No. 16 St. John’s Wins Season Opener, 1-0, over Saint Joseph’s

Monday, February 15

Queens, N.Y. (Belson Stadium)

1 p.m.

St. John's University

1-0-0, 0-0-0

Saint Joseph's

0-1-0, 0-0-0

Saint Joseph's

St. John's (NY)

Tani Oluwaseyi scored his first goal of the season

No. 16 St. John’s Wins Season Opener, 1-0, over Saint Joseph’s

2/15/2021 5:13:00 PM | Men's Soccer

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Tani Oluwaseyi scores the game-winner in the 64th minute

By: Andrew O'Connell

Preseason BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year Tani Oluwaseyi's first goal of the season proved to be the difference maker for No. 16 St. John's on Monday afternoon at Belson Stadium, as the Red Storm opened its spring 2021 campaign with a 1-0 win over Saint Joseph's.

Oluwaseyi, who scored 11 goals in 2019 as a sophomore en route to BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year honors, found the back of the net in the 64^th minute to break a scoreless tie and give St. John's a 1-0 lead that it would not cede.

Brandon Knapp picked up an assist on the play, threading a long pass between two Saint Joe's defenders to find Oluwaseyi near the top of the box. Oluwaseyi then moved to his left before sending a left-footed shot on the ground past a charging Luis Ludosan.

Between the pipes, Luka Gavran and Jan Hoffelner combined for their first clean sheet of the season. Hoffelner made two stops in a scoreless first half before Gavran turned aside three Saint Joe's shots in the second half.

On the game, the Red Storm took nine shots to the Hawks' seven and put six of its tries on target. Oluwaseyi logged a team-high five shots, all of which were on goal. Matt Forster registered two shots while Einar Lye and Drew Rosen each fired off one.

Matt Chandler, Luke Hansen, Rafael Bustamante and Ethan Shaw logged the full 90 minutes on the Red Storm back line. Jack Russo made his first collegiate appearance, starting and playing 63 minutes before Sanoussi Sangary came on for the final 27 minutes of the contest. Wesley Leggett also started his first match for the Red Storm before Jared Juleau came on to play the last 60 minutes.

The Red Storm will return to action on Saturday evening, playing host to NJIT at 5 p.m. on Belson Stadium.