go in the contest, DePaul scored twice in the span of just three minutes, erasing the deficit and jumping ahead by one. Zach El-Shafei struck in the 78th before Istvan Wilhelms found the back of the net exactly three minutes later. Matthew Brickman assisted on both goals while Sasa Labovic also picked up an assist on the go-ahead marker.

As quickly as DePaul turned the tide, St. John's answered even quicker. Just 21 seconds after surrendering their lead, the Johnnies knotted the game at two with a goal from Simonsen. Coming into possession of the ball 35 yards away from the goal, Aquilon played a long pass into the box toward the left post for Simonsen. The freshman from Norway did well to softly corral the ball before finishing to the near side and pulling the Johnnies even at two.

After outshooting DePaul, 3-1, in the first overtime period, the Red Storm had a great chance to end the contest in the 105th minute, but the Blue Demons came up big to register the stop. With the ball bouncing in the box, Brandon Knapp took possession with the keeper out of position. The freshman standout put a try on target, but Max de Bruijne of DePaul made a spectacular play to clear it off the line and preserve the tie.

St. John's has just three regular season games remaining, as the squad travels to Villanova on Wednesday before closing out the campaign with a road tilt at Georgetown on Saturday and Senior Night against Providence on Oct. 31.