Third-Seeded St. John’s to Host Rematch with Butler in BIG EAST Quarterfinals

QUEENS, N.Y. - The third-seeded and 24th ranked St. John's men's soccer team will open the 2021 BIG EAST Men's Soccer Championship when it hosts sixth-seeded Butler on Saturday evening at Belson Stadium. Kick-off is scheduled for 5 p.m. on the BIG EAST Digital Network with Matt Ambrose and David Gass on the call from Queens.

St. John's finished the regular season with a record of 10-5-2, including a 5-3-2 mark in BIG EAST play. The Johnnies, who saw all three of their conference losses come in overtime and two of those league defeats come at the hands of ranked opponents, finished third or better in the final BIG EAST regular season standings for the third time in the last four fall campaigns.

Saturday will mark the Red Storm's 29th appearance all-time in the BIG EAST Men's Soccer Championship, a tournament that the Johnnies have won a league-record nine times. The Red Storm advanced to the conference semifinals in both 2017 and 2019, but has not reached the conference title game since winning it all for the last time in 2011.

Saturday's contest will be the second in four days between the Red Storm and Bulldogs, as Butler used a 94th minute golden goal from Hemi Nasser to leave Belson Stadium with a 1-0 victory on Wednesday night. St. John's will open BIG EAST Tournament play with a rematch of its regular season finale for the third consecutive fall campaign, as the Johnnies faced Providence to close the regular season and begin the postseason in both 2018 and 2019.

In addition to breaking into the United Soccer Coaches poll for the first time this season on Tuesday, St. John's also moved up to no. 21 in the TopDrawerSoccer rankings and jumped to no. 23 in the RPI following a pair of lopsided wins against Marquette and DePaul.

The Red Storm boasts one of the nation's most stringent defense units, as the Johnnies allowed just 10 goals in 17 regular season games. Anchoring the Red Storm's efforts between the pipes is Luka Gavran, who leads the NCAA with 10 shutouts on the season. The redshirt junior from Hamilton, Ont., is one of just seven goalkeepers in program history to record double-digit clean sheets in a single campaign and the first to do so since Derby Carrillo during the BIG EAST Championship season of 2009. Gavran enters the weekend ranked fourth nationally in both goals against average (0.56) and save percentage (.841).

Butler snapped a three-game winless streak at Belson Stadium on Wednesday night, as Nasser's second goal of the season ended the contest less than four minutes into overtime. Wilmer Cabrera Jr. and Jack Streberger picked up assists on the play.

Cabrera Jr., a two-time All-BIG EAST selection and the conference's 2019 freshman of the year, is the team's leading offensive producer with five goals and a pair of assists on the season. Cabrera, Nasser and redshirt sophomore Tommy Visser (2G, 2A) are the only Butler players to record multiple goals this fall.

Gabriel Gjergji has played every minute between in net this season for the Bulldogs, posting a 1.02 goals against average and a .757 save percentage. His Wednesday clean sheet against the Red Storm was his fourth of the campaign.

The Bulldogs' Wednesday victory was their first-ever win at Belson Stadium.

St. John's owns an 8-3-1 record all-time against Butler, but Since the Bulldogs joined the BIG EAST for the 2013-14 academic year, the Red Storm advantage sits at 5-3-0.

Prior to their win on Wednesday, the Bulldogs had not beaten St. John's since 2017.

The winner of Saturday's BIG EAST Quarterfinal match will earn a semifinal date with second-seeded Providence on Thursday, Nov. 11, at 1:30 p.m. in Washington, D.C. 2021 BIG EAST Regular Season Champion Georgetown will host the semifinals and finals of the conference tournament.

Third-Seeded St. John’s to Host Rematch with Butler in BIG EAST Quarterfinals

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Players Mentioned

Luka Gavran

St. John's University Athletics