St. John’s Shuts Out UAlbany, 3-0

Sunday, September 1

Queens, N.Y. (Belson Stadium)

7:30 p.m.

St. John's University

2-1-1, 0-0-0

UAlbany

1-3-0, 0-0-0

UAlbany

St. John's (NY)

9/1/2024 10:46:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Highlights

The Red Storm brought in its largest attendance (1,081) since the 2022 season

QUEENS, N.Y. – A steady effort from the St. John's men's soccer team secured a 3-0 clean sheet against UAlbany in front of a crowd of 1,081 fans at Belson Stadium on Sunday evening.

The Red Storm's attendance number is the highest at home since bringing in 1,335 fans for its downing of Georgetown, 3-1, on Sept. 16, 2022. With the win, Head Coach Dr. David Masur secured his 399^th career victory at St. John's while the program celebrated its 498^th triumph.

Making his fourth-straight start, forward Martin Kozak netted the game-winner in the 38^th minute. The Chile native tallied his first career goal in Sunday's win, firing away a game-high four shots with two on frame. Freshman Dechlyn Hauge also found the back of the twine for his first collegiate goal, logging 21 minutes off the bench for the Red Storm.

For the second-straight match, senior midfielder Macoumba Ba registered a strike on a penalty kick, going 4-for-4 from the dot in his career. Ba also started the 2023 campaign with a pair of goals on penalty kicks.

Fellow classmates Thomas Lamaille and Eric Danquah were stellar in the midfield, each logging an assist and three shots in the contest. The latter also put two of his three shots on frame.

Both teams were held off the stat sheet until the 10^th minute when Lamaille broke free through the attacking third and ripped a shot just over the bar for the game's first attempt.

The Red Storm continued to apply pressure with a high-quality chance from Kozak four minutes later. The sophomore midfielder pickpocketed the Great Danes' defender inside the box and saw his shot from 15 yards out ricochet out of bounds.

Danquah found open terrain 10 minutes later and produced a prime scoring chance for St. John's. Lamaille broke down the right side and laced a cross into the box for the senior midfielder, heading a chance on frame but being stopped by the UAlbany defender in the 24^th minute.

St. John's broke through in the 38^th minute after Lamaille cut through open space and fed a wide-open Kozak streaking down the right side. The Santiago, Chile product took two touches inside the 18 and painted the top corner with a right-footed rocket from a sharp angle, beating the keeper on the near post for a 1-0 edge.

The Johnnies held the Great Danes without a shot for over 40 minutes to start the match. Goalkeeper Alec McLachlan turned away UAlbany's first chance on a low shot from Timo Jansen, pushing it out of play on the right post for one of his two stops on Sunday. The Stockport, England native recorded his first clean sheet of the season with the win.

The Johnnies took a 1-0 lead into the intermission while managing four shots, three corners and 61 percent of the possession through 45 minutes of action.

The Red Storm came out flying in the second half with Danquah rocketing a chance on target from just outside the 18 and forcing a corner set piece. Kozak bent a cross to the far post and off of Mateusz Marciniak's head from just outside the six-yard box. The noggin pass fell to the feet of Nigel Griffith, who saw his shot blocked from 12 yards out, only to have the rebound bounce to a wide-open Danquah for another low rip. Hauge took the shot off his knee, redirecting the chance into the back of the net for his first collegiate goal in the 47^th minute to give the Johnnies a 2-0 lead.

St. John's and UAlbany exchanged four shots apiece over the next 20 minutes with the Johnnies firing off three in 81 seconds. Lamaille and Diaz saw their two chances blocked before the French midfielder knocked his next shot wide right in the 62^nd minute.

Kozak nearly capitalized on a brace in the 71^st minute, lasering a right-footed attempt on target from just inside the 18 and reeling in his own rebound. The Johnnies' attacker found a wide-open Danquah at the top of the box and the Accra, Ghana native cracked his third shot of the contest towards the net, only to see the Santiago Frias dive in front and block the attempt. However, upon official review, the center judge called a handball on Frias in the box and granted the Johnnies a penalty kick. Ba, for the second time in as many games, slow-hopped toward the ball and fooled the keeper with a tap-in to the right side for a 3-0 advantage.

The Johnnies staved off the Great Danes over the final 25 minutes, allowing just one shot to secure the three-goal triumph. The Red Storm went on to outshoot UAlbany, 14-5, in the second half while logging three corners.

St. John's will head south to square off with No. 17 North Carolina on Friday. The match from Chapel Hill is slated for 7 p.m., and will be streamed on ACCNX.