St. John's University Athletics
Wednesday, November 13
Queens, N.Y. (Belson Stadium)
6 p.m.
St. John's University
vs
Providence
No. 14 St. John’s Readies for BIG EAST Semifinal against Providence
11/12/2019 2:23:00 PM | Men's Soccer
Red Storm will look to advance to the BIG EAST Championship Game for the 14th time in program history
QUEENS, N.Y. (Nov. 12, 2019) – After wrapping up the regular season with a 13-3-1 record and finishing second the conference standings, the St. John's men's soccer will kick off postseason play on Wednesday night, playing host to third-seeded Providence in the semifinal round of the BIG EAST Men's Soccer Championship.
The game, which is scheduled to kick off at 6 p.m., will be broadcast live on the BIG EAST Digital Network. John Fanta, Jamie Watson and Meghan Caffrey will have the call from Belson Stadium.
The Red Storm (13-3-1, 6-2-1 BIG EAST) will be making its second BIG EAST semifinal appearance in the past three seasons, last doing so in 2017 after a convincing 3-1 win at Belson Stadium against Creighton in the quarterfinal round before falling by a score of 2-1 to eventual champion Georgetown in the nation's capital. The Red Storm will look to advance to its first conference title bout since 2011, when the Johnnies defeated archrival Connecticut for their league record ninth conference tournament crown. Wednesday will begin the Red Storm's 28th appearance all-time in the BIG EAST Tournament, with 25 of those berths coming under the direction of Dr. David Masur. St. John's is 35-17-4 all-time in BIG EAST Tournament matches with all 35 of those victories coming under Masur's guidance (35-14-4).
Masur and his assistants highlighted a banner batch of St. John's All-BIG EAST honors awarded yesterday by the conference office. In addition to taking home Coaching Staff of the Year accolades, two other Johnnies garnered major awards, as Tani Oluwaseyi was named the BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year and Jan Hoffelner shared BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year honors with Georgetown's Giannis Nikopolidis. Four other members of the Red Storm found spots on All-BIG EAST teams in addition to Oluwaseyi (First Team) and Hoffelner (Second Team). Brandon Duarte and Skage Simonsen joined Hoffelner on the All-BIG EAST Second Team while Brandon Knapp and Einar Lye earned places on the All-BIG EAST Third Team. The Red Storm's six all-conference honorees are tied for the second highest total in program history. The Red Storm also boasted six All-BIG EAST honorees in 1994, 1996 and 2003, the last two of saw St. John' s win a national title and finish as national runner-up, respectively. The program record of eight All-BIG EAST honorees was set in 1993, as the Johnnies entered the NCAA Tournament without a loss after going 8-0 in conference play and cruising through the BIG EAST Tournament.
The Red Storm's 13 wins were the most for St. John's in a regular season since the 2008 College Cup team also won 13 games prior to the start of the BIG EAST Tournament. The last St. John's squad to win more than 13 games during a regular season did so back in 1997, as the defending national champions went 15-2-2 in 19 opportunities.
After closing out the regular season with a road loss at Providence on Wednesday night, the Red Storm has fallen out of the top 10 of the United Soccer Coaches poll for the first time in more than a month. The Johnnies dropped six places to no. 14, marking the first time since Oct. 1 (12) that the Johnnies dipped below the 10 spot. The latest edition of the RPI released on Monday morning has the Red Storm holding strong at no. 6, its lowest position of season. The Red Storm debuted at no. 2 in the RPI on Oct. 14 and rose to the top spot a week later. Monday's rankings mark the Johnnies' first week outside the top four of the RPI this season.
The Friars, one of the hottest teams in the country entering Wednesday's semifinal, have won five straight and seven of their last eight overall. In those eight games, the Friars have scored two or more goals seven times and recorded four clean sheets.
Providence (13-5-0, 6-3-0 BIG EAST) finished just two spots out of this week's United Soccer Coaches top 25 and moved up to no. 21 in Monday's release of the RPI following their home win over the Johnnies. With Butler climbing to no. 25, the BIG EAST now boasts four teams in the top 25 of the RPI with less than a week to go before Selection Monday.
Sophomore midfielder Paulo Lima has scored in each of his last five games for the Friars, including the game-winner against St. John's last Wednesday. Another Portuguese product, Joao Serrano, is tied with Lima for the team lead in points with four goals and seven assists. A fifth year senior, Serrano has assists in four of the Friars' last five outings.
Austin Aviza, a fifth year senior out of Medway, Mass., has played all but 37 minutes between the pipes for Providence this season. The owner of eight solo shutouts, Aviza has a younger sister, Isabelle, who recently earned a spot on the BIG EAST All-Freshman Team playing for St. John's Women's Soccer Head Coach Ian Stone.
The Red Storm and the Friars will meet in the BIG EAST Men's Soccer Championship for the second consecutive year when they face off on Wednesday night. The Johnnies will look to turn the tide of recent decisions in the series, as Providence is now 7-0-1 against the Red Storm dating back to 2013. Of those seven recent Providence wins, five have been by one goal.
