St. John’s Opens BIG EAST Play with 3-1 Win Over Georgetown

Friday, September 16

Queens, N.Y. (Belson Stadium)

8:30 p.m.

St. John's University

2-4-1, 1-0-0BE

Georgetown

1-3-2, 0-1-0BE

Georgetown

St. John's

The Red Storm wall blocks a Hoyas free kick.

Wesley Leggett took one shot in 31 minutes of action against the Hoyas.

Nigel Griffith scored his first goal as a Johnnie just 1:25 into the contest on Friday night in Queens.

Antek Sienkiel scored his team-leading fifth goal of the season to seal the St. John's victory.

The team celebrates Antek Sienkiel's world-class goal.

The Red Storm celebrates Antek Sienkiel's goal, the team's third of the evening.

Zenden Hart picked up his second win of the season, making three saves in the process.

Aidan Borra assisted on Sienkiel's goal for his first point as a Johnnie.

Jordan Bailon played all 90 minutes of the victory.

Adrian Roseth started and played 58 minutes for the Red Storm.

Adrian Roseth draws a foul to set up Brandon Knapp's penalty kick goal in the 23rd minute.

Brandon Knapp buries the PK to make it 2-0 St. John's.

Brandon Knapp and Markus Pusztahegyi celebrate the former's goal.

St. John’s Opens BIG EAST Play with 3-1 Win Over Georgetown

9/16/2022 11:55:00 PM | Men's Soccer

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Red Storm wins its conference opener for the fifth straight fall

QUEENS, N.Y. – Welcoming the defending BIG EAST Champions to Belson Stadium, the St. John's men's soccer team jumped out to an early lead and never looked back, defeating Georgetown, 3-1, on Friday night in the league opener for both sides.

Nigel Griffith, Brandon Knapp and Antek Sienkiel all etched their names on the scoresheet for St. John's (2-4-1, 1-0-0 BIG EAST), which won its BIG EAST opener for the fifth consecutive fall. Griffith's early tally marked the first of his St. John's career. Knapp's marker was his second of the season while Sienkiel bumped his team lead in that category to five.

Aidan Borra recorded the Red Storm's lone assist of the evening, his first point as a member of the Red Storm.

Zenden Hart made his second consecutive start in goal and registered three saves. Jordan Bailon, Brandon Knapp, Markus Pusztahegyi and Sanoussi Sangary all logged 90 minutes on the Red Storm backline.

The Red Storm wasted no time getting on the board, as Griffith found the back of the net in just the second minute of play. After a Georgetown defender played a ball back to goalkeeper Ethan Koehler, Griffith applied relentless pressure and forced a miscue, cleanly poking the ball away from Koehler's possession and into the cage.

The Johnnies continued to apply pressure before striking again in the 23^rd minute. Streaking up the middle of the pitch, Borra played a magnificently placed ball into the 18-yard box for Adrian Roseth, who gained a step on his defender before absorbing contact and drawing a foul. Knapp then stepped to the spot and buried his second PK goal of the season.

Georgetown answered two and a half minutes later to cut the St. John's deficit in half after being awarded an indirect free kick near the penalty spot. With two Hoyas over the ball, Marlon Tabora touched it forward to Aidan Rocha, who slammed a shot under the bar and made it a 2-1 game.

The Hoyas were on the front foot for the remainder of the period, but the Red Storm defense held tight to preserve the lead. In particular, Hart made two stellar saves in the 36^th and 37^th minutes to keep Georgetown off the board.

The Red Storm did well to block a number of Georgetown shots in the early going of the second half, including three consecutive tries in the 54^th minute.

Hart made his third save of the game in the 75^th minute on Joe Buck. Just about a minute later, the sophomore midfielder sent a potential game-tying try just left of the far post.

The Johnnies put the game out of reach in the 83^rd. Battling for the ball just inside midfield, Borra flicked it forward toward Sienkiel. The redshirt junior sent a left-footed strike from 35 yards out into the upper-left-hand corner of the cage, padding the Red Storm lead to a pair.

St. John's will return to action in one week's time when it welcomes Villanova to Belson Stadium on Sept. 23. Kick-off is set for 7 p.m. on the BIG EAST Digital Network.