Bartlett Lifts St. John’s Past Villanova, 1-0, in Overtime

Saturday, October 9

Villanova, Pa. (Higgins Soccer Complex)

1 p.m.

St. John's University

8-3-1, 3-1-1BE

Villanova

8-3-0, 4-1-0BE

St. John's

Villanova

Bartlett Lifts St. John’s Past Villanova, 1-0, in Overtime

10/9/2021 4:28:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Bartlett nets his fourth goal of the season in the 92nd minute

Lucas Bartlett buried a penalty kick just 84 seconds into overtime on Saturday afternoon, as the St. John's men's soccer team defeated Villanova, 1-0, at Higgins Soccer Complex.

St. John's (8-3-1, 3-1-1 BIG EAST) win over the Wildcats (8-3-0, 4-1-0 BIG EAST), who ranked first in the BIG EAST entering Saturday's meeting, marked the program's first road victory over its conference foe since 2007.

Entering the extra period, Bartlett had already registered a pair of quality chances for the Red Storm on the afternoon before tallying the game winner. The Overland Park, Kan., native sent his first attempt on goal in the 62nd minute but was denied by the Wildcats' netminder Carson Williams before missing his target twenty minutes later. Bartlett converted on his team-high fourth goal of the season in the 92nd minute to secure the victory for St. John's.

Luka Gavran recorded his seventh clean sheet of the year for the Red Storm. The redshirt junior from Hamilton, Ont., turned aside all three Villanova tries that found their target.

St. John's first chance of the opening half came in the 24th minute, as Atila Ashrafi sent a shot towards the cage but it was picked up by Willson to keep the Johnnies of the board.

With three minutes to play in the opening half, the Red Storm nearly broke though again, as Brandon Knapp saw his shot sail just over the crossbar.

At the intermission, the Wildcats boasted a 4-2 advantage in shots, while the Johnnies held a 2-1 lead in corners earned.

With both teams scoreless, St. John's came out firing in the second stanza. The Red Storm registered a number of quality chances in the opening minutes of the period, including a header from Ryan Dougherty in the 47th minute that forced the Wildcats' goalkeeper to make a diving save.

As a team, the Johnnies backline held the Wildcats to just two shots in the latter stanza, keeping the score deadlocked at zero to force the overtime period.

In the first minute of extra time, Einar Lye was taken down in the box by Villanova's midfielder Anthony Dragisics, setting up the penalty kick opportunity for Bartlett. The grad student delivered a booming strike to the right corner of the cage for the victory.

St. John's returns to action on Oct. 16, as the squad welcomes Seton Hall to Queens for a 7 p.m. meeting.