No. 19 St. John’s Secures Best Start in Program History with 5-1 Win at Columbia

Monday, September 16

New York, N.Y. (Rocco B. Commisso Soccer Stadium)

7 p.m.

St. John's University

6-0-0, 0-0-0

Columbia

0-2-2, 0-0-0

St. John's

Columbia

Niko Petridis tallied the game's first goal and later added an assist.

No. 19 St. John’s Secures Best Start in Program History with 5-1 Win at Columbia

9/16/2019 10:01:00 PM | Men's Soccer

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Red Storm records highest offensive output since 2013 in record-setting win

By: Andrew O'Connell

NEW YORK (Sept. 16, 2019) – Behind a second-half offensive explosion that featured five goals, the No. 19 St. John's men's soccer team improved to 6-0-0 for the first time in program history with a 5-1 win over Columbia on Monday evening at Rocco B. Commisso Soccer Stadium.

With their sixth straight win to begin the year, the Johnnies have surpassed the 1995 BIG EAST Championship squad for the best start in program history. That team went 5-0-0 en route to a 16-5-1 finish and the team's fourth consecutive conference title.

Brandon Knapp, who had found the back of the net just once in his St. John's career entering the game, scored the team's first and fifth goals of the night to bookend the Red Storm's highest scoring outing in six years. St. John's last scored five goals in a regular season game on Nov. 8, 2013, against Seton Hall.

Niko Petridis and Tiago Teixeira both recorded a goal and an assist in the victory. Petridis' three-point effort marked his second in the span of three games, while Teixeira etched his name on the score sheet for the first time as a member of the Red Storm.

Teixeira was one of two St. John's sophomores to register his first career goal on Monday night, as Sanoussi Sangary scored the team's fourth goal of the match in the 88^th minute.

Einar Lye, who was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll earlier today after tallying two goals and an assist against Iona, also picked up an assist on the Red Storm's third goal.

St. John's outshot Columbia on the evening by a margin of 21-3, including a 15-1 edge in the second half.

Luka Gavran recorded the win, improving to 4-0-0 on the season. Jan Hoffelner turned in a scoreless first half and made the Red Storm's lone save of the night.

Columbia recorded the evening's first scoring chance in the 16^th minute, as Uri Zeitz slipped behind the St. John's back line and fired a try just left of the cage.

St. John's countered by registering the game's next four shots, but three were blocked by Columbia defenders and another sailed left of its target.

The Lions answered by recording the half's best scoring chance in the 26^th minute, as Max Gonzalez sent a shot toward the bottom right corner of the cage from inside the 18. Hoffelner stepped up for the Johnnies, pushing the shot aside and preserving the scoreless tie.

The Red Storm held a 6-2 lead in shots at the intermission, but all six tries were off-target.

The Johnnies came out of the locker room firing, registering the half's first four shots before Knapp broke through on the fifth in the 55^th minute. The sequence began when Petridis played a ball in from the right side to Knapp on the near post. The sophomore corralled it and sent a try on goal that was turned aside by the Columbia keeper. The rebound, however, found its way back to Knapp, who buried the second chance and gave St. John's a 1-0 lead.

In possession of the game's first advantage, St. John's did not rest on its laurels. 14 minutes later in the 69^th, Petridis intercepted a pass near midfield and streaked down the right side past a handful of Columbia defenders. The senior then sent a right footed try to the far post, bouncing it off the bar and into the cage for a 2-0 lead.

Petridis started the Red Storm's third scoring sequence just three minutes later, playing another ball in from the right side, this time finding Teixeira in front and extending the Johnnies' lead to three. Lye, who played the ball to Petridis down the sideline, was also credited with an assist on the play.

Columbia cut into the Red Storm lead in the 83^rd minute, as Danny Laranetto scored the Lions' lone goal of the night.

The Red Storm quickly quelled any chance of a Columbia comeback, punctuating its victory with a pair of late goals. Sangary scored his first collegiate goal off a stellar feed from Teixeira in the 88^th before Knapp converted on a free kick from just outside the top of the box in the 90^th.

The Johnnies will look to continue their historic start to the season on Friday night, playing host to No. 11 Xavier in the BIG EAST opener for both squads. Kick-off is set for 7 p.m. on the BIG EAST Digital Network.