St. John’s Ties Creighton, 2-2, Earns Fourth Seed in BIG EAST Tournament

Saturday, October 28

Queens, N.Y. (Belson Stadium)

2 p.m.

St. John's University

8-3-5, 3-1-4

Creighton

4-6-6, 3-3-2

Creighton

St. John's (NY)

St. John’s Ties Creighton, 2-2, Earns Fourth Seed in BIG EAST Tournament

10/28/2023 5:45:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Red Storm will host fifth-seeded UConn in the opening round on Saturday, Nov. 4 at 6 p.m.

QUEENS, N.Y. – The St. John's men's soccer team clinched the fourth seed in the BIG EAST Tournament after its 2-2 draw with Creighton on Senior Day at Belson Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

St. John's (8-3-5, 3-1-4 BIG EAST) will remain in the Big Apple for the start of the conference tournament as it will take on fifth-seeded UConn at Belson Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 4, at 6 p.m.

Nicolas Fleuriau Chateau registered his third brace of the season after scoring his 13^th and 14^th goals of the year against the Bluejays. The redshirt junior moved into a four-way tie for fifth on St. John's single-season goals leaderboard, tying Medufia Kulego (1996), Shalrie Joseph (2000) and Simone Salinno (2003) with 14 on the year. Fleuriau Chateau also jumped into a tie with Akron's Jason Shokalook for the BIG EAST's top spot, while both matched Luis Flores of Oral Roberts for the NCAA lead in goals.

Sophomore Miguel Diaz found himself on the scoresheet with his ninth assist of the campaign, providing a helper on Fleuriau Chateau's first goal. It marked the fifth time this season that Diaz set the forward up for a strike. Teammates Nigel Griffith and Connor Mucchetti also tallied a helper in the contest.

St. John's has not lost in eight straight games, going 4-0-4 since Sept. 20. The Red Storm also moved to 5-5-4 all-time against Creighton (4-6-6, 3-3-2 BIG EAST).

The Bluejays controlled possession through the opening 15 minutes, logging a pair of shots, including one on target in the sixth minute that was turned away by goalkeeper Alec McLachlan.

Fleuriau Chateau made an immediate impact upon entering the contest in the 19^th minute, helping the Johnnies unload seven quality chances over the next 9:42. The Canadian striker broke past the Creighton backline on a stretch pass from Eric Danquah and pushed his shot just past the left post in the 20^th minute. The Johnnies' leading goal scorer nearly punched home another opportunity two minutes later on a one-touch pass from Diaz outside the six but was turned away by the Creighton goalkeeper.

Three minutes later, junior Macoumba Ba cut into the left side of the box and around his defender before bending a shot off the crossbar at 23:43. Colin Veltri also ricocheted an opportunity off the top of the frame from the right sideline at 25:06.

Fleuriau Chateau finally broke through for the Johnnies in the 29^th minute after Diaz tapped a through ball to the Red Storm forward. The Ottawa, Ontario native deked the Creighton defender with a hard stop inside the 18 before curling a left-footed shot into the top right corner for a 1-0 lead.

After a quiet 10 minutes, both squads produced a flurry of opportunities in the final five of the half. Mucchetti and Griffith connected at midfield before the latter sent Fleuriau Chateau through the middle, seeing the striker tap home his second goal of the game, 2-0, in the 41^st minute.

Creighton quickly responded with a goal of their own just 1:07 later as Alfie Pope knocked home a cross from Jackson Castro at 41:14. The Johnnies took a 2-1 leading into intermission after unloading nine shots in the opening frame while holding Creighton to just three.

The Bluejays knotted the game at two just five minutes into the second half as Miguel Arilla netted the equalizer at 50:00.

St. John's unleashed an onslaught of chances over a span of 3:07, beginning with a blocked shot on a Fleuriau Chateau chance. Shortly after, Veltri ripped a high shot at 60:03, followed by chances from Ba and Thomas Lamaille in the 62^nd minute. Ba nearly gave the Red Storm the lead at 62:18, booting a low chance off a feed from Fleuriau Chateau inside the 18, but seeing his shot knocked away.

The Johnnies staved off a final push from Creighton in the last 10 minutes of the contest, steering away four shot attempts in total to hold on for the 2-2 tie.

The Red Storm outshot Creighton, 19-12, while taking more corners with five to the Bluejays' two.