St. John's University Athletics
Monday, September 16
New York, N.Y. (Rocco B. Commisso Soccer Stadium)
7 p.m.
St. John's University
at
Columbia
No. 19 St. John’s Looks to Set Program Record against Columbia
9/15/2019 4:54:00 PM | Men's Soccer
The Red Storm will look to start a season 6-0-0 for the first time in program history on Monday night
QUEENS, N.Y. (Sept. 15, 2019) – The No. 19 St. John's men's soccer team will look to secure the best start in the long and storied history of the program when it takes the field against Columbia on Monday night in Manhattan.
Kick-off is set for 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN+, which requires a subscription to watch.
The Red Storm has won five consecutive games to start a season for just the second time in program history, having also accomplished the feat in 1995. That season, the Johnnies won the last of four straight BIG EAST Championships; the following year, Dr. Dave Masur would lead the program to its first national title.
While six straight wins to start a season would set a new high-water mark for the program, St. John's has rattled off a number of lengthy unbeaten streaks to kick off campaigns in years past. The Johnnies have begun seasons with unbeaten streaks of eight games or longer eight times, including a school-record 21-gamer in 1993 that did not end until the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Most recently, the Johnnies went 8-0-2 to start the season in 2008, a year that saw the Red Storm register its fourth appearance in the College Cup.
The Johnnies enter Monday's matchup with Columbia on the heels of a home win against another Ivy League foe, Penn, on Friday night. After nearly 80 minutes of scoreless soccer, Tani Oluwaseyi broke the deadlock with his team-leading third goal of the year, giving the Red Storm all the offense it would need for a 1-0 victory. A member of the 2018 BIG EAST All-Freshman Team, Oluwaseyi is now just one off his goal total from all of last season. Senior captain Brandon Duarte recorded the primary assist on the goal while 2018 BIG EAST Freshman of the Year Skage Simonsen also picked up a helper on the play. Simonsen has now logged an assist in three of the team's last four games.
Friday night marked the Red Storm's fourth shutout in five tries this season, as Jan Hoffelner and Luka Gavran once again combined to register a clean sheet. The Quakers managed to fire just two shots on goal, both of which were stopped by Gavran. His second save helped seal the St. John's victory, as he denied a Penn player in the box from point blank range in the 88th minute.
The Red Storm's four shutouts in just five opportunities have already matched the team's total from all of 2018 in that category. The squad's latest clean sheet came without the services of two backline stalwarts, as both Luke Hansen and Johan Aquilon missed the contest with injury.
The Lions (0-1-2) will host the Johnnies looking for their first win of the year, having fallen on the road, 3-1, to BIG EAST foe Creighton while picking up ties against The University of Nebraska-Omaha and Army.
Sophomore midfielder Sebastian Gunbeyi has scored two of the team's three goals so far this season, finding the back of the net two times in as many games during the Lions' opening road trip to Omaha. Senior John Denis scored a late first half goal against Army to tie the contest in what would eventually end as a 1-1 draw.
Eric Chang and Michael Collodi have split time between the pipes so far this season for Columbia. Collodi, a first-year keeper from Frisco, Texas, has played 209 of a possible 310 minutes, turning in a 0.86 goals against average and a .833 save percentage over that span.
Thanks to a dominant run during the 1980s, Columbia holds the best winning percentage against St. John's (.875) of any opponent that the Red Storm has played more than five times. The Johnnies enter Monday's match with an all-time record of 1-7-0 against Columbia, picking up their first win of the series the last time the two teams met in 2012 at Belson Stadium. The Lions won seven straight contests against St. John's from 1981-89 before a 23-year hiatus in the series history took place.
Kick-off is set for 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN+, which requires a subscription to watch.
The Red Storm has won five consecutive games to start a season for just the second time in program history, having also accomplished the feat in 1995. That season, the Johnnies won the last of four straight BIG EAST Championships; the following year, Dr. Dave Masur would lead the program to its first national title.
While six straight wins to start a season would set a new high-water mark for the program, St. John's has rattled off a number of lengthy unbeaten streaks to kick off campaigns in years past. The Johnnies have begun seasons with unbeaten streaks of eight games or longer eight times, including a school-record 21-gamer in 1993 that did not end until the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Most recently, the Johnnies went 8-0-2 to start the season in 2008, a year that saw the Red Storm register its fourth appearance in the College Cup.
The Johnnies enter Monday's matchup with Columbia on the heels of a home win against another Ivy League foe, Penn, on Friday night. After nearly 80 minutes of scoreless soccer, Tani Oluwaseyi broke the deadlock with his team-leading third goal of the year, giving the Red Storm all the offense it would need for a 1-0 victory. A member of the 2018 BIG EAST All-Freshman Team, Oluwaseyi is now just one off his goal total from all of last season. Senior captain Brandon Duarte recorded the primary assist on the goal while 2018 BIG EAST Freshman of the Year Skage Simonsen also picked up a helper on the play. Simonsen has now logged an assist in three of the team's last four games.
Friday night marked the Red Storm's fourth shutout in five tries this season, as Jan Hoffelner and Luka Gavran once again combined to register a clean sheet. The Quakers managed to fire just two shots on goal, both of which were stopped by Gavran. His second save helped seal the St. John's victory, as he denied a Penn player in the box from point blank range in the 88th minute.
The Red Storm's four shutouts in just five opportunities have already matched the team's total from all of 2018 in that category. The squad's latest clean sheet came without the services of two backline stalwarts, as both Luke Hansen and Johan Aquilon missed the contest with injury.
The Lions (0-1-2) will host the Johnnies looking for their first win of the year, having fallen on the road, 3-1, to BIG EAST foe Creighton while picking up ties against The University of Nebraska-Omaha and Army.
Sophomore midfielder Sebastian Gunbeyi has scored two of the team's three goals so far this season, finding the back of the net two times in as many games during the Lions' opening road trip to Omaha. Senior John Denis scored a late first half goal against Army to tie the contest in what would eventually end as a 1-1 draw.
Eric Chang and Michael Collodi have split time between the pipes so far this season for Columbia. Collodi, a first-year keeper from Frisco, Texas, has played 209 of a possible 310 minutes, turning in a 0.86 goals against average and a .833 save percentage over that span.
Thanks to a dominant run during the 1980s, Columbia holds the best winning percentage against St. John's (.875) of any opponent that the Red Storm has played more than five times. The Johnnies enter Monday's match with an all-time record of 1-7-0 against Columbia, picking up their first win of the series the last time the two teams met in 2012 at Belson Stadium. The Lions won seven straight contests against St. John's from 1981-89 before a 23-year hiatus in the series history took place.
Players Mentioned
Defender
/ Men's Soccer
Midfielder
/ Men's Soccer
Goalkeeper
/ Men's Soccer
Defender
/ Men's Soccer
GK
/ Men's Soccer
Forward/Midfielder
/ Men's Soccer
Midfielder
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