St. John's University Athletics
Saturday, October 30
Chicago, Ill. (Wish Field)
2 p.m.
St. John's University
at
DePaul
St. John’s Heads to Chicago for Regular Season Road Finale
10/29/2021 12:32:00 PM | Men's Soccer
Red Storm will look to secure BIG EAST Championship berth with win
QUEENS, N.Y. – The St. John's men's soccer team will hit the road for the final time in the 2021 regular season on Saturday, traveling to Chicago for a 2 p.m. ET showdown with DePaul.
Saturday's match will have postseason implications for both squads, as St. John's (9-4-2, 4-2-2 BIG EAST) heads to Chicago sitting third in the conference standings while DePaul (7-6-2, 3-3-2 BIG EAST) currently occupies the sixth and final postseason spot. A win against the Blue Demons would secure a BIG EAST Tournament spot for the Johnnies with one regular season game remaining against Butler on Wednesday night in Queens. The Red Storm could finish as high as second in the conference standings should Providence go winless in its last two regular season tilts. The top two teams in the final regular season table earn a bye to the semifinals of the BIG EAST Tournament. The squads that finish third and fourth will host quarterfinal matchups against the sixth and fifth seeds, respectively.
St. John's cracked a national poll for the first time this week, checking in at no. 24 in the TopDrawerSoccer rankings released on Monday. In Tuesday's United Soccer Coaches poll, St. John's tied for the highest point total among teams in the Others Receiving Votes category. St. John's also climbed six spots to no. 26 in the RPI. Those jumps in the rankings came after a week that saw the Red Storm narrowly miss out on a result at Georgetown before dominating Marquette at home. On Wednesday in the nation's capital, the top-ranked Hoyas scored off a deflection with just 38 seconds remaining in double overtime to escape with a victory. A few nights later in Queens, the Red Storm logged a 4-0 home win against Marquette, controlling the action from start to finish against a Golden Eagles squad that reached NCAA Tournament Round of 16 this past spring and was picked to fifth in the BIG EAST Preseason Coaches poll.
Graduate Lucas Bartlett scored the game-winner against Marquette for his team-leading fifth goal of the season. Wesley Leggett recorded his third tally of the season while Adrian Roseth found the back of the net for the first time as a member of the Red Storm. Einar Lye scored the final goal of the evening after assisting on two others for his second four-point outing of the season, earning a spot on the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll for his efforts.
Saturday not only marked the Red Storm's best offensive output of the year, but it also gave goalkeeper Luka Gavran his NCAA-leading ninth shutout of the season. On the campaign, the redshirt junior from Hamilton, Ont., has compiled a 0.57 goals against average to go along with a .836 save percentage, good enough for fourth and fifth in the nation, respectively, in those categories.
DePaul will welcome the Red Storm on the heels of a two-game unbeaten streak, defeating Villanova in overtime on Oct. 20 before playing Butler to a scoreless draw in Chicago this past weekend.
The Blue Demons are led offensively by senior forward Jack Richards, who has recorded five goals on just 16 shot attempts this season. Sophomore forward Marek Gonda has chipped in four goals and two assists for the Blue Demons, who are 4-3-1 at home this season.
Freshman Gandhi Cruz has played every minute between the pipes this season for DePaul, compiling a 1.09 goals against average and a .790 save percentage. His 110-minute clean sheet against Butler last Saturday marked Cruz's third shutout of the season.
A win on Saturday would go a long way toward helping the Blue Demons secure their first BIG EAST Championship berth since 2016.
St. John's and DePaul will meet for the 17th time in the history of the two programs on Saturday, a series in which the Red Storm holds a 9-3-4 lead.
The Johnnies are 3-1-1 in their last five meetings with the Blue Demons, including a 4-2 win at Belson Stadium during the fall of 2019.
St. John's has not lost in Chicago since their first trip to The Windy City in October of 2006, a year that saw the Red Storm win a BIG EAST Tournament title and advance to the NCAA Round of 16. The Johnnies are 4-1-2 all-time on the road against DePaul.
Saturday's match will have postseason implications for both squads, as St. John's (9-4-2, 4-2-2 BIG EAST) heads to Chicago sitting third in the conference standings while DePaul (7-6-2, 3-3-2 BIG EAST) currently occupies the sixth and final postseason spot. A win against the Blue Demons would secure a BIG EAST Tournament spot for the Johnnies with one regular season game remaining against Butler on Wednesday night in Queens. The Red Storm could finish as high as second in the conference standings should Providence go winless in its last two regular season tilts. The top two teams in the final regular season table earn a bye to the semifinals of the BIG EAST Tournament. The squads that finish third and fourth will host quarterfinal matchups against the sixth and fifth seeds, respectively.
St. John's cracked a national poll for the first time this week, checking in at no. 24 in the TopDrawerSoccer rankings released on Monday. In Tuesday's United Soccer Coaches poll, St. John's tied for the highest point total among teams in the Others Receiving Votes category. St. John's also climbed six spots to no. 26 in the RPI. Those jumps in the rankings came after a week that saw the Red Storm narrowly miss out on a result at Georgetown before dominating Marquette at home. On Wednesday in the nation's capital, the top-ranked Hoyas scored off a deflection with just 38 seconds remaining in double overtime to escape with a victory. A few nights later in Queens, the Red Storm logged a 4-0 home win against Marquette, controlling the action from start to finish against a Golden Eagles squad that reached NCAA Tournament Round of 16 this past spring and was picked to fifth in the BIG EAST Preseason Coaches poll.
Graduate Lucas Bartlett scored the game-winner against Marquette for his team-leading fifth goal of the season. Wesley Leggett recorded his third tally of the season while Adrian Roseth found the back of the net for the first time as a member of the Red Storm. Einar Lye scored the final goal of the evening after assisting on two others for his second four-point outing of the season, earning a spot on the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll for his efforts.
Saturday not only marked the Red Storm's best offensive output of the year, but it also gave goalkeeper Luka Gavran his NCAA-leading ninth shutout of the season. On the campaign, the redshirt junior from Hamilton, Ont., has compiled a 0.57 goals against average to go along with a .836 save percentage, good enough for fourth and fifth in the nation, respectively, in those categories.
DePaul will welcome the Red Storm on the heels of a two-game unbeaten streak, defeating Villanova in overtime on Oct. 20 before playing Butler to a scoreless draw in Chicago this past weekend.
The Blue Demons are led offensively by senior forward Jack Richards, who has recorded five goals on just 16 shot attempts this season. Sophomore forward Marek Gonda has chipped in four goals and two assists for the Blue Demons, who are 4-3-1 at home this season.
Freshman Gandhi Cruz has played every minute between the pipes this season for DePaul, compiling a 1.09 goals against average and a .790 save percentage. His 110-minute clean sheet against Butler last Saturday marked Cruz's third shutout of the season.
A win on Saturday would go a long way toward helping the Blue Demons secure their first BIG EAST Championship berth since 2016.
St. John's and DePaul will meet for the 17th time in the history of the two programs on Saturday, a series in which the Red Storm holds a 9-3-4 lead.
The Johnnies are 3-1-1 in their last five meetings with the Blue Demons, including a 4-2 win at Belson Stadium during the fall of 2019.
St. John's has not lost in Chicago since their first trip to The Windy City in October of 2006, a year that saw the Red Storm win a BIG EAST Tournament title and advance to the NCAA Round of 16. The Johnnies are 4-1-2 all-time on the road against DePaul.
Players Mentioned
Defender
/ Men's Soccer
Goalkeeper
/ Men's Soccer
Forward
/ Men's Soccer
Forward/Midfielder
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