St. John’s Takes Down UAlbany, 3-0, in Home Opener

Monday, August 30

Queens, N.Y. (Belson Stadium)

7 p.m.

St. John's University

1-1-0

UAlbany

1-1-0

Albany (NY)

St. John's

The starting XI for Monday's home opener against UAlbany

The general public was allowed into Belson Stadium for a men's soccer game for the first time since November of 2019.

Lucas Bartlett scored his first goal as a Johnnie against UAlbany.

Matt Chandler played 80 minutes in the shutout win.

Luka Gavran recorded his first collegiate solo clean sheet.

Einar Lye took two shots in the opening half.

Micaah Garnette started his second straight game.

Brandon Knapp scored his first goal of the season, a game winner.

Knapp finished the game with a goal and two assists for his second career four-point effort.

Lucas Bartlett celebrates his first goal as a Johnnie.

Wesley Leggett scored his first goal of the season

Red Zone, the St. John's student section, was out in full force.

Matt Chandler flicks a ball toward the target on offense.

Ethan Shaw took one shot in 29 minutes of action.

St. John’s Takes Down UAlbany, 3-0, in Home Opener

8/30/2021 9:56:00 PM | Men's Soccer

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Brandon Knapp scores the game winner and assists on two more goals

By: Andrew O'Connell

QUEENS, N.Y. – Playing in front of fans at Belson Stadium for the first time in nearly two years, the St. John's men's soccer dominated from start to finish on Monday night against UAlbany, downing the Great Danes, 3-0.

Brandon Knapp led the way offensively, scoring the game winner and assisting on both of the Red Storm's insurance markers. The effort marked the second four-point outing of Knapp's career, as the Abingdon, Md., native scored twice against Columbia as a sophomore in 2019.

Graduate transfer Lucas Bartlett scored his first goal as a Johnnie late the in the opening half before Wesley Leggett netted his first of the season early in the second stanza. Leggett has now scored four times in just career nine games with the Red Storm.

In addition to Knapp's two assists, Atila Ashrafi and Jared Juleau also dished out helpers for the Johnnies (1-1-0), who outshot UAlbany (1-1-0) by a 17-4 margin.

Luka Gavran stopped both of the Great Danes' attempts on net to record the first solo shutout of his St. John's career. The redshirt junior from Hamilton, Ont., combined for 12 clean sheets with Jan Hoffelner over the past two seasons.

With the Belson Stadium gates open to the general public for the first time since November of 2019, the Red Storm won its first game of the season before a crowd of 1,717.

In the early going, St. John's controlled the possession battle but did not record its first shot until the 18^th minute, when Einar Lye sent a ball just inches over the cross bar following a UAlbany turnover. Less than a minute later, Micaah Garnette, who made his second straight start, had a good look in front, but an aggressive charge by the Great Dane keeper neutralized the freshman's threat.

St. John's broke through in the 25^th thanks to a determined effort from Ashrafi. The junior midfielder saw his shot attempt blocked by a defender in front, but persisted on the loose ball and threaded a pass in front to Knapp, who tapped it home and gave the Red Storm a 1-0 lead.

In the final minute of first-half action, Leggett drew a foul down the left side to set up a free kick for Knapp. The captain placed a ball precisely to a waiting Bartlett, who headed it past the keeper and extended the Red Storm edge to two at the break.

With less than five minutes gone in the latter stanza, UAlbany's Neophytos Scottis was sent off following his second yellow card of the game. With the Great Danes playing down a man, it took less than two minutes for the Red Storm to build upon its lead.

Juleau carried the ball into the offensive zone and played a pass into Knapp near the penalty spot. Knapp quickly pushed the ball over to the left side for Leggett, who sent a shot to the near post and past the keeper for his first goal of the season.

Knapp appeared to secure his second career two-goal game following a free kick in the 73^rd minute, but the assistant referee ruled that the Johnnies were offside, negating the tally.

The Johnnies will continue their homestand on Saturday night when they play host to the Red Foxes of Marist. First kick is set for 7 p.m. on ESPN3.