Johnnies Travel to No. 24 Georgetown for Saturday Showdown

Saturday, October 27

Washington, D.C. (Cooper Field)

1:00 P.M.

St. John's University

No. 24 Georgetown

Johnnies Travel to No. 24 Georgetown for Saturday Showdown

10/26/2018 3:16:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Watch Live Stats Game Notes (PDF)

The Red Storm will look to secure its third-straight BIG EAST result

By: Andrew O'Connell

The St. John's men's soccer team will close out the road portion of its regular season schedule on Saturday afternoon, traveling to Washington for a showdown with Georgetown.

Kick-off is scheduled for 1 p.m. on the BIG EAST Digital Network with John Fanta and Tom Greaser on the call.

The Red Storm (6-6-3, 2-2-3) and Hoyas (9-3-3, 5-1-1) will both have plenty on the line with just two regular season games to go, as the Johnnies are looking to secure a spot in the six-team BIG EAST Tournament while Georgetown, who has already punched its ticket, is attempting to lock up a bye into the conference semifinals. St. John's (9 pts) currently sits in fifth place in the league standings, one point behind Marquette (10 pts) in fourth and one clear of DePaul (8 pts) in sixth. Xavier (7 pts) and Seton Hall (7 pts) are currently tied for seventh just one point back of the Blue Demons and Butler (6 pts) lurks just one point behind the Musketeers and Pirates in ninth. Villanova (4 pts) rounds out the bottom of the conference standings, but the Wildcats, who ranked as high as no. 13 in the nation earlier this season, have yet to be eliminated from postseason contention.

On Wednesday afternoon against Villanova, the Johnnies secured their second-straight result against a BIG EAST opponent, playing the Wildcats to a double-overtime draw. Tani Oluwaseyi struck first for the Red Storm in the 51st minute before Villanova answered with a goal of its own just about four minutes later. The two teams then traded scoring opportunities over the next 55 minutes before both escaping the match with a point.

Oluwaseyi scored for the fourth time this season on Wednesday, moving him one behind teammate Skage Simonsen for the league lead in that category among freshmen. 2018 marks the first time in nearly a decade and a half that two separate St. John's freshmen have scored at least four goals in the same campaign, as Andrei Gotsmanov and Steven Old last recorded the feat back in 2004.

The Red Storm's three draws through its first seven conference games are the most by a St. John's team in BIG EAST play since 2009, when the eventual BIG EAST champs went 6-1-4 during the regular season. That year, the Red Storm finished the campaign 9-3-9, matching the NCAA record for ties in a season.

Georgetown enters the weekend ranked second in the BIG EAST standings and 24th in the latest United Soccer Coaches poll. The Hoyas sport the league's most potent offensive attack, leading the BIG EAST in every team offensive category aside from corner kicks earned, a metric in which they rank second. Derek Dodson, the 2017 BIG EAST Freshman of the Year who scored the game winner against the Johnnies in last year's conference semifinals, is currently tied for the league lead in goals with eight on the season. Junior forward Achara is not far behind Dodson with six tallies on the year, while junior defender Dylan Nealis leads the BIG EAST with six assists.
As a team, the Hoyas' 18.0 shots per game rank third nationally while their 7.13 shots on goal per game are good enough for 13th in Division I.

The Hoyas and the Johnnies share a rich series history dating back to 1985, a rivalry that has seen the Red Storm go 22-9-3 in 34 matches all-time. After losing three-straight decisions to the Hoyas from 2014-16, the Johnnies captured a thrilling victory on Senior Night at Belson Stadium last season, downing No. 10 Georgetown, 1-0, in Queens. The Hoyas returned the favor by knocking off the Red Storm in the BIG EAST semifinals, spoiling the Johnnies' first trip to the conference's final four since 2011.