St. John’s Heads to Columbia on Monday Night

QUEENS, N.Y. – The St. John's men's soccer team will play its final non-conference match before the start of BIG EAST play on Monday night, traveling to Upper Manhattan for a showdown with Columbia. Kick-off from Rocco B. Commisso Soccer Stadium is set for 7 p.m. on ESPN+.

The Red Storm will look to pick up its second win of the season despite being the more dominant team in all five of its matches so far. The Johnnies have outshot each of their five opponents, including a 15-3 edge against No. 18 FIU in a 1-0 loss at Belson Stadium and an 11-9 advantage last week in a 1-0 loss at Indiana.

On Friday night at Belson Stadium, the Red Storm took a 1-0 lead in the 61st minute before Loyola Maryland tied it late to come away with a 1-1 draw. Antek Sienkiel recorded his team-leading fourth goal of the season off an assist from Wesley Leggett. This past Monday, Sienkiel took home BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week honors and earned a spot on the TopDrawerSoccer Team of the Week after registering a hat trick against Lehigh, the first by a St. John's player since 2004.

Emmanuel Smalios made his collegiate debut between the pipes on Friday night against the Greyhounds, becoming the third different Red Storm goalkeeper to start in just five games. Prior to this season, St. John's had not had three separate goalkeepers make an appearance over the course of a season since the BIG EAST Championship campaign of 2011. All three goalkeepers that have seen action this season for St. John's made their collegiate debuts in 2022.

When he took the field for the Red Storm on Friday night, Smalios became the eighth different St. John's freshman to make an appearance in the starting XI this season.

After squaring off with Columbia, the Red Storm will begin its BIG EAST season on Friday night in Queens against Georgetown, a national semifinalist last season and the 2019 national champion. FS1 will broadcast that BIG EAST opener between the Johnnies and the Hoyas live beginning at 8:30 p.m. Monday night will not be the Red Storm's non-conference finale, as Princeton will travel to Belson Stadium on Sept. 27.

Columbia enters Monday's match on the heels of a 1-1 draw with Manhattan on Friday night in Riverdale. The Lions went ahead on an own-goal in the 32nd minute before Manhattan leveled the score in the 50th minute. Before Friday's draw, Columbia opened the season with back-to-back 2-1 losses against George Washington and Stony Brook.

Junior Jack Muoio scored during the Lions' season opener in D.C. before Jake Novoshelski found the back of the net in their home opener against the Seawolves. Last season, Novoshelski tied for the team lead in goals (2) and points (5).

Senior Michael Collodi has played all three games between the pipes for Columbia, stopping 58.3 percent of the shots on goal that he has faced. Last season, he was an Honorable Mention All-Ivy League pick after leading the conference and ranking ninth in the NCAA with 5.33 saves per game.

St. John's and Columbia will meet on the pitch for the 11th time on Monday night.

Columbia dominated the early part of the series history, winning seven straight between 1981-89. The teams did not meet again until 2012, a 3-1 win for the Johnnies at Belson Stadium.

The series resumed in 2019 when the Red Storm scored all of its goal in the second half of a 5-1 win at Rocco B. Commisso Soccer Stadium. The teams met again last season, a 1-0 win for the Johnnies in Queens.

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Players Mentioned

Wesley Leggett

Antek Sienkiel

Emmanuel Smalios

St. John's University Athletics