St. John's University Athletics
Friday, August 24
Santa Barbara, Calif. (Harder Stadium)
10:30 P.M.
St. John's University
at
UC Santa Barbara
St. John’s to Open Season with West Coast Swing
8/23/2018 3:40:00 PM | Men's Soccer
Red Storm to take on UC Santa Barbara on Friday, Loyola Marymount on Sunday
The 40th season of men's soccer at St. John's will kick off on Friday night, as the Johnnies travel to the West Coast for a pair of matches against UC Santa Barbara and Loyola Marymount.
Friday's game against UC Santa Barbara is slated to begin at 10:30 p.m. ET and can be streamed on Big West TV. Fans can access Sunday's tilt with the Lions, scheduled to kick off at 7 p.m. ET, on Stadium TV.
For the first time in nearly a decade and a half, the Red Storm is making a trip to the Golden State. The last time the Johnnies played in California came back in 2004, when the Red Stormed topped UCLA, 2-1, in the NCAA Round of 16 to earn a spot in the national quarterfinals. That triumph over the Bruins is one of just three games all-time for St. John's on the West Coast, as the Red Storm also faced off against Cal and Stanford in the 1998 California Adidas/Foot Locker Classic in Berkeley.
Friday's game will also mark the first time that St. John's has played a season opener outside the Eastern Time Zone. Prior to this year, the farthest west the Red Storm had ever traveled to kick off a campaign was Bloomington, Ind., done three times in 2001, 2009 and 2015.
The Johnnies will feature a new look this season, as 25 of the team's 33 roster spots are filled by players in their first season with the program. Three of these newcomers come with Division I experience, as graduate student Ackim Mpofu played three seasons at Northeastern, senior Lenny Wilson started for three years between the pipes at Hartwick and junior midfielder Niko Petridis finished second on the team in scoring at UConn in 2017. Two juniors, Brandon Duarte and Kadeem Joseph, enjoyed standout junior college careers, while a pair of sophomores, Tyron Matuta and Johan Aquilon, excelled in Europe with renowned academy programs.
Signaling the start of a new era for the St. John's men's soccer program, 18 of the team's 33 players are true freshmen. The Red Storm has far and away highest total of rookies in the conference with Seton Hall sporting 12 and three other schools carrying 10.
Despite an abundance of fresh faces, the Red Storm returns three of its top five scorers from a year ago. Jack Shearer, a unanimous selection to the BIG EAST All-Freshman Team in 2017, will look to build upon a debut campaign that saw him record three goals, two of which were game winners, during conference action. Senior Filippo Ricupati found the back of the net four times for the Red Storm last year despite playing limited minutes due to injury. Junior forward Matt Forster tallied three goals and a pair of assists while starting all 19 games.
Senior midfielder Benny Lafortune also started all 19 matches for the Johnnies in 2017, while Mauricio Rivas and Rafael Bustamante will look to carry over momentum from a season that saw them make significant contributions to a Red Storm squad that finished third in the BIG EAST with a conference mark of 5-2-2.
Despite going 6-8-5 last season, the Gauchos were predicted to finish second in the Big West Preseason Poll, coming in two points behind league favorite Cal State Fullerton. Two Gauchos, Noah Billingsley and Rodney Michael, were tabbed by the league's coaches. The 2017 Big West Freshman of the Year, Michael led the team offensively as a rookie with eight goals and four assists, good enough for the fourth-highest scoring total in the conference. Billingsley earned his nod despite playing just five of the team's 10 league contests, scoring a pair of goals in the process.
St. John's and UCSB have met twice in the history of the two storied programs. The Johnnies have claimed victory in both those contests, including a 2-1 win over the Gauchos last September at Belson Stadium. The first meeting between the two squads came in the 2003 NCAA Tournament, as the Red Storm scored in the 106th minute to break a 2-2 tie and advance to the national quarterfinals. The Johnnies would go on to make the program's second appearance in the NCAA title game that season.
The Lions of Loyola Marymount finished the 2017 season with a record of 4-12-2, including a 2-5-0 mark in conference action. The West Coast Conference's coaches predicted that Loyola Marymount would have a similar finish this year, placing the Lions in the seventh out of a possible eight spots in the league's preseason poll. Loyola Marymount returns three multi-goal scorers from 2017, as Francis Avoce, Rodrigo San Roman and Kris Fourcand all found the back of the net twice last season.
