St. John’s to Face Creighton on Senior Day

QUEENS, N.Y. – The St. John's men's soccer team will close out the regular season in a 2 p.m. contest on Saturday when Creighton comes to Queens for Senior Day at Belson Stadium.

Senior Day festivities are slated to start at approximately 1:40 p.m. on Saturday. The regular season finale will be streamed on BIG EAST Digital Network on FloFC with Jonathan Yardley on the call. Live stats will also be available at RedStormSports.com.

Saturday is also Alumni Day at Belson Stadium as former St. John's players will return to campus for an alumni game at 4:30 p.m. 1996 National Champion Ben Hickey will also be inducted into the St. John's Hall of Fame this weekend after an illustrious career in Queens.

St. John's (8-3-4, 3-1-3 BIG EAST) punched its ticket into the BIG EAST Tournament following conference action last weekend. The Johnnies can finish as high as third and no lower than seventh after its contest with Crieghton. No team will receive a bye in the opening round after the league implemented an eight-team tournament with the addition of Akron. The top team in each division will earn the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds, the next six teams will be determined based on points.

With a win against Creighton and a non-victory for either Providence or UConn, St. John's will host its opening round contest of the BIG EAST Tournament on Saturday, Nov. 4 as the third or fourth seed. With a draw against the Bluejays, the Red Storm can still host as the fourth seed with help, needing a UConn loss or a Huskies draw and an Akron win.

The Johnnies are coming off a 1-1 draw against No. 8 Georgetown on Wednesday, boosting St. John's into the national conversation after receiving two votes in the latest United Soccer Coaches' Poll. The Red Storm currently sits 42nd in RPI, which ranks third among BIG EAST schools.

Nicolas Fleuriau Chateau found the back of the cage for the third straight game and the eighth time in 10 contests with his strike from Macoumba Ba and Eric Danquah in the team's draw against the Hoyas. Despite allowing just his fourth goal in the last seven games (4-0-3), goalkeeper Alec McLachlan and the Red Storm back line to just five shots in total over the final 88 minutes of the game.

Head Coach Dr. David Masur is quickly approaching the 400-win plateau with St. John's, sitting at 397 victories in Queens. The program is also nearing the 500-win mark, sitting four victories short of the threshold at 496.

The Red Storm will look to break the 5-5-3 tie against Creighton when the two teams meet for the 14th time since their inaugural contest in the 1996 NCAA College Cup.

Over the last five games with the Bluejays, the Johnnies hold a 4-0-1 advantage, including a 2-0 victory in its last meeting in Queens on Sept. 24, 2021. St. John's saw a pair of second-half goals from Wesley Leggett and Atila Ashrafi while Luka Gavran earned the clean sheet with five saves.

Despite a 4-6-5 record overall, the Bluejays have had success in conference play with a 3-3-1 mark, earning a pair of ranked wins against No. 13 Marquette, 2-1, and No. 7 Akron, 3-2.

Creighton narrowly escaped its meeting against Akron after going up 3-0 through the first 88 minutes before the Zips unloaded two goals in the final 1:59.

Alfie Pope has been the Bluejays' top goal scorer this season, posting six through his 15 starts. Giorgio Probo (7), Jackson Castro (5) and Miguel Arilla (4) have been stellar in the assist department, logging 16 of the team's 22 helpers.

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Players Mentioned

Atila Ashrafi

Macoumba Ba

Eric Danquah

Nicolas Fleuriau Chateau

Wesley Leggett

Alec McLachlan

St. John's University Athletics