Oluwaseyi’s Golden Goal Lifts St. John’s to 2-1 Overtime Win against Fairfield

Friday, August 31

Queens, N.Y. (Belson Stadium)

8:00 P.M.

St. John's University

2-1-0

Fairfield

0-2-0

OT 1

Fairfield

St. John's

Tani Oluwaseyi scored the game winner and picked up an assist on Friday evening

Oluwaseyi’s Golden Goal Lifts St. John’s to 2-1 Overtime Win against Fairfield

8/31/2018 11:56:00 PM | Men's Soccer

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Red Storm claims home opener just 73 seconds into overtime

Freshman Tani Oluwaseyi recorded his second goal in as many games on Friday night, scoring 73 seconds into the first overtime period and lifting the St. John's men's soccer team to a 2-1 win over Fairfield at Belson Stadium.

After outshooting the Stags (0-2) by an 18-5 margin in regulation and coming out with a draw, the Johnnies (2-1) needed just one shot in extra time to seal the win. Mauricio Rivas began the sequence, quickly playing a ball to Brandon Knapp outside the box on the right side. The freshman crossed it back in front of the net, narrowly missing the foot of a sliding Rivas. Oluwaseyi, however, was waiting patiently on the back post, as the rookie from Mississauga, Ont., buried it home and gave the Johnnies a 2-1 win in their home opener.

Oluwaseyi also played a part in the team's first goal, as he and Skage Simonsen assisted on Matt Forster's tally in the 38th minute. The marker was Forster's third of the young season, as the junior midfielder matched his combined goal total from all of 2016 and 2017 in just the third game of the campaign. Oluwaseyi and Simonsen each recorded an assist for the second-straight outing.

"It was great to get the result in the end," said Dr. Dave Masur after his 403rd career victory against the 2017 MAAC Champions. "Everybody chipped in. We used some people off the bench. It's still a bit of learning curve for us, but I was really happy to see how hard we competed and how well we played."

Now with six points apiece on the season, Forster and Oluwaseyi are the first St. John's players to record six points or more in the opening three games of a campaign since Pablo Punyed and Tadeu Terra both accomplished the feat back in 2010.

Senior Lenny Wilson earned his first win between the pipes for St. John's, making one save on the evening.

St. John's dominated possession from the early going, outshooting the Stags by an 11-0 margin in the first half. Forster recorded the first great chance of the contest in the ninth minute, blasting a loose ball from near the penalty spot that was turned away by Fairfield keeper Gordon Botterill for the first of his four saves in the half.

The Red Storm threatened on a few more occasions in the opening half before finally breaking through on its ninth shot of the period. The goal was set up by some clever passing from a trio of St. John's freshmen, as Athit Berg, hovering just inside midfield, played a long pass to a tightly covered Simonsen. The Bergen, Norway, native quickly touched it along to a streaking Oluwaseyi, who drew the attention of three defenders before playing it toward the left side of the box for Forster, who sent the ball into the bottom right corner of the cage and put St. John's ahead 1-0.

After Fairfield knotted the game at one on a Joseph Meyer goal in the 51st minute, the Stags nearly took the lead on a dangerous try from Don Junior-Bobe. Wilson's quick reflexes, however, kept the Stags off the board and swung momentum in favor of St. John's.

The Red Storm continued to press the issue in the closing minutes of regulation, but a number of try narrowly missed their mark.

The Johnnies wasted no time in the extra period, as just 73 seconds passed between opening kick and Oluwaseyi's game winner.

St. John's returns to action at Belson Stadium on Tuesday, Sept. 4, playing host to Lehigh. First kick is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on ESPN3.