St. John's University Athletics
Saturday, November 9
Queens, N.Y. (Belson Stadium)
5 p.m.
St. John's University
vs
#6 Seton Hall
Third-Seeded St. John’s to Open 2024 BIG EAST Soccer Championship Against Sixth-Seeded Seton Hall
11/8/2024 11:31:00 AM | Men's Soccer
The Red Storm holds a 2-1-1 advantage in the postseason against the Pirates
QUEENS, N.Y. – The 2024 BIG EAST East Division Co-Champion and third-seeded St. John's men's soccer team will begin their quest for a 10th postseason title when it opens the BIG EAST Soccer Championship on Saturday against sixth-seeded Seton Hall.
Kick-off from Belson Stadium is slated for 5 p.m. and live stats will be available on RedStormSports.com. The first 150 students to attend Saturday's contest will receive a free cookie, courtesy of RedZone. Fans who are also in attendance of Saturday's men's basketball game against Quinnipiac can also get into the quarterfinal matchup by showing their ticket at the gate.
The Red Storm (8-5-5, 5-1-2 BIG EAST) will look to build off of its recent success, going unbeaten in its last six matches with a 4-0-2 mark and conceding just four goals over that span. Excluding the team's 7-1 victory over CCNY on Monday, St. John's outscored its opponents, 9-3, with seven different goal scorers. Only Nigel Griffith and Martin Kozak have scored twice over the five-game stretch.
The Johnnies are fresh off a 2-0 victory over then-No. 18 Georgetown on Nov. 2, seeing Griffith register his first career brace after scoring both goals over a 2:13 span. The win marked the first against a ranked BIG EAST opponent at Belson Stadium since Sept. 20, 2019, when the team took down No. 19 Xavier, 3-1. The win was also the first clean sheet over a ranked opponent since downing then-No. 10 Georgetown, 1-0, on Oct. 28, 2017.
St. John's jumped into the top 35 nationally with 31 goals (35th), 33 assists (32nd) and 95 points (34th). The Red Storm is also 40th in the nation with 13.8 shots per game, good for third in BIG EAST. The Johnnies are also one of 16 teams in the nation to have a perfect penalty kick percentage and knock in four or more goals from the dot.
The Red Storm will make its 31st appearance in the BIG EAST Soccer Championship when it hosts its quarterfinal matchup for the second straight season on Saturday. The matchup marks the fifth time the Red Storm and Pirates will face off in the conference's postseason slate with the Johnnies holding a 2-1-1 advantage overall and a 1-0-1 mark in the quarterfinals.
The two teams will square off in a postseason match for the first time since Nov. 7, 2007, when the Red Storm advanced on penalty kicks (3-2) after posting a 2-2 draw on the Pirates. Nelson Becerra, Omar Alfonso, and Alexandre Ivo all found the back of the net in the shootout while keeper Neal Kitson made two saves.
Saturday's quarterfinal will mark the 48th all-time meeting between the two programs with the Red Storm holding a 27-15-5 advantage. St. John's clinched its spot in the conference postseason with its 1-0 road victory over Seton Hall on Oct. 23. Kozak booted home the lone goal from the penalty dot in the 25th minute.
The Pirates (11-5-1, 4-3-1 BIG EAST) enter Saturday's slate fresh off a 1-0 victory against Villanova, moving to 8-1 at home and finishing the regular season with an 11-5-1 mark. The Pirates' lone home setback came at the hands of St. John's on Oct. 23.
Seton Hall has dominated the opposition in goals (22-16), shots (182-149), shots on goal (83-62) and corners (96-79). The Pirates' keepers Soren Jensen and Matias Molina have combined for eight clean sheets and a 0.94 goals against average. Jensen posted a 6-2-0 mark between the pipes, dropping his final two starts, including the team's loss to the Red Storm.
Seton Hall finished the regular season third in the BIG EAST with a 45.6 percent shot accuracy. The Pirates are also 13th in the nation with a .471 shutout percentage.