Sunday will mark the first meeting on the pitch between St. John's and Loyola Marymount in the history of the two programs.
Friday's game against UC Santa Barbara is slated to begin at 10:30 p.m. ET and can be streamed on Big West TV. Fans can access Sunday's tilt with the Lions, scheduled to kick off at 7 p.m. ET, on Stadium TV.
For the first time in nearly a decade and a half, the Red Storm is making a trip to the Golden State. The last time the Johnnies played in California came back in 2004, when the Red Stormed topped UCLA, 2-1, in the NCAA Round of 16 to earn a spot in the national quarterfinals. That triumph over the Bruins is one of just three games all-time for St. John's on the West Coast, as the Red Storm also faced off against Cal and Stanford in the 1998 California Adidas/Foot Locker Classic in Berkeley.
Friday's game will also mark the first time that St. John's has played a season opener outside the Eastern Time Zone. Prior to this year, the farthest west the Red Storm had ever traveled to kick off a campaign was Bloomington, Ind., done three times in 2001, 2009 and 2015.
The Johnnies will feature a new look this season, as 25 of the team's 33 roster spots are filled by players in their first season with the program. Three of these newcomers come with Division I experience, as graduate student Ackim Mpofu played three seasons at Northeastern, senior Lenny Wilson started for three years between the pipes at Hartwick and junior midfielder Niko Petridis finished second on the team in scoring at UConn in 2017. Two juniors, Brandon Duarte and Kadeem Joseph, enjoyed standout junior college careers, while a pair of sophomores, Tyron Matuta and Johan Aquilon, excelled in Europe with renowned academy programs.
Signaling the start of a new era for the St. John's men's soccer program, 18 of the team's 33 players are true freshmen. The Red Storm has far and away highest total of rookies in the conference with Seton Hall sporting 12 and three other schools carrying 10.
Despite an abundance of fresh faces, the Red Storm returns three of its top five scorers from a year ago. Jack Shearer, a unanimous selection to the BIG EAST All-Freshman Team in 2017, will look to build upon a debut campaign that saw him record three goals, two of which were game winners, during conference action. Senior Filippo Ricupati found the back of the net four times for the Red Storm last year despite playing limited minutes due to injury. Junior forward Matt Forster tallied three goals and a pair of assists while starting all 19 games.
Senior midfielder Benny Lafortune also started all 19 matches for the Johnnies in 2017, while Mauricio Rivas and Rafael Bustamante will look to carry over momentum from a season that saw them make significant contributions to a Red Storm squad that finished third in the BIG EAST with a conference mark of 5-2-2.
Despite going 6-8-5 last season, the Gauchos were predicted to finish second in the Big West Preseason Poll, coming in two points behind league favorite Cal State Fullerton. Two Gauchos, Noah Billingsley and Rodney Michael, were tabbed by the league's coaches. The 2017 Big West Freshman of the Year, Michael led the team offensively as a rookie with eight goals and four assists, good enough for the fourth-highest scoring total in the conference. Billingsley earned his nod despite playing just five of the team's 10 league contests, scoring a pair of goals in the process.
St. John's and UCSB have met twice in the history of the two storied programs. The Johnnies have claimed victory in both those contests, including a 2-1 win over the Gauchos last September at Belson Stadium. The first meeting between the two squads came in the 2003 NCAA Tournament, as the Red Storm scored in the 106th minute to break a 2-2 tie and advance to the national quarterfinals. The Johnnies would go on to make the program's second appearance in the NCAA title game that season.
The Lions of Loyola Marymount finished the 2017 season with a record of 4-12-2, including a 2-5-0 mark in conference action. The West Coast Conference's coaches predicted that Loyola Marymount would have a similar finish this year, placing the Lions in the seventh out of a possible eight spots in the league's preseason poll. Loyola Marymount returns three multi-goal scorers from 2017, as Francis Avoce, Rodrigo San Roman and Kris Fourcand all found the back of the net twice last season.
Sunday will mark the first meeting on the pitch between St. John's and Loyola Marymount in the history of the two programs.
Players Mentioned
Defender
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Defender
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Midfielder
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Midfielder
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Defender
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Midfielder
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Goalkeeper
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Midfielder/Defender
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Midfielder
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Forward
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Midfielder
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Forward
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Goalkeeper
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