St. John's University Athletics
Tuesday, September 28
Princeton, N.J. (Sherrerd Field at Class of 1952 Stadium)
8 p.m.
St. John's University
at
Princeton
St. John’s Heads to Princeton for Non-Conference Finale
9/27/2021 2:30:00 PM | Men's Soccer
Red Storm will look to extend a five-game winning streak
QUEENS, N.Y. – Following a 2-0-0 start to BIG EAST action, the St. John's men's soccer team will step out of conference play when it heads to Princeton on Tuesday night. The non-league finale for the Red Storm is scheduled to start at 8 p.m. as part of a doubleheader with the nationally ranked Princeton women's soccer team, which is slated to take on Bucknell at 5 p.m. The contest will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
The Red Storm, which received votes in Monday's College Soccer News Top 30 poll, readies to face the Tigers on the heels of five straight wins, including back-to-back victories to open BIG EAST play. After downing Xavier in its BIG EAST debut on Sept. 18 in Cincinnati, the Red Storm welcomed Creighton to Belson Stadium on Friday night and sent the Bluejays back to Omaha with a 2-0 defeat. Wesley Leggett broke the scoreless deadlock with an unassisted goal in the 70th minute before Atila Ashrafi extended the lead to two less than 10 minutes later. Einar Lye picked up an assist on Ashrafi's insurance tally. All three of the Red Storm's goals in conference play have come in the 70th minute or later.
Each of the Red Storm's last three wins and five of their six victories overall this season have come via the shutout. Luka Gavran, who earned his second straight BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Week honor on Monday afternoon, has played every second between the pipes this season for St. John's after splitting time with former BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year Jan Hoffelner in 2019 and the spring of 2021. A redshirt junior from Hamilton, Ont., Gavran leads the BIG EAST in shutouts entering the week. His 0.62 goals against average ranks fourth in the league while his .833 save percentage is good enough for third.
The Red Storm's three-game shutout streak is the longest for the Johnnies since around this same time in 2019. After losing to defending national champion Maryland, 1-0, in double overtime in College Park on Sept. 23, the Red Storm rattled off five straight clean-sheet wins before falling to eventual national champion Georgetown exactly one month later. That streak was the longest since the 2011 BIG EAST Champion Red Storm recorded six consecutive shutouts during the month of September. The 2019 Johnnies rose as high as no. 4 in the United Soccer Coaches poll before advancing to the NCAA Tournament Round of 16 for the 12th time in program history.
St. John's maintains a strong core from that 2019 squad, as nine members of the 2021 Red Storm started eight or more games two seasons ago. One significant caveat to that note would be Tani Oluwaseyi, the team's leading scorer and 2019 BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year, who is expected to miss the entirety of this fall following offseason surgery. Classmate Brandon Knapp has done more than his fair share to make up for Oluwaseyi's lost offensive output. After playing his first three seasons in a more defensive-minded role, leads the team with three goals and four assists after transitioning from the midfield to the top of the Red Storm formation.
Princeton will host the Red Storm after winning three of its last four, including a 1-0 victory over Penn State on Saturday night at Class of 1952 Stadium. Freshman Harry Roberts scored the game-winner in the 44th minute while his older brother, Jack, needed only one save in goal to pick up his third shutout of the season. The elder Roberts has appeared in all six games for the Tigers this fall and boasts a 0.73 goals against average.
On the season, seven Princeton players have combined to record eight goals. Sophomore Francis Akomeah-Sirleaf is the only multiple-goal scorer for the Tigers, finding the back of the net in back-to-back games against Colgate and Fairfield earlier this month. After being held off the scoresheet in consecutive shutout losses against Vermont and Rutgers to open the season, the Tigers are averaging 2.00 goals per game over their last four outings.
On Tuesday night, St. John's and Princeton will face one another for the first time since the fall of 2018. The Tigers have won consecutive games in the series, handing the Red Storm a pair of 1-0 defeats in 2017 and 2018. Prior to those losses, St. John's was 5-1-3 in its previous nine meetings with the Tigers.
