St. John’s Tops No. 24 Georgetown, 1-0

Saturday, October 27

Washington, D.C. (Cooper Field)

1:00 P.M.

St. John's University

7-6-3, 3-2-3

No. 24 Georgetown

9-4-3, 5-2-1

Team	1	2	Final F
St. John's	1	0	1
Georgetown	0	0	0

10/27/2018 3:50:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

The Johnnies improve to 3-2-3 in BIG EAST play

By: Andrew O'Connell

With three crucial points in the BIG EAST standings on the line against the second-place team in the conference, the St. John's men's soccer team dug deep and stunned No. 24 Georgetown, 1-0, on Saturday afternoon in the nation's capital.

With the win, the Johnnies improved to 7-6-3 overall and 3-2-3 in BIG EAST action. The Red Storm, who entered the day ranked fifth in the conference standings, has not yet officially secured a conference tournament spot, but could do so before the end of the weekend depending on results in the other four matches around the league. The Johnnies' victory was their third over a ranked opponent in as many seasons and their second-straight regular season triumph over a nationally ranked Hoyas squad.

Skage Simonsen scored the lone goal of the game, finding the back of the net for the sixth time this season. The freshman from Bergen, Norway, is now tied with Matt Forster for the team lead in goals on the year and has scored more times than any St. John's freshman since Ryan Soroka registered nine tallies during the BIG EAST Championship season of 2006. Four of Simonsen's six goals have come against BIG EAST opponents.

Sanoussi Sangary picked up his second collegiate point on Simonsen's goal, recording an assist.

Lenny Wilson nabbed his fourth shutout of the campaign, making seven stops on the afternoon. Five of the senior's saves came in the second half, as the Aberdeen, Scotland, native managed to hold off a Georgetown attack that came into the game leading the BIG EAST in all but one offensive category.

Georgetown dominated possession in the early going, outshooting the Johnnies 5-0 over the first 15 minutes of the match.

The Johnnies began to shift the momentum of the match over the next few minutes, registering a solid scoring chance on their first shot of the game in the 23rd minute when Forster had an open look smothered by Giannis Nikopolidis.

Following a few more solid opportunities, the Johnnies finally broke through in the 44th minute. A failed clear by a Georgetown defender sent the ball to the top left corner of the box for a wide-open Sangary, who fired the first shot of his collegiate career toward the top center of the cage. Nikopolidis came up with a great stop on the initial attempt, but the rebound made its way directly to the head of Simonsen, who sent it home and put the Red Storm ahead 1-0.

The Hoyas shifted momentum back in their favor in the second half, outshooting the Red Storm on the period by an 8-2 margin. The Johnnies always had an answer for the Georgetown threat, however, as the Red Storm managed to keep the Hoyas off the board.

St. John's has just one match remaining in the 2018 regular season, as the Red Storm will play host to Providence on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. The match will mark the final regular season contest at Belson Stadium for five St. John's seniors, who will be honored in a pregame ceremony.