St. John’s Plays No. 12 Xavier to a Scoreless Draw

Wednesday, October 5

Queens, N.Y. (Belson Stadium)

7 p.m.

St. John's University

3-6-2, 1-2-1BE

No. 12 Xavier

7-0-4, 1-0-3BE

Xavier

St. John's

Ryan Foley recorded his first collegiate clean sheet, making six saves in the process.

St. John’s Plays No. 12 Xavier to a Scoreless Draw

10/5/2022 10:01:00 PM | Men's Soccer

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Ryan Foley makes six saves for his first collegiate clean sheet

QUEENS, N.Y. – The St. John's men's soccer team played No. 12 Xavier to a scoreless draw on Wednesday night at Belson Stadium, taking a crucial point from the BIG EAST's highest ranked squad.

Xavier (7-0-4, 1-0-3 BIG EAST) entered the week as one of eight remaining unbeaten squads in all of Division I.

The result marked the Red Storm's first against a ranked opponent since taking down No. 13 Providence, 2-0, in the spring of 2021. The Johnnies' last result against a team ranked 12^th or better in the United Soccer Coaches poll came in the fall of 2017, when the Red Storm defeated No. 10 Georgetown, 1-0, on Senior Night for the 400^th victory of Dr. David Masur's head coaching career.

Ryan Foley started in goal recorded his first career clean sheet for the Red Storm (3-6-2, 1-2-1 BIG EAST). The redshirt sophomore from Malverne, N.Y., logged six saves, five of which came in the first half.

The Musketeers controlled the action from whistle to whistle in the opening stanza, outshooting the Red Storm, 13-1, with a 5-1 edge in shots on goal. Xavier also earned seven corners to the Red Storm's two in the first 45 minutes, but proved unable to take the lead.

Xavier came out firing with five shots and three corners in the opening 10 minutes, but Foley was unfazed early, making three saving during that stretch. Foley came up with another stop in the 39^th minute before a late first-half flurry resulted in three quality Xavier chances. Two of those 45^th-minute tries were blocked by Jordan Bailon and Foley smothered the other.

After failing to convert on any of its first-half chances, Xavier could not maintain the momentum in its favor coming out of the intermission. The Musketeers took the period's first shot in the 56^th minute, but it was the last Xavier shot that Foley would have to stop on the evening.

St. John's managed to outshoot the Musketeers, 3-2, over the final 45 minutes with all three of those shots resulting in terrific scoring opportunities. In the 64^th minute, Aidan Borra sent a right-footed blast that hit the side of the cage. In the 78^th minute, Bailon unloaded on a loose ball in the box, but his try narrowly missed the upper 90. The Red Storm's best chance of the evening came in the 89^th minute, as Colin Veltri corralled a long pass from Brandon Knapp and sent a cross into the box that narrowly missed the foot Drew Rosen in front of a wide-open net.

The Red Storm will return to action on Saturday night when it travels to Omaha for a clash with Creighton. Kick-off from Morrison Stadium is set for 7:30 p.m. ET on the BIG EAST Digital Network, available on FloFC.