Men’s Soccer Prepares for NCAA Tournament First Round at West Virginia on Thursday Night

Thursday, November 20

Morgantown, W.Va. (Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium)

7 p.m.

St. John's University

West Virginia

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Photo by: Vincent Dusovic

Men’s Soccer Prepares for NCAA Tournament First Round at West Virginia on Thursday Night

11/19/2025 2:45:00 PM | Men's Soccer

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Dr. Dave Masur to lead the Red Storm in its 23rd NCAA Tournament appearance

QUEENS, N.Y. (Nov. 19, 2025) – The St. John's men's soccer team (9-5-4, 3-3-2 BIG EAST) will face West Virginia (12-4-3, 7-2-0 Sun Belt) in the NCAA Tournament First Round on Thursday night at 7 p.m.

St. John's earned an at-large bid into the 2025 NCAA Men's Soccer Tournament on Monday, marking the program's 23^rdappearance in the last 33 years. The Red Storm will meet the Mountaineers in Morgantown at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ with Nick Farrell and Adam Zundell on the call. To purchase tickets, click here.

The Johnnies qualify for their first NCAA Tournament since 2021 after a 9-5-4 record during the regular season. The resume includes a win over then-No. 19 Akron and draws against a pair of top-five opponents in then-No.5 Wake Forest and then-No. 2 Marshall. Seven of the 17 teams NCAA Division I opponents the Red Storm faced during the year qualified for the NCAA Tournament and the squad held a 5-4-2 record against the RPI Top-100. Five BIG EAST teams landed in the 48-team field, tying the five selected in 2021 for the most since realignment.

St. John's will make its 23^rd all-time appearance in the NCAA Tournament on Thursday night all under the direction of Head Coach Dr. Dave Masur. The second winningest active coach in NCAA Division I has guided the program to 12 NCAA Round of 16 appearances, four college cups (1996, 2001, 2003, 2008) and won the 1996 National Championship. The Johnnies own a 28-21-1 all-time record in the NCAA Tournament and have logged three straight opening round victories.

In its last time out, the Red Storm shattered a program record for goals scored and margin of victory after a 10-0 rout of CCNY on Nov. 9. Six different players recorded goals as Jad Benjelloun, Godwin Partey and Xavi Abeijon tallied braces at Cox Family Field at Belson Stadium. The Johnnies outshot the Beavers, 38-5, in the dominant victory to close the regular season.

Offensively, St. John's has been paced by BIG EAST Freshman of the Year Guilherme Gomes, who has tallied team-high's of eight goals, 18 points, three game-winning goals, 28 shots and 15 shots on target. The Sao Paulo, Brazil native became the fourth player to be named the conference's rookie of the year. The midfielder ranks seventh amongst freshman with eight total goals and is one of four players to record a four-goal game this season.

Bjorn Nikolajewski was tabbed to the All-BIG EAST First Team after leading the Red Storm backline. The graduate student missed the first six games of the season due to injury before making an instant impact ranking second on the team with three goals. The team captain guides a defensive unit that has allowed just 53 shots on target and have not conceded more than two goals in any game this season. Alec McLachlan has tallied 0.99 goals against average and five shutouts this season. Godwin Partey was the second member of the Red Storm backline to earn All-BIG EAST honors landing on the conference's third team.

The Johnnies have three players that rank top-six in the conference in total assists in Gabin Thomelier (6), Julian Jakopovic (5) and Jeremy Sharp (5). The Red Storm have recorded 33 goals on the year.

The Red Storm and Mountaineers will meet for the 16^th time and the first ever meeting in the NCAA Tournament. The Johnnies lead the all-time series 10-3-2 and Thursday marks the first contest between the two teams since 2014.

The two sides have previously met three times in the postseason, all in the BIG EAST Tournament. The last came on Nov. 6, 2011 in Morgantown as St. John's defeated West Virginia, 2-0 en route to winning its ninth BIG EAST Tournament Championship. In 2006, the two met in the BIG EAST Tournament Championship match as the Johnnies topped the Mountaineers, 1-0, in overtime on Nov. 6, 2006 at Rutgers.

West Virginia enters the NCAA Tournament with a 12-4-3 record and a 7-2 mark in the Sun Belt Conference and were ranked No. 17 in the most recent United Soccer Coaches Top 25 poll.  The Mountaineers boast one of the highest powered offenses in the country ranking atop the Sun Belt and top-25 nationally in assists (39), goals (39), shots on goal per game (7.3), corner kicks per game (7.9) and total points (117).

The Mountaineers are directed by Head Coach Dan Stratford, who has registered a 55-18-22 record as the lead man on the sideline makes his fourth NCAA Tournament appearance in five years at the helm. West Virginia is led by Sun Belt Player of the Year Marcus Caldiera, who ranks 12^th in NCAA Division I with 27 points on the year.

The winner of Thursday's match will advance to the NCAA Tournament Second Round to face 10^th-seeded High Point on Sunday night at 7:30 p.m. in North Carolina.