The winner of Saturday's contest will advance to the semifinals and face the winner of second-seed Providence and seventh-seeded UConn on Thursday in Boyds, Md., at Maryland SoccerPlex. Kick-off from the neutral site is slated for 5 p.m.
Kick-off from Belson Stadium is slated for 5 p.m. and live stats will be available on RedStormSports.com. The first 150 students to attend Saturday's contest will receive a free cookie, courtesy of RedZone. Fans who are also in attendance of Saturday's men's basketball game against Quinnipiac can also get into the quarterfinal matchup by showing their ticket at the gate.
The Red Storm (8-5-5, 5-1-2 BIG EAST) will look to build off of its recent success, going unbeaten in its last six matches with a 4-0-2 mark and conceding just four goals over that span. Excluding the team's 7-1 victory over CCNY on Monday, St. John's outscored its opponents, 9-3, with seven different goal scorers. Only Nigel Griffith and Martin Kozak have scored twice over the five-game stretch.
The Johnnies are fresh off a 2-0 victory over then-No. 18 Georgetown on Nov. 2, seeing Griffith register his first career brace after scoring both goals over a 2:13 span. The win marked the first against a ranked BIG EAST opponent at Belson Stadium since Sept. 20, 2019, when the team took down No. 19 Xavier, 3-1. The win was also the first clean sheet over a ranked opponent since downing then-No. 10 Georgetown, 1-0, on Oct. 28, 2017.
St. John's jumped into the top 35 nationally with 31 goals (35th), 33 assists (32nd) and 95 points (34th). The Red Storm is also 40th in the nation with 13.8 shots per game, good for third in BIG EAST. The Johnnies are also one of 16 teams in the nation to have a perfect penalty kick percentage and knock in four or more goals from the dot.
The Red Storm will make its 31st appearance in the BIG EAST Soccer Championship when it hosts its quarterfinal matchup for the second straight season on Saturday. The matchup marks the fifth time the Red Storm and Pirates will face off in the conference's postseason slate with the Johnnies holding a 2-1-1 advantage overall and a 1-0-1 mark in the quarterfinals.
The two teams will square off in a postseason match for the first time since Nov. 7, 2007, when the Red Storm advanced on penalty kicks (3-2) after posting a 2-2 draw on the Pirates. Nelson Becerra, Omar Alfonso, and Alexandre Ivo all found the back of the net in the shootout while keeper Neal Kitson made two saves.
Saturday's quarterfinal will mark the 48th all-time meeting between the two programs with the Red Storm holding a 27-15-5 advantage. St. John's clinched its spot in the conference postseason with its 1-0 road victory over Seton Hall on Oct. 23. Kozak booted home the lone goal from the penalty dot in the 25th minute.
The Pirates (11-5-1, 4-3-1 BIG EAST) enter Saturday's slate fresh off a 1-0 victory against Villanova, moving to 8-1 at home and finishing the regular season with an 11-5-1 mark. The Pirates' lone home setback came at the hands of St. John's on Oct. 23.
Seton Hall has dominated the opposition in goals (22-16), shots (182-149), shots on goal (83-62) and corners (96-79). The Pirates' keepers Soren Jensen and Matias Molina have combined for eight clean sheets and a 0.94 goals against average. Jensen posted a 6-2-0 mark between the pipes, dropping his final two starts, including the team's loss to the Red Storm.
Seton Hall finished the regular season third in the BIG EAST with a 45.6 percent shot accuracy. The Pirates are also 13th in the nation with a .471 shutout percentage.
The winner of Saturday's contest will advance to the semifinals and face the winner of second-seed Providence and seventh-seeded UConn on Thursday in Boyds, Md., at Maryland SoccerPlex. Kick-off from the neutral site is slated for 5 p.m.
Players Mentioned
Forward
/ Men's Soccer
Midfielder
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