St. John's University Athletics
Tuesday, October 8
Queens, N.Y. (Belson Stadium)
7 p.m.
St. John's University
vs
Temple
No. 12 St. John’s to Host Temple for Non-Conference Finale
10/7/2019 3:32:00 PM | Men's Soccer
Red Storm will look to secure its 10th win of the season on Tuesday night
QUEENS, N.Y. (Oct. 7, 2019) – Following two and a half weeks without a home match, the No. 12 St. John's men's soccer team will return to action on Tuesday night in Queens, welcoming Temple to Belson Stadium for its non-conference finale. Kick-off is set for 7 p.m. on ESPN3.
The Red Storm heads home on the heels of back-to-back BIG EAST road victories, downing Butler, 1-0, in Indianapolis on Sept. 28 before blanking Marquette, 4-0, on Friday night in Milwaukee. With those wins, the Johnnies improved to 9-1-0 on the season, marking the first time since the national championship campaign of 1996 that the Red Storm has recorded nine victories in its first 10 contests. The Johnnies are 3-0-0 to start conference play for the first time since 2004, a season that would see St. John's go 12-6-4 and fall one win short of its second straight College Cup. With one third of the conference season in the books, the Red Storm has sole possession of first place in the BIG EAST standings.
Following clean sheets in each of their last two outings, the Johnnies rank seventh nationally in goals against average through games played on Sunday. Jan Hoffelner and Luka Gavran, who have teamed up to record six shutouts in 10 attempts this season, have combined to register a 0.48 goals against average. Individually, Hoffelner's 0.36 goals against average ranks sixth in Division I. The Red Storm also ranks near the top of the national charts in offensive production, as the Johnnies' 2.30 goals per game are good enough for 13th. St. John's is one of just five teams to rank inside the top 15 in both categories, joining SMU, Missouri State, Georgetown and Yale.
After recording his first career brace on Friday night against the Golden Eagles, Tani Oluwaseyi was named the BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week for the first time on Monday afternoon. The sophomore from Mississauga, Ont., added a pair of second-half insurance goals for the Red Storm, bumping his season-long total in that category to six. Oluwaseyi now leads the conference and ranks 30th nationally in goals scored. Additionally, he is tied for the highest single-season goal total by a St. John's player since the College Cup season of 2008.
Rafael Bustamante was also recognized by the BIG EAST for the second consecutive week, earning a spot on the conference's weekly honor roll. Bustamante, who took home BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week accolades last Monday, scored his first career goal, a game-winner, against Marquette in the 35th minute. The junior from Corona, Queens, blasted a left-footed rocket into the upper-left corner of the cage, giving the Red Storm all the offense it would need for its third straight conference triumph.
Temple comes to Queens with a record of 3-5-1 on the season after securing a 1-1 draw at home against Cincinnati on Saturday night. The Red Storm will be the Owls' third ranked opponent of the season, having already dropped decisions to Georgetown and UCF in September. Temple has yet to yield a result in four road games this season.
Senior forward Lukas Fernandes is the Owls' leading offensive producer in 2019, recording two of the team's six goals and dishing out an assist for five points. Four other Owls have chipped in one goal apiece.
Senior Simon Lefebvre has played every minute in goal for Temple so far this season.
The Ossun, France, native has recorded all three of his victories by way of shutout and sports a 0.98 goals against average to go along with a .735 save percentage.
St. John's and Temple will meet for the third time in as many seasons when the two teams take the pitch on Tuesday night. The Red Storm has emerged victorious in each of those previous two contests, winning 2-0 at home in 2017 before a 1-0 overtime victory in Philadelphia a year ago. Skage Simonsen headed home the game-winner in extra time last season off a Matt Forster corner kick. Forster, then a sophomore, tallied one of the Red Storm's two goals in 2017 at Belson Stadium.
The Red Storm heads home on the heels of back-to-back BIG EAST road victories, downing Butler, 1-0, in Indianapolis on Sept. 28 before blanking Marquette, 4-0, on Friday night in Milwaukee. With those wins, the Johnnies improved to 9-1-0 on the season, marking the first time since the national championship campaign of 1996 that the Red Storm has recorded nine victories in its first 10 contests. The Johnnies are 3-0-0 to start conference play for the first time since 2004, a season that would see St. John's go 12-6-4 and fall one win short of its second straight College Cup. With one third of the conference season in the books, the Red Storm has sole possession of first place in the BIG EAST standings.
Following clean sheets in each of their last two outings, the Johnnies rank seventh nationally in goals against average through games played on Sunday. Jan Hoffelner and Luka Gavran, who have teamed up to record six shutouts in 10 attempts this season, have combined to register a 0.48 goals against average. Individually, Hoffelner's 0.36 goals against average ranks sixth in Division I. The Red Storm also ranks near the top of the national charts in offensive production, as the Johnnies' 2.30 goals per game are good enough for 13th. St. John's is one of just five teams to rank inside the top 15 in both categories, joining SMU, Missouri State, Georgetown and Yale.
After recording his first career brace on Friday night against the Golden Eagles, Tani Oluwaseyi was named the BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week for the first time on Monday afternoon. The sophomore from Mississauga, Ont., added a pair of second-half insurance goals for the Red Storm, bumping his season-long total in that category to six. Oluwaseyi now leads the conference and ranks 30th nationally in goals scored. Additionally, he is tied for the highest single-season goal total by a St. John's player since the College Cup season of 2008.
Rafael Bustamante was also recognized by the BIG EAST for the second consecutive week, earning a spot on the conference's weekly honor roll. Bustamante, who took home BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week accolades last Monday, scored his first career goal, a game-winner, against Marquette in the 35th minute. The junior from Corona, Queens, blasted a left-footed rocket into the upper-left corner of the cage, giving the Red Storm all the offense it would need for its third straight conference triumph.
Temple comes to Queens with a record of 3-5-1 on the season after securing a 1-1 draw at home against Cincinnati on Saturday night. The Red Storm will be the Owls' third ranked opponent of the season, having already dropped decisions to Georgetown and UCF in September. Temple has yet to yield a result in four road games this season.
Senior forward Lukas Fernandes is the Owls' leading offensive producer in 2019, recording two of the team's six goals and dishing out an assist for five points. Four other Owls have chipped in one goal apiece.
Senior Simon Lefebvre has played every minute in goal for Temple so far this season.
The Ossun, France, native has recorded all three of his victories by way of shutout and sports a 0.98 goals against average to go along with a .735 save percentage.
St. John's and Temple will meet for the third time in as many seasons when the two teams take the pitch on Tuesday night. The Red Storm has emerged victorious in each of those previous two contests, winning 2-0 at home in 2017 before a 1-0 overtime victory in Philadelphia a year ago. Skage Simonsen headed home the game-winner in extra time last season off a Matt Forster corner kick. Forster, then a sophomore, tallied one of the Red Storm's two goals in 2017 at Belson Stadium.
Players Mentioned
Defender
/ Men's Soccer
Midfielder
/ Men's Soccer
Goalkeeper
/ Men's Soccer
GK
/ Men's Soccer
Forward/Midfielder
/ Men's Soccer
Midfielder
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