St. John's University Athletics
Wednesday, March 3
Queens, N.Y. (Belson Stadium)
5 p.m.
St. John's University
vs
Connecticut
No. 18 St. John’s to Renew Classic BIG EAST Rivalry with UConn on Wednesday
3/2/2021 10:47:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Red Storm and Huskies will meet at 5 p.m. on ESPN3
St. John's and Connecticut will reignite one of the BIG EAST Conference's greatest men's soccer rivalries when the two teams meet on Wednesday evening at Belson Stadium. Kick-off is set for 5 p.m. on ESPN3 with Mike Watts on the call.
From the time the BIG EAST began sponsoring soccer in the early 1980s until the Huskies' departure for the American Athletic Conference in 2013, no two programs in the league were more consistently successful that St. John's and Connecticut. Between 1983 and 2011, the BIG EAST Men's Soccer Championship was contested 29 times; St. John's (9) and Huskies (7) combined to account for 16 of those titles. Both St. John's and UConn claimed a national championship during that stretch, as the Red Storm won it all in 1996, four years before the Huskies accomplished the feat in 2000.
Wednesday's match will feature two of the top six active Division I head coaches in terms of career wins. Dr. David Masur currently ranks sixth with 424 victories while UConn's Ray Reid is two spots ahead of him on the list with 451.
The No. 18 Red Storm (2-1-0, 1-0-0) enters the contest following a 1-0 defeat in its BIG EAST opener against Seton Hall on Saturday in South Orange. The Johnnies were without the services of several key contributors due to COVID-19 contact tracing protocols. The Pirates found the back of the net in just the second minute of action and the Red Storm was unable to produce an equalizer. Seton Hall was outshooting St. John's by a 10-1 margin early in the second half before the Red Storm began to apply more consistent pressure in the attacking third. The Johnnies outchanced Seton Hall, 7-3, over the final 32 minutes.
Tani Oluwaseyi earned his second consecutive BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll nod on Monday afternoon. The reigning BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year and a selection to the preseason watch list for the MAC Hermann Trophy, Oluwaseyi tallied two goals and an assist in the Red Storm's 4-2 win over Stony Brook last Tuesday at Belson Stadium. In 2019, Oluwaseyi became the first St. John's player since 1996 to take home the league's top individual offensive honor after scoring 11 goals and dishing out five assists. His goal output led the league and ranked 27th nationally while his point total was good enough for second in the BIG EAST and 31st in Division I.
UConn also dropped its BIG EAST opener this past weekend, falling to Providence, 2-0, in Storrs. The Friars outshot the Huskies, 9-7, including a 7-2 edge in shots on goal.
The Huskies played only one non-conference match prior to the start of conference play, shutting out Sacred Heart, 3-0, at Morrone Stadium on Feb. 16. Moussa Wade, Felix Metzler and Maxwell De-
Bodene scored for UConn while Ben Awashie picked up a pair of assists.
Jahmali White has played all 180 minutes between the pipes for Connecticut, turning in a .778 save percentage. A former teammate of St. John's defender Anthony Herbert at Fairleigh Dickinson, White was named to the All-NEC First Team in 2018 before finding a spot on the all-conference second team in 2019.
St. John's and UConn will meet for the 35th time on Wednesday night with the Johnnies holding a slight 15-13-6 advantage in the all-time series. The two teams played just once during the Huskies' tenure in the AAC, a 3-1 win for the Red Storm at Belson Stadium on Sept. 23, 2014.
The home side owns a decisive advantage in the series history between these two teams, as the Red Storm is 8-1-4 all-time in Queens while the Huskies are 12-6-1 in Storrs.
The Red Storm's last BIG EAST title in 2011 came at the expense of the Huskies, as Jack Bennett broke a scoreless deadlock in the 97th minute at Red Bull Arena. St. John's also edged out Connecticut, 1-0, for the 2001 BIG EAST title in Storrs.
From the time the BIG EAST began sponsoring soccer in the early 1980s until the Huskies' departure for the American Athletic Conference in 2013, no two programs in the league were more consistently successful that St. John's and Connecticut. Between 1983 and 2011, the BIG EAST Men's Soccer Championship was contested 29 times; St. John's (9) and Huskies (7) combined to account for 16 of those titles. Both St. John's and UConn claimed a national championship during that stretch, as the Red Storm won it all in 1996, four years before the Huskies accomplished the feat in 2000.
Wednesday's match will feature two of the top six active Division I head coaches in terms of career wins. Dr. David Masur currently ranks sixth with 424 victories while UConn's Ray Reid is two spots ahead of him on the list with 451.
The No. 18 Red Storm (2-1-0, 1-0-0) enters the contest following a 1-0 defeat in its BIG EAST opener against Seton Hall on Saturday in South Orange. The Johnnies were without the services of several key contributors due to COVID-19 contact tracing protocols. The Pirates found the back of the net in just the second minute of action and the Red Storm was unable to produce an equalizer. Seton Hall was outshooting St. John's by a 10-1 margin early in the second half before the Red Storm began to apply more consistent pressure in the attacking third. The Johnnies outchanced Seton Hall, 7-3, over the final 32 minutes.
Tani Oluwaseyi earned his second consecutive BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll nod on Monday afternoon. The reigning BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year and a selection to the preseason watch list for the MAC Hermann Trophy, Oluwaseyi tallied two goals and an assist in the Red Storm's 4-2 win over Stony Brook last Tuesday at Belson Stadium. In 2019, Oluwaseyi became the first St. John's player since 1996 to take home the league's top individual offensive honor after scoring 11 goals and dishing out five assists. His goal output led the league and ranked 27th nationally while his point total was good enough for second in the BIG EAST and 31st in Division I.
UConn also dropped its BIG EAST opener this past weekend, falling to Providence, 2-0, in Storrs. The Friars outshot the Huskies, 9-7, including a 7-2 edge in shots on goal.
The Huskies played only one non-conference match prior to the start of conference play, shutting out Sacred Heart, 3-0, at Morrone Stadium on Feb. 16. Moussa Wade, Felix Metzler and Maxwell De-
Bodene scored for UConn while Ben Awashie picked up a pair of assists.
Jahmali White has played all 180 minutes between the pipes for Connecticut, turning in a .778 save percentage. A former teammate of St. John's defender Anthony Herbert at Fairleigh Dickinson, White was named to the All-NEC First Team in 2018 before finding a spot on the all-conference second team in 2019.
St. John's and UConn will meet for the 35th time on Wednesday night with the Johnnies holding a slight 15-13-6 advantage in the all-time series. The two teams played just once during the Huskies' tenure in the AAC, a 3-1 win for the Red Storm at Belson Stadium on Sept. 23, 2014.
The home side owns a decisive advantage in the series history between these two teams, as the Red Storm is 8-1-4 all-time in Queens while the Huskies are 12-6-1 in Storrs.
The Red Storm's last BIG EAST title in 2011 came at the expense of the Huskies, as Jack Bennett broke a scoreless deadlock in the 97th minute at Red Bull Arena. St. John's also edged out Connecticut, 1-0, for the 2001 BIG EAST title in Storrs.
Players Mentioned
Defender
/ Men's Soccer
Forward/Midfielder
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