St. John’s to Open 2024 Campaign at Rhode Island

Thursday, August 22

Kingston, R.I. (URI Soccer Complex)

7 p.m.

St. John's University

Rhode Island

8/21/2024 12:03:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Watch (ESPN+)Live Stats Game Notes (PDF)2024 Media Guide (PDF)

The Red Storm and Rams will square off for first time since 1983

QUEENS, N.Y. – The St. John's men's soccer team will make its 2024 season debut on the road against Rhode Island on Thursday. Match time is scheduled for 7 p.m. from the URI Soccer Complex.

Thursday's match will be streamed on ESPN+ and live stats will be available on RedStormSports.com.

Entering the 2024 slate, St. John's was picked third in the East Division and ranked sixth in overall voting in the BIG EAST Preseason Coaches Poll, following an 8-4-5 record in 2023. The Johnnies also posted a 3-1-4 record in league play.

The Red Storm will turn to several key returners this season to replace the 14 goals scored by Nicolas Fleuriau Chateau, who was drafted in the third round of the 2024 MLS SuperDraft by the Vancouver Whitecaps. Among the returners looking to add a scoring touch in the offensive third are Macoumba Ba and Miguel Diaz.

Ba, an All-BIG EAST Second Team selection in 2023, earned a spot on the conference's preseason team, as announced by the league on Monday. The Dakar, Senegal native is the team's top returning scorer from last season following a four-goal, six-assist showing in his first campaign with St. John's. Ba will look to be a scoring threat reeling in feeds from Diaz, who ranked 15^th in the nation with nine assists last season. Diaz was also named a "Breakout Player to Watch" in the BIG EAST by TopDrawerSoccer.com.

Defensively, the Red Storm will have a veteran presence on the back line with two-time BIG EAST Defender of the Week Thomas Lamaille returning for his second season. The Johnnies will also turn to experienced upperclassmen Antonio Biggs, Justin Kopay and Markus Pusztahegyi to work in tandem with a strong midfield, led by senior Eric Danquah and sophomore Camron Boumsong.

Junior netminder Alec McLachlan also returns for his second season with the Red Storm. The Stockport, England native will look to build off a strong 2023 campaign that featured four clean sheets and seven victories en route to an All-BIG EAST Third Team nod.

The Johnnies also loaded up with veteran transfers, bringing in Boston College product Augustine Boadi and a pair of defenders, Julian Jakopovic and Charlie Lucero, from Saint Francis. Boadi scored three goals and registered three assists in his two seasons with the Eagles. Jakopovic and Lucero bolstered the back line with the Red Flash, guiding the team to an NEC Regular Season Championship in 2023.

Embarking on his 34^th season at the helm, Head Coach Dr. David Masur is three wins away from reaching 400 total wins with the Red Storm. Masur is currently sitting at 397 victories with St. John's and will look to become the seventh men's soccer head coach in NCAA history to reach the 400-win plateau with a single Division I program. He can also become the second active Division I head coach with 400 victories with singular team in the NCAA's top level, joining Maryland's Sasho Cirovski (429).

The Red Storm has won three of its last five season openers, including a 2-1 road win against Lehigh on Aug. 24, 2023. Despite being down to 10 players for the final 23 minutes, Max McNulty netted the game-winner in the 75th minute for his second of the match. The English attacker became the first Red Storm player to record a brace in the season opener since Medufia Kulego against Fordham on Aug. 31, 1996.

St. John's is also four triumphs away from reaching the 500-win plateau in program history. The team is currently sitting at 496 victories entering the 2024 campaign.

The Johnnies and Rams will halt a 40-plus year hiatus when the two programs face off on Thursday. The two teams have not squared off since Sept. 15, 1983, a 4-1 victory in favor of Rhode Island. The Red Storm will look to even the head-to-head record, going 1-2-0 in previous matchups.

The Rams are coming off a 5-6-5 mark in 2023 while going 2-4-2 in the Atlantic 10. URI returns their top two point scorers from a year ago with six-goal scorer Brandon Bermingham and Isak Oystese, who tallied a pair of strikes and two assists. URI also has eight returners who started in at least eight of the team's 16 contests in 2023. As a squad, the Rams were ranked third in the nation in shutout percentage at .563, seeing senior goalkeeper Edu Rodriguez sit 19th in Division I with seven clean sheets last season.

Following Thursday's match, the Johnnies will return to Queens and make their 2024 Belson Stadium debut against Stony Brook on Sunday. Match time is scheduled for 7:30 p.m., and will be streamed on FloFC.