No. 15 St. John’s Falls to Seton Hall, 1-0, in BIG EAST Opener

Saturday, February 27

South Orange, N.J. (Owen T. Carrol Field)

3 p.m.

St. John's University

2-1-0, 0-1-0

Seton Hall

3-0-1, 1-0-0

St. John's (NY)

Seton Hall

No. 15 St. John’s Falls to Seton Hall, 1-0, in BIG EAST Opener

2/27/2021 5:52:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Red Storm was without several key players due to COVID-19 contact tracing

By: Andrew O'Connell

The No. 15 St. John's men's soccer squad dropped its first game of the season on Saturday afternoon, falling to local rival Seton Hall, 1-0, at Owen T. Carroll Field in the BIG EAST opener for both teams.

The Red Storm played without the services of several key contributors due to COVID-19 contact tracing protocols.

St. John's fell to 2-1-0 (0-1-0 BIG EAST) while Seton Hall remained unbeaten at 3-0-1 (1-0-0 BIG EAST).

Tani Oluwaseyi recorded a team-high three shots while Matt Forster and Jared Juleau tallied two apiece.

Between the pipes, Luka Gavran made four saves in the second half while Jan Hoffelner turned aside three shots in the opening 45 minutes.

Seton Hall recorded two shots on goal in the opening two minutes of play, the first of which was saved by Hoffelner before the second found the back of the net just 1:38 into the contest. Paavo Riihjarvi scored for the Pirates off an assist from JP Marin.

The Pirates fired off six shots before the Red Storm recorded its first in the 16^th minute from Oluwaseyi.

That look from the reigning BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year would be the team's best of the period, as the Pirates held a 7-1 edge in shots at the intermission.

Seton Hall continued to press after the break, taking the first three shots of the latter stanza, two of which were saved by Gavran.

Starting around the 60^th minute, St. John's began to control possession more thoroughly in its search for an equalizer, firing off three shots in the span of just seven minutes.

The Red Storm threatened on a number of occasions over the final 30 minutes, but was unable to find the back of the net and send the contest into overtime.

The loss snapped a five-game unbeaten streak for St. John's against the Pirates, the most commonly played opponent in program history since 1979.