St. John’s Drops BIG EAST Opener at Xavier

Friday, September 20

Cincinnati, Ohio (Corcoran Field)

7 p.m.

St. John's University

2-2-4, 0-1-0

Xavier

3-2-3, 1-0-0

St. John's

Xavier

9/20/2024 9:25:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Red Storm outshot Musketeers, 16-6, to go with five corners

CINCINNATI, Ohio – The St. John's men's soccer team fell in its BIG EAST opener, 1-0, at Xavier at Corcoran Field on Friday.

Senior midfielders Macoumba Ba and Eric Danquah registered six shots apiece in Friday's affair, accounting for 75 percent of the team's attempts. Ba also recorded two of the squad's three shots on frame.

The Johnnies outshot Xavier, 16-6, in the contest while producing five corners.

Ba got the Red Storm (2-3-3) going in the opening stanza with the game's first attempt in the fourth minute. The Senegal native cut into the box from the left side and ripped a right-footed shot that was blocked.

Danquah nearly rocketed home the first goal of the game after settling a feed at the top of the box. The shifty midfielder took one touch before firing an attempt just over the crossbar in the eighth minute.

Xavier (3-2-3) surged over the next 10 minutes with a high press in the Red Storm's defensive zone. Midfielder Cooper Forcellini knocked down a pass from George Waites and bent a 20-foot shot from the left side of the box into the top right corner to give the Musketeers a 1-0 lead.

The Johnnies started to pressure Xavier's backline shortly after the goal, forcing eight shots in a seven-minute span. Ba logged the first shot of the onslaught before a pair of Danquah opportunities and a Miguel Diaz chance were all blocked inside the 18-yard box. Godwin Partey, who made his first start of the season, and Ba each registered a sharp-angle shot on frame before Camron Boumsong headed an attempt just over the crossbar in the 29^th minute.

Red Storm goalkeeper Alec McLachlan battled between the pipes through the first 45 minutes. The Stockport, England native turned away three shots in the first half and prevented several crosses from reaching their end destination.

The biggest save of the half came from the Red Storm's Partey with under three minutes to play. The senior midfielder positioned himself at the goal line alongside McLachlan and blocked Xavier's Brandon Osterholt shot from the top of the box with his knee, preventing the Musketeers from doubling its lead heading into intermission.

St. John's outshot Xavier, 10-4, in the opening frame while logging four corners through 45 minutes of action.

The Johnnies' attack continued to pester the Musketeers early in the second half. Ba cut past two defenders and lasered a shot on frame that forced Jonny Mennell to make a diving stop in the 54^th minute.

The Red Storm defense held the Musketeers without a shot over the first 18 minutes of the second stanza before McLachlan stopped his fourth and final attempt of the evening on a shot from George Waites in the 63^rd minute.

St. John's battled in the final 20 minutes of the contest, rattling off chance after chance late. Diaz fired a shot high in the 71^st minute while Danquah rushed into open space from midfield and rocketed a right-footed shot from 18 yards out, putting the chance just wide of the right post nearly three minutes after. Ba and Danquah exchanged shots but Xavier clogged the inside and blocked both attempts entering the 81^st minute.

With just under five minutes to play, the Red Storm had several chances to knock in the equalizer. The Johnnies nearly found twine off a set piece with Antonio Biggs cutting through the six-yard box and getting a foot on the cross, only to see his attempt stopped and punted aside. St. John's repeatedly sent crosses into the box but Xavier cleared away each chance to hold on for the one-goal win.

The Red Storm will return home for a midweek match against Penn State at Belson Stadium on Tuesday. Kick-off from Queens is scheduled for 7 p.m. and will be streamed on ESPN+.