No. 19 St. John’s Matches Best Start in Program History with 1-0 Win over Penn

Friday, September 13

Queens, N.Y. (Belson Stadium)

7:30 p.m.

St. John's University

5-0-0, 0-0-0

Penn

2-1-0, 0-0-0

Penn

St. John's

No. 19 St. John’s Matches Best Start in Program History with 1-0 Win over Penn

9/13/2019 10:54:00 PM | Men's Soccer

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Johnnies improve to 5-0-0, tying 1995 team for the longest winning streak to start a season

By: Andrew O'Connell

QUEENS, N.Y. (Sept. 13, 2019) – Following nearly 80 minutes of back-and-forth, scoreless soccer between No. 19 St. John's and the University of Pennsylvania at Belson Stadium on Friday night, Tani Oluwaseyi finally broke the deadlock late and lifted the Red Storm to a 1-0 victory.

With the win, the Red Storm has matched the 1995 BIG EAST Championship squad for the best start in program history, improving to 5-0-0 on the season. Penn (2-1-0) had yet to concede a goal this season before Friday night.

"It was a closely contested game," said Head Coach Dr. Dave Masur after the victory. "Penn is a good team, good at moving the ball. I thought we had a really good first half. We slipped up a little bit in the second half, but we got some good chances on the break. We showed a little bit of our maturity as the game went on."

Oluwaseyi connected on his team-leading third goal of the season in the 80^th minute, just one goal off his total from all of 2018.

Oluwaseyi's game-winner resulted from a pair of precise passes in the offensive zone, as Skage Simonsen played the ball out wide to Brandon Duarte. The senior captain crossed it in front to Oluwaseyi, who then promptly buried it into the bottom right corner of the cage. Simonsen's assist marked his third in the span of four games while Duarte registered his first point of the year on the play.

The Red Storm goalkeeping tandem of Jan Hoffelner and Luka Gavran recorded its fourth clean sheet in just five opportunities, matching the team's shutout total from all of last season. Gavran registered both of the Red Storm's stops, including a game-saving effort in the 88^th minute from close range.

After 10 minutes of back-and-forth action to start the contest, the Johnnies dominated possession over the next 15 or so minutes, firing off the game's first five shots. Of those five tries, two were terrific scoring chances for the Johnnies, as Jared Juleau missed just right of the post in the 15th minute before Josiah Crawford chipped one over the cross bar in the 18th minute.

Penn's first shot of the night nearly put the Quakers on top, as Ben Stitz rang a long try off the cross bar in the 26th minute. Penn would go on to register the final three shots of the half from that point, but neither team broke through and entered the intermission knotted at zero.

St. John's earned a few solid looks at the cage in the early going of the second half, taking three of the period's first four shots. Oluwaseyi fired his first shot on goal in the 58th minute, but Quaker keeper Dane Jacomen extended and made the stop.

Momentum shifted in Penn's favor over the next several minutes before Einar Lye nearly put St. John's ahead in the 74^th. The Norwegian sophomore, who scored twice on Tuesday night against Iona, stood over a free kick just outside the box and delivered a curling shot toward the bottom right corner of the cage, but Jacomen knocked it away and kept the game scoreless.

Following Oluwaseyi's go-ahead goal just a few minutes later, the Quakers put forth a last ditch effort to try and force overtime. In the 88^th minute, Matt Leigh worked his way behind the St. John's backline and came face-to-face with Gavran in the box. The redshirt freshman, who improved to 3-0-0 on the season, denied Leigh on the doorstep and shifted momentum once again in favor of the home side.

Junior defender Rafael Bustamante also made a pair of stellar plays in the home half of the field during the final two minutes of action, clearing a pair of dangerous opportunities and helping ice the victory.

St. John's will return to action on Monday night for its final contest before the start of BIG EAST play, traveling to Columbia for a 7 p.m. showdown with the Lions.