Butler Golden Goal Downs No. 24 St. John’s, 1-0, on Senior Night

Wednesday, November 3

Queens, N.Y. (Belson Stadium)

7 p.m.

St. John's University

10-5-2, 5-3-2BE

Butler

7-8-2, 5-4-1BE

Butler

St. John's

Butler Golden Goal Downs No. 24 St. John’s, 1-0, on Senior Night

11/3/2021 10:30:00 PM | Men's Soccer

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St. John’s and Butler will meet again in the BIG EAST Quarterfinals on Saturday in Queens

By: Andrew O'Connell

QUEENS, N.Y. – A 94th minute golden goal off the foot of Hemi Nasser gave Butler a 1-0 victory over No. 24 St. John's on Wednesday night at Belson Stadium.

Despite coming out on the wrong end of the decision on Wednesday night, the Red Storm (10-5-2, 5-3-2 BIG EAST) will finish the regular season third in the conference standings, good enough for the no. 3 seed and a quarterfinal home match in the upcoming BIG EAST Championship. The Johnnies, who were picked to finish sixth in the preseason coaches' poll, will host a rematch with sixth-seeded Butler (7-8-2, 5-4-1 BIG EAST) on Saturday evening at 5 p.m. in Queens.

Prior to Wednesday's match, the athletic department honored the contributions of seven Johnnies in their final year of eligibility with the program. Lucas Bartlett, Anthony Herbert, Johan Aquilon, Matt Chandler, Tani Oluwaseyi, Rafael Bustamante and Matt Forster were recognized in an on-field ceremony with Dr. David Masur and Deputy Athletic Director Dr. John Diffley.

The two teams were evenly matched throughout the contest, as each side fired off 14 shots. St. John's sent six of those tries on target, while the Bulldogs placed seven on the cage. Corner kicks were 8-3 in favor of the Red Storm, who went into overtime for the seventh time this season. St. John's, which went to overtime in five straight contests to start the month of October, is now 2-3-2 in matches going longer than 90 minutes.

Aquilon and Wesley Leggett took three shots apiece for the Red Storm. Einar Lye and Aidan Borra, the latter of whom made his presence felt on the defensive end of the pitch throughout the match, each chipped in a pair of chances.

Luka Gavran, who entered the match ranked in the top five nationally in both goals against average and save percentage, matched a season-high with six stops on the evening.

Oluwaseyi, a two-time First Team All-BIG EAST selection and the 2019 BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year, returned to the lineup for the first time this season. The Mississauga, Ont., native underwent knee surgery in the summer that was projected to sideline him for the entire season, but Oluwaseyi fought to make it back onto the pitch for his Senior Night.

The field tilted heavily in favor of the Red Storm in the match's opening minutes, as Butler keeper Gabriel Gjergji was forced to make an acrobatic save on Adrian Roseth just 45 seconds into the action.

After 10 dominant minutes for the Johnnies, Butler began to counter. Rhys Myers registered the visiting side's first shot in the 13th minute before Gavran was forced to make his first diving stop of the night in the 20th.

Jared Juleau and Aquilon created good looks on net in the 26th and 28th minutes, respectively, but Juleau's try was smothered by Gjergji and Aquilon's narrowly missed the top-left corner of the cage.

On the other side of the intermission, both teams began to pick up the pressure in the attacking third. Gavran was forced to make saves in the 49th, 50th and 53rd minutes. That last stop was bookended by two terrific chances on the other side for Leggett, who twice narrowly missed putting the Johnnies on top.

Arguably the best chance of the night for St. John's came in the 67th minute, as Bartlett, the team's leading scorer, headed down a corner kick with authority. Gjergji, however, was able to make the stop and preserve the scoreless tie.

St. John's registered two tries in as many minutes in the 76th and 77th minutes, as Aquilon narrowly missed off an Oluwaseyi cross before Lye headed a ball just over the bar.

Borra put a shot on target in the 89th minute, but that would be the Red Storm's last opportunity of the evening, as Butler controlled possession in overtime before breaking through in the 94th minute.