St. John's University Athletics
Friday, September 2
Queens, N.Y. (Belson Stadium)
5 p.m.
St. John's University
vs
Lehigh
St. John’s to Welcome Lehigh for First Game of Doubleheader
9/1/2022 11:22:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Red Storm and Mountain Hawks will kick off at 5 p.m. on ESPN3
QUEENS, N.Y. (Sept. 1, 2022) – The St. John's men's soccer team will return to action on Friday night when it plays host to Lehigh for a 5 p.m. kick-off at Belson Stadium. The match will be the opening end of a doubleheader with the St. John's women's soccer team, who will take on Navy at 8 p.m.
General admission tickets for the men's soccer match can be purchased by clicking here. Admission to the women's soccer match is free of charge. St. John's students can claim their free tickets by clicking here.
The Red Storm (0-2-0) will look to pick up its first win of the season following a pair of 1-0 losses to open the campaign. Despite suffering a two undesirable results, the Johnnies were outplayed in neither of the August matches. The Red Storm outshot Monmouth, 8-6, in West Long Branch before dominating possession for nearly the entire match against No. 18 FIU. In that most recent loss to the Panthers, St. John's held a 15-3 advantage in shots, including a 9-0 edge in the second half alone.
St. John's, which has appeared in 22 of the last 30 NCAA Tournament's including a second round berth last fall, has been shut out in back-to-back matches to start a season for just the fourth time in program history and the first since 2015. 2022 marks the first time in the 44-year history of St. John's men's soccer that the team has opened with back-to-back 1-0 defeats.
Despite returning a number of key contributors from last year's NCAA Tournament team, the Johnnies also feature plenty of fresh faces. Of the 14 players who have made at least one appearance in the starting XI, only four had ever started a game for the Johnnies prior to this season and only two, Brandon Knapp and Atila Ashrafi, had started more than three matches. Of the 21 players who have seen the pitch so far for St. John's in 2022, 14 made their St. John's debut, including seven true freshmen.
One of those new faces, Antek Sienkiel, is leading the team with five shots, three of which have been on target, through two games. The 2021 Second Team All-MAAC selection at Marist has played all 180 minutes so far this season in the Red Storm midfield. Freshman forward Juston Rainey attempted a game-high three shots against FIU on Monday night.
Of the five goalkeepers on the Red Storm's roster, none had ever made an appearance in a Division I game prior to this season. Redshirt sophomore Ryan Foley started the opener at Monmouth before freshman Zenden Hart manned the cage against FIU. Both keepers allowed just one goal and made two saves in their collegiate debuts. Last season, BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year Luka Gavran became the 15th player in St. John's history to be named a United Soccer Coaches All-American before going 31st overall to Toronto FC in the 2022 MLS SuperDraft. Gavran led the nation in both shutouts (12) and save percentage (.844) while finishing third in goals against average (0.57).
Lehigh enters the match with a record of 0-2-0 after dropping a pair of road contests at Temple and UMBC to open the season.
In their season debut against the Owls last Thursday, the Mountain Hawks recorded 13 shots, including six on goal, but were unable to break through in a 1-0 defeat. Freshman keeper Tommy Chyzowych recorded seven saves on Monday night against UMBC, but the Retrievers dominated possession on their way to a 2-0 win.
Senior forward Jack Sarkos was selected to the All-Patriot League First Team after scoring eight goals, six of which came in his final four games, during the 2021 campaign. With Sorkos leading the way, the Mountain Hawks won four of their last five decisions to finish the regular season after starting 1-9-2. The conference's coaches picked Lehigh to place fifth in this year's preseason poll.
In addition to Sarkos, the Mountain Hawks return a multi-goal scorer from 2021 in senior Euan Forrest. The 6-foot-4 defender tallied two goals and two assists as a junior.
St. John's and Lehigh will meet for the third time in the history of the two programs on Friday evening.
The first of those matchups came in 2017 in Bethlehem, Pa. Trailing 1-0 with just over 13 minutes remaining, Lehigh scored twice in the span of three minutes to complete the comeback.