The current two-season gap in the series history is the longest between the Red Storm and the Tigers in more than 15 years, as the two teams met every year from 2011-18 and have squared off 11 times overall since 2006.
St. John's is 5-4-3 overall against Princeton in a series history that dates back to 1995.
The Red Storm, which received votes in Monday's College Soccer News Top 30 poll, readies to face the Tigers on the heels of five straight wins, including back-to-back victories to open BIG EAST play. After downing Xavier in its BIG EAST debut on Sept. 18 in Cincinnati, the Red Storm welcomed Creighton to Belson Stadium on Friday night and sent the Bluejays back to Omaha with a 2-0 defeat. Wesley Leggett broke the scoreless deadlock with an unassisted goal in the 70th minute before Atila Ashrafi extended the lead to two less than 10 minutes later. Einar Lye picked up an assist on Ashrafi's insurance tally. All three of the Red Storm's goals in conference play have come in the 70th minute or later.
Each of the Red Storm's last three wins and five of their six victories overall this season have come via the shutout. Luka Gavran, who earned his second straight BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Week honor on Monday afternoon, has played every second between the pipes this season for St. John's after splitting time with former BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year Jan Hoffelner in 2019 and the spring of 2021. A redshirt junior from Hamilton, Ont., Gavran leads the BIG EAST in shutouts entering the week. His 0.62 goals against average ranks fourth in the league while his .833 save percentage is good enough for third.
The Red Storm's three-game shutout streak is the longest for the Johnnies since around this same time in 2019. After losing to defending national champion Maryland, 1-0, in double overtime in College Park on Sept. 23, the Red Storm rattled off five straight clean-sheet wins before falling to eventual national champion Georgetown exactly one month later. That streak was the longest since the 2011 BIG EAST Champion Red Storm recorded six consecutive shutouts during the month of September. The 2019 Johnnies rose as high as no. 4 in the United Soccer Coaches poll before advancing to the NCAA Tournament Round of 16 for the 12th time in program history.
St. John's maintains a strong core from that 2019 squad, as nine members of the 2021 Red Storm started eight or more games two seasons ago. One significant caveat to that note would be Tani Oluwaseyi, the team's leading scorer and 2019 BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year, who is expected to miss the entirety of this fall following offseason surgery. Classmate Brandon Knapp has done more than his fair share to make up for Oluwaseyi's lost offensive output. After playing his first three seasons in a more defensive-minded role, leads the team with three goals and four assists after transitioning from the midfield to the top of the Red Storm formation.
Princeton will host the Red Storm after winning three of its last four, including a 1-0 victory over Penn State on Saturday night at Class of 1952 Stadium. Freshman Harry Roberts scored the game-winner in the 44th minute while his older brother, Jack, needed only one save in goal to pick up his third shutout of the season. The elder Roberts has appeared in all six games for the Tigers this fall and boasts a 0.73 goals against average.
On the season, seven Princeton players have combined to record eight goals. Sophomore Francis Akomeah-Sirleaf is the only multiple-goal scorer for the Tigers, finding the back of the net in back-to-back games against Colgate and Fairfield earlier this month. After being held off the scoresheet in consecutive shutout losses against Vermont and Rutgers to open the season, the Tigers are averaging 2.00 goals per game over their last four outings.
On Tuesday night, St. John's and Princeton will face one another for the first time since the fall of 2018. The Tigers have won consecutive games in the series, handing the Red Storm a pair of 1-0 defeats in 2017 and 2018. Prior to those losses, St. John's was 5-1-3 in its previous nine meetings with the Tigers.
The current two-season gap in the series history is the longest between the Red Storm and the Tigers in more than 15 years, as the two teams met every year from 2011-18 and have squared off 11 times overall since 2006.
St. John's is 5-4-3 overall against Princeton in a series history that dates back to 1995.
Players Mentioned
Midfielder
/ Men's Soccer
Goalkeeper
/ Men's Soccer
Goalkeeper
/ Men's Soccer
Midfielder/Defender
/ Men's Soccer
Forward
/ Men's Soccer
Forward/Midfielder
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