St. John’s Tallies 34 Shots in 3-1 Victory Over Villanova

Saturday, October 14

Villanova, Pa. (Higgins Soccer Complex)

1 p.m.

St. John's University

7-3-3, 2-1-2

Villanova

1-6-4, 1-3-1

St. John's (NY)

Villanova

St. John’s Tallies 34 Shots in 3-1 Victory Over Villanova

10/14/2023 3:43:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

The most shots in a game by Red Storm since Oct. 8, 2013, against La Salle

QUEENS, N.Y. – The St. John's men's soccer team battled through torrential rains to register 34 shots in total and 15 on target to secure a 3-1 victory against Villanova at Higgins Soccer Complex on Saturday afternoon.

The Johnnies produced the most shots in total and on frame in a game since tallying an identical 34 shot attempts and 15 on goal against La Salle on Oct. 8, 2013. The 15 chances on target are the most by the Red Storm in a BIG EAST match since the conference's realignment in 2013, surpassing the 14 it had against DePaul on Nov. 2, 2019.

Nicolas Fleuriau Chateau became the 13^th player in program history with double-digit goals in a single season, netting his 10^th of the year while logging a career-high nine shots, five of which were on frame. He is the first Johnnie to score 10 or more goals in a season since Tani Oluwaseyi found the back of the cage 11 times during the 2019 campaign. The Canadian forward also cashed in on his fourth game-winning goal of the year.

Seniors Macoumba Ba and Nigel Griffith aggravated the Wildcats' backline all match, posting identical lines with a goal, an assist, four shot attempts and three on net in Saturday's contest.

Sophomore Miguel Diaz continued to produce in the assist column, logging his BIG EAST-leading eighth of the season. Fellow classmate Colin Veltri also provided a helper in the contest.

Ba, Ignacio Antequera Sanchez, Antonio Biggs, Justin Kopay, Thomas Lamaille and Alec McLachlan all logged 90 minutes of work in Pennsylvania while keeping the Wildcats to just two shots on net and one corner.

It took less than three minutes for St. John's (7-3-3, 2-1-2 BIG EAST) to get on the board with a strike from Ba. As Diaz cut through the defense and tapped a pass over to Griffith while being taken down, Griffith made a quick turn just outside the box. He led Ba into open space before the Louisville transfer cut back to the middle and found the back post with his right foot for a 1-0 lead.

The Red Storm continued to press forward over the next seven minutes, seeing Josh Elliott rip a wobbling shot on target from outside the 18 in the 11^th minute. The Swedish forward continued to pester Villanova's defenders, forcing turnovers in the attacking third and setting up the Johnnies for high-quality opportunities in front.

In the 17^th minute, fellow Louisville transfer Eric Danquah nearly put one away off a one-touch pass from Elliott, lasering a shot just high of the right crossbar. Through 25 minutes, the trio of Ba, Elliott and Griffith unloaded nine of the team's 10 shots to that point, including five on target.

Griffith gave the Johnnies a prime set piece after drawing a foul outside the 18 at 28:47, eventually seeing Fleuriau Chateau rocket a low left-footed shot past the wall and on target but turned away by Kent Dickey.

Fleuriau Chateau and Ba rattled off three more chances with less than three minutes remaining in the half. The Johnnies' leading scorer headed a pair of shots toward the frame, seeing his first stopped at the left post by a Wildcats' defender and his second going just over the crossbar. Ba nearly bent home his second of the game from 20 yards out, but Dickey turned away his seventh shot of the half.

The Johnnies unloaded 18 shots in the first stanza to Villanova's four, seeing all of the home team's chances veer off target.

St. John's came out with the same fast pace in the second half, earning one of its nine corner kicks just 33 seconds into the frame.

Villanova (1-6-4, 1-3-1 BIG EAST) quickly adjusted and turned play in the other direction, eventually finding the equalizer from Branden Johns just 4:10 into the second half for a 1-1 deadlock.

St. John's put their foot on the gas pedal from that point forward, despite seeing chance after chance turned away over the next 15 minutes. Biggs almost scored his first goal with the Red Storm, heading a shot narrowly over the crossbar on a feed from Antequera Sanchez, but after review, was deemed no goal.

Following the lengthy video replay, Fleuriau Chateau took the lead just 1:52 later on a loose rebound deep in the six. After the redshirt junior forced a turnover near the sideline and regained his balance, he found an open Ba next to the penalty dot. The Louisville transfer ripped a shot off the post before the rebound was sent home by Fleuriau Chateau for a 2-1 lead.

In the 69^th minute with the Red Storm continuing to buzz, Griffith finally broke through. After Veltri found open terrain following a steal at midfield and saw his shot on target muffed by Dickey, Griffith knocked home the rebound for his first of the season and lifting the Johnnies to a 3-1 edge.

The Red Storm had numerous chances over the final 21 minutes, including a trio of shots in a span of 23 seconds, two of which off the foot of Martin Kozak, in the 77^th minute. Lamaille, Fleuriau Chateau and Kozak all posed multiple threats through the last 6:26 of the contest, each positioned well in the box but being denied on their respective scoring chances. The Johnnies went on to stave off Villanova for the two-goal triumph.

St. John's will return to Belson Stadium on Wednesday, Oct. 18, for a 7 p.m. match against Seton Hall.