From 1989-2009 the Red Storm went undefeated in 23 consecutive decisions against the Friars, including a 15-match winning streak from 1989-2004.
Overall, St. John's leads the series history by a margin of 20-9-4.
The game, which is scheduled to kick off at 6 p.m., will be broadcast live on the BIG EAST Digital Network. John Fanta, Jamie Watson and Meghan Caffrey will have the call from Belson Stadium.
The Red Storm (13-3-1, 6-2-1 BIG EAST) will be making its second BIG EAST semifinal appearance in the past three seasons, last doing so in 2017 after a convincing 3-1 win at Belson Stadium against Creighton in the quarterfinal round before falling by a score of 2-1 to eventual champion Georgetown in the nation's capital. The Red Storm will look to advance to its first conference title bout since 2011, when the Johnnies defeated archrival Connecticut for their league record ninth conference tournament crown. Wednesday will begin the Red Storm's 28th appearance all-time in the BIG EAST Tournament, with 25 of those berths coming under the direction of Dr. David Masur. St. John's is 35-17-4 all-time in BIG EAST Tournament matches with all 35 of those victories coming under Masur's guidance (35-14-4).
Masur and his assistants highlighted a banner batch of St. John's All-BIG EAST honors awarded yesterday by the conference office. In addition to taking home Coaching Staff of the Year accolades, two other Johnnies garnered major awards, as Tani Oluwaseyi was named the BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year and Jan Hoffelner shared BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year honors with Georgetown's Giannis Nikopolidis. Four other members of the Red Storm found spots on All-BIG EAST teams in addition to Oluwaseyi (First Team) and Hoffelner (Second Team). Brandon Duarte and Skage Simonsen joined Hoffelner on the All-BIG EAST Second Team while Brandon Knapp and Einar Lye earned places on the All-BIG EAST Third Team. The Red Storm's six all-conference honorees are tied for the second highest total in program history. The Red Storm also boasted six All-BIG EAST honorees in 1994, 1996 and 2003, the last two of saw St. John' s win a national title and finish as national runner-up, respectively. The program record of eight All-BIG EAST honorees was set in 1993, as the Johnnies entered the NCAA Tournament without a loss after going 8-0 in conference play and cruising through the BIG EAST Tournament.
The Red Storm's 13 wins were the most for St. John's in a regular season since the 2008 College Cup team also won 13 games prior to the start of the BIG EAST Tournament. The last St. John's squad to win more than 13 games during a regular season did so back in 1997, as the defending national champions went 15-2-2 in 19 opportunities.
After closing out the regular season with a road loss at Providence on Wednesday night, the Red Storm has fallen out of the top 10 of the United Soccer Coaches poll for the first time in more than a month. The Johnnies dropped six places to no. 14, marking the first time since Oct. 1 (12) that the Johnnies dipped below the 10 spot. The latest edition of the RPI released on Monday morning has the Red Storm holding strong at no. 6, its lowest position of season. The Red Storm debuted at no. 2 in the RPI on Oct. 14 and rose to the top spot a week later. Monday's rankings mark the Johnnies' first week outside the top four of the RPI this season.
The Friars, one of the hottest teams in the country entering Wednesday's semifinal, have won five straight and seven of their last eight overall. In those eight games, the Friars have scored two or more goals seven times and recorded four clean sheets.
Providence (13-5-0, 6-3-0 BIG EAST) finished just two spots out of this week's United Soccer Coaches top 25 and moved up to no. 21 in Monday's release of the RPI following their home win over the Johnnies. With Butler climbing to no. 25, the BIG EAST now boasts four teams in the top 25 of the RPI with less than a week to go before Selection Monday.
Sophomore midfielder Paulo Lima has scored in each of his last five games for the Friars, including the game-winner against St. John's last Wednesday. Another Portuguese product, Joao Serrano, is tied with Lima for the team lead in points with four goals and seven assists. A fifth year senior, Serrano has assists in four of the Friars' last five outings.
Austin Aviza, a fifth year senior out of Medway, Mass., has played all but 37 minutes between the pipes for Providence this season. The owner of eight solo shutouts, Aviza has a younger sister, Isabelle, who recently earned a spot on the BIG EAST All-Freshman Team playing for St. John's Women's Soccer Head Coach Ian Stone.
The Red Storm and the Friars will meet in the BIG EAST Men's Soccer Championship for the second consecutive year when they face off on Wednesday night. The Johnnies will look to turn the tide of recent decisions in the series, as Providence is now 7-0-1 against the Red Storm dating back to 2013. Of those seven recent Providence wins, five have been by one goal.
From 1989-2009 the Red Storm went undefeated in 23 consecutive decisions against the Friars, including a 15-match winning streak from 1989-2004.
Overall, St. John's leads the series history by a margin of 20-9-4.
Players Mentioned
Midfielder
/ Men's Soccer
GK
/ Men's Soccer
Midfielder/Defender
/ Men's Soccer
Forward/Midfielder
/ Men's Soccer
Midfielder
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