Johnnies to Kick Off BIG EAST Championship at Providence

Saturday, November 3

Providence, R.I. (Anderson Stadium)

7:00 p.m.

St. John's University

Providence

Simonsen celebrates his game-tying goal in the 81st minute.

Johnnies to Kick Off BIG EAST Championship at Providence

11/2/2018 12:19:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Watch Live Stats Game Notes (PDF)

Red Storm begins the road to its 10th conference title

By: Andrew O'Connell

The St. John's men's soccer team will make its 2018 postseason debut on Saturday night, traveling to Providence for a 7 p.m. tilt. The rematch of the regular season finale between the sixth-seeded Johnnies and the third-seeded Friars will be broadcast live on the BIG EAST Digital Network with John Fanta on the call.

The Red Storm will make its league-record 27th appearance in the BIG EAST Men's Soccer Championship when action kicks off on Saturday. Only two other current BIG EAST programs have registered more than 20 appearances, as Georgetown (26) sits one showing behind the Johnnies while Seton Hall has earned a spot in the field 21 times. St. John's success in the tournament has been unrivaled over the years, as the Red Storm has turned in a record of 35-16-4 (.673) over the years with a league-record nine tournament titles, all of which have come under the direction of Dr. Dave Masur. Butler, which has six BIG EAST Tournament games under its belt in four appearances, is the only other program currently in the conference with a record over .500. Seton Hall is the only other active member of the league with more than two titles, winning the last of its four conference crowns in 1991.

Last year, the third-seeded Red Storm advanced to the semifinals of the BIG EAST Tournament for the first time since 2011, blowing by Creighton, 3-1, at home in the quarterfinals before falling to eventual conference champion Georgetown, 2-1, in Washington. Should the Johnnies triumph over Providence this weekend, they would earn another date with the second-seeded Hoyas in our nation's capital. Prior to the team's loss in the final game of the regular season to Providence, St. John's picked up its third ranked win in as many years at Georgetown, topping the No. 24 Hoyas, 1-0, at Cooper Field thanks to a game-winning goal from Skage Simonsen.

Simonsen has emerged as one of the BIG EAST's most formidable offensive talents as a freshman, tying for the team lead in goals (6), assists (4) and points (16). Simonsen, who leads all BIG EAST freshmen in points and is tied for the lead among rookies in goals, scored four of his six regular season tallies during conference play, a total that ranked third overall in the league. The Bergen, Norway, native has tallied more goals than any St. John's freshman since 2006, when Ryan Soroka scored nine times and dished out eight assists en route to a BIG EAST Championship and a pair of freshman All-America selections.

The Red Storm will turn to senior goalkeeper Lenny Wilson between the pipes as the team looks to secure its 10th BIG EAST title. The Hartwick transfer has been riding a hot streak of late, earning United Soccer Coaches National Player of the Week honors after combining for 15 saves and one goal allowed in 200 minutes of action at Villanova and Georgetown. He enters the game with a record of 5-4-3 on the year to go along with a 1.12 goals against average and a .786 save percentage, the latter of which ranks fourth in the BIG EAST.

Providence concluded the BIG EAST regular season with a record of 6-2-1, the program's best finish in conference play since 2016. That year, the Friars won the BIG EAST Regular Season Championship and advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament before falling to North Carolina in double overtime.

Tiago Mendonca, who scored the game winner in the Friars' 1-0 win over St. John's on Wednesday, leads the team with five goals while Joao Serrano, who assisted on Mendonca's decisive marker, paces the squad with four assists.

Colin Miller, the older brother of St. John's freshman keeper Ryan Miller, recorded his league-leading eighth shutout of the year in the regular season finale against the Johnnies. The redshirt senior from Bel Air, Md., sports a 0.96 goals against average to go along with a save percentage of .738, the latter of which ranks ninth in the league.

Providence and St. John's will meet for the 32nd time in the history of the two programs on Saturday night. The Johnnies hold a commanding 20-7-4 advantage in those previous 31 contests, but the Friars have enjoyed success of late, going 5-0-1 in the last six meetings between the two teams. From 1989-2009, the Johnnies went unbeaten against Providence in 23-straight matches, going 20-0-3 over that span.

The Johnnies are 3-0-0 all-time against Providence in the BIG EAST Tournament and last secured a road win against the Friars in the College Cup season of 2008.