The teams faced off again the following year at Belson Stadium, a 1-0 win for the visiting Mountain Hawks. St. John's outshot Lehigh, 13-7, in that contest, including a 10-3 edge in the second half alone.
General admission tickets for the men's soccer match can be purchased by clicking here. Admission to the women's soccer match is free of charge. St. John's students can claim their free tickets by clicking here.
The Red Storm (0-2-0) will look to pick up its first win of the season following a pair of 1-0 losses to open the campaign. Despite suffering a two undesirable results, the Johnnies were outplayed in neither of the August matches. The Red Storm outshot Monmouth, 8-6, in West Long Branch before dominating possession for nearly the entire match against No. 18 FIU. In that most recent loss to the Panthers, St. John's held a 15-3 advantage in shots, including a 9-0 edge in the second half alone.
St. John's, which has appeared in 22 of the last 30 NCAA Tournament's including a second round berth last fall, has been shut out in back-to-back matches to start a season for just the fourth time in program history and the first since 2015. 2022 marks the first time in the 44-year history of St. John's men's soccer that the team has opened with back-to-back 1-0 defeats.
Despite returning a number of key contributors from last year's NCAA Tournament team, the Johnnies also feature plenty of fresh faces. Of the 14 players who have made at least one appearance in the starting XI, only four had ever started a game for the Johnnies prior to this season and only two, Brandon Knapp and Atila Ashrafi, had started more than three matches. Of the 21 players who have seen the pitch so far for St. John's in 2022, 14 made their St. John's debut, including seven true freshmen.
One of those new faces, Antek Sienkiel, is leading the team with five shots, three of which have been on target, through two games. The 2021 Second Team All-MAAC selection at Marist has played all 180 minutes so far this season in the Red Storm midfield. Freshman forward Juston Rainey attempted a game-high three shots against FIU on Monday night.
Of the five goalkeepers on the Red Storm's roster, none had ever made an appearance in a Division I game prior to this season. Redshirt sophomore Ryan Foley started the opener at Monmouth before freshman Zenden Hart manned the cage against FIU. Both keepers allowed just one goal and made two saves in their collegiate debuts. Last season, BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year Luka Gavran became the 15th player in St. John's history to be named a United Soccer Coaches All-American before going 31st overall to Toronto FC in the 2022 MLS SuperDraft. Gavran led the nation in both shutouts (12) and save percentage (.844) while finishing third in goals against average (0.57).
Lehigh enters the match with a record of 0-2-0 after dropping a pair of road contests at Temple and UMBC to open the season.
In their season debut against the Owls last Thursday, the Mountain Hawks recorded 13 shots, including six on goal, but were unable to break through in a 1-0 defeat. Freshman keeper Tommy Chyzowych recorded seven saves on Monday night against UMBC, but the Retrievers dominated possession on their way to a 2-0 win.
Senior forward Jack Sarkos was selected to the All-Patriot League First Team after scoring eight goals, six of which came in his final four games, during the 2021 campaign. With Sorkos leading the way, the Mountain Hawks won four of their last five decisions to finish the regular season after starting 1-9-2. The conference's coaches picked Lehigh to place fifth in this year's preseason poll.
In addition to Sarkos, the Mountain Hawks return a multi-goal scorer from 2021 in senior Euan Forrest. The 6-foot-4 defender tallied two goals and two assists as a junior.
St. John's and Lehigh will meet for the third time in the history of the two programs on Friday evening.
The first of those matchups came in 2017 in Bethlehem, Pa. Trailing 1-0 with just over 13 minutes remaining, Lehigh scored twice in the span of three minutes to complete the comeback.
The teams faced off again the following year at Belson Stadium, a 1-0 win for the visiting Mountain Hawks. St. John's outshot Lehigh, 13-7, in that contest, including a 10-3 edge in the second half alone.
Players Mentioned
Midfielder
/ Men's Soccer
Goalkeeper
/ Men's Soccer
Goalkeeper
/ Men's Soccer
Goalkeeper
/ Men's Soccer
Midfielder/Defender
/ Men's Soccer
Midfielder
/ Men's Soccer
Midfielder/Defender
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