St. John's University Athletics
Saturday, September 18
Cincinnati, Ohio (Corcoran Field)
7 p.m.
St. John's University
at
Xavier
St. John’s Heads to Xavier for Saturday BIG EAST Opener
9/17/2021 9:36:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Red Storm enters conference play with a record of 4-2-0
QUEENS, N.Y. – The St. John's men's soccer team will open the BIG EAST portion of its fall schedule on Saturday in Cincinnati, taking on the Xavier Musketeers at Corcoran Field. Kick-off is set for 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on the BIG EAST Digital Network on FloSports, which requires a subscription to watch.
The Red Storm enters its BIG EAST opener having won three straight and four of its last five. In their most recent contest on Monday night against Columbia, the Johnnies used a late-first-half goal from Lucas Bartlett and Luka Gavran's third clean sheet of the season to end pre-conference play on a high note. The difference maker in the 1-0 win came in the 43rd minute, as Bartlett headed home a corner kick from Atila Ashrafi. The goal was the second of the season for Bartlett, who transferred to St. John's in the offseason after spending three years as a team captain at Drake. The 2021 First Team All-Missouri Valley selection has two goals and two assists on the season, good enough for the team's second highest point total despite being a center back.
Brandon Knapp, who played a majority of his first three seasons with the program as a holding midfielder and center back, has been the Red Storm's primary offensive catalyst this year. Assuming a more prominent role in the attacking third following an injury to his classmate and 2019 BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year Tani Oluwaseyi, Knapp scored two goals and dished out four assists in his first five games of the campaign. On Monday, Knapp earned a spot on the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll for the third time in his career. The following day, the two-time Third Team All-BIG EAST selection received an honorable mention nod to the TopDrawerSoccer Team of the Week.
In its recent five-game homestand, the Red Storm recorded three shutouts and allowed just three total goals, one of which came on a penalty kick. Gavran has started all six of the Johnnies' matches this season, compiling a 0.83 goals against average to go along with a .773 save percentage. Last season, Gavran appeared in all 10 of the Red Storm's matches and made five starts, turning in a 0.72 goals against average and an .846 save percentage to rank third and second, respectively, in the BIG EAST.
Xavier also enters conference play on a three-game winning streak after picking up a trio of 1-0 wins over Chicago State, Northwestern and Robert Morris. The Musketeers' lone loss of the season came on the road at then-No. 1 Indiana, also a 1-0 result. In total, five of Xavier's seven games this fall have ended with a score of 1-0.
The Musketeers boast a pair of three-goal scorers in Karsen Henderlong and Jerome Jolly. Henderlong, an All-BIG EAST Second Team last season, and Jolly, however, have combined for just one goal in the team's last four matches. Virginia Tech transfer Justus Kauppinen has two goals and two assists on the campaign and recorded the game-winner in the 88th minute against Robert Morris on Wednesday.
Matthew Rosenberg, a graduate student from Manalapan, N.J., has compiled a 0.43 goals against average in his third season as the Musketeers' starting keeper. The former Red Bulls Academy product has posted four shutouts and has yet to allow more than one goal in a game this season.
St. John's and Xavier will meet for the ninth time in the history of the two programs on Saturday night and look to break a deadlock that has seen each of the teams tally three wins, three losses and a pair of draws.
The Red Storm and the Musketeers did not meet last season due to the BIG EAST's divisional scheduling, but the year prior faced off in one of the more memorable matchups in the recent history of Belson Stadium. The then-No. 9 Johnnies, carrying a perfect 6-0-0 mark into their BIG EAST opener, welcomed a No. 19 Xavier squad that had suffered just one defeat on the young season. The Musketeers led 1-0 at half before the Johnnies scored three times in the final 35 minutes to send 1,653 fans into a frenzy. Niko Petridis scored two of those goals and assisted on the third.
St. John's has never defeated Xavier in Cincinnati, going 0-2-1 in three road matches against the Musketeers.
The Red Storm enters its BIG EAST opener having won three straight and four of its last five. In their most recent contest on Monday night against Columbia, the Johnnies used a late-first-half goal from Lucas Bartlett and Luka Gavran's third clean sheet of the season to end pre-conference play on a high note. The difference maker in the 1-0 win came in the 43rd minute, as Bartlett headed home a corner kick from Atila Ashrafi. The goal was the second of the season for Bartlett, who transferred to St. John's in the offseason after spending three years as a team captain at Drake. The 2021 First Team All-Missouri Valley selection has two goals and two assists on the season, good enough for the team's second highest point total despite being a center back.
Brandon Knapp, who played a majority of his first three seasons with the program as a holding midfielder and center back, has been the Red Storm's primary offensive catalyst this year. Assuming a more prominent role in the attacking third following an injury to his classmate and 2019 BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year Tani Oluwaseyi, Knapp scored two goals and dished out four assists in his first five games of the campaign. On Monday, Knapp earned a spot on the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll for the third time in his career. The following day, the two-time Third Team All-BIG EAST selection received an honorable mention nod to the TopDrawerSoccer Team of the Week.
In its recent five-game homestand, the Red Storm recorded three shutouts and allowed just three total goals, one of which came on a penalty kick. Gavran has started all six of the Johnnies' matches this season, compiling a 0.83 goals against average to go along with a .773 save percentage. Last season, Gavran appeared in all 10 of the Red Storm's matches and made five starts, turning in a 0.72 goals against average and an .846 save percentage to rank third and second, respectively, in the BIG EAST.
Xavier also enters conference play on a three-game winning streak after picking up a trio of 1-0 wins over Chicago State, Northwestern and Robert Morris. The Musketeers' lone loss of the season came on the road at then-No. 1 Indiana, also a 1-0 result. In total, five of Xavier's seven games this fall have ended with a score of 1-0.
The Musketeers boast a pair of three-goal scorers in Karsen Henderlong and Jerome Jolly. Henderlong, an All-BIG EAST Second Team last season, and Jolly, however, have combined for just one goal in the team's last four matches. Virginia Tech transfer Justus Kauppinen has two goals and two assists on the campaign and recorded the game-winner in the 88th minute against Robert Morris on Wednesday.
Matthew Rosenberg, a graduate student from Manalapan, N.J., has compiled a 0.43 goals against average in his third season as the Musketeers' starting keeper. The former Red Bulls Academy product has posted four shutouts and has yet to allow more than one goal in a game this season.
St. John's and Xavier will meet for the ninth time in the history of the two programs on Saturday night and look to break a deadlock that has seen each of the teams tally three wins, three losses and a pair of draws.
The Red Storm and the Musketeers did not meet last season due to the BIG EAST's divisional scheduling, but the year prior faced off in one of the more memorable matchups in the recent history of Belson Stadium. The then-No. 9 Johnnies, carrying a perfect 6-0-0 mark into their BIG EAST opener, welcomed a No. 19 Xavier squad that had suffered just one defeat on the young season. The Musketeers led 1-0 at half before the Johnnies scored three times in the final 35 minutes to send 1,653 fans into a frenzy. Niko Petridis scored two of those goals and assisted on the third.
St. John's has never defeated Xavier in Cincinnati, going 0-2-1 in three road matches against the Musketeers.
Players Mentioned
Midfielder
/ Men's Soccer
Defender
/ Men's Soccer
Goalkeeper
/ Men's Soccer
Midfielder/Defender
/ Men's Soccer
Forward/Midfielder
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