St. John's University Athletics
Thursday, August 21
Philadelphia, Pa. (Temple Soccer Complex)
7 p.m.
St. John's University
at
Temple
Men’s Soccer to Begin 2025 Campaign at Temple
8/20/2025 4:35:00 PM | Men's Soccer
Red Storm and Owls kick-off from Philadelphia at 7 p.m. on ESPN+
QUEENS, N.Y. – The St. John's men's soccer team will kick-off the 2025 campaign on Thursday night when it takes on Temple on the road.
Thursday's season opener from the Temple Sports Complex in Philadelphia is set to begin at 7 p.m. The contest will be streamed on ESPN+. Matt Fine and Kevin Copp will be on the call from the City of Brotherly Love.
The Red Storm return to the pitch after capturing a Co-BIG EAST East Division Championship in 2024. The Johnnies finished with a 5-1-2 mark in league play and a 9-6-5 overall record and got hot down the stretch going 5-1-2 over their last eight matches, culminating with the program's first BIG EAST Tournament Semifinal appearance since 2019.
One of the most decorated coaches in all of college soccer, Dr. Dave Masur returns for his 35th season in Queens. Masur enters the 2025 campaign as the second winningest active coach in NCAA Division I Soccer with 459 career victories, five shy of Maryland's Sasho Cirovski (464). Last year, Masur earned his 400th career victory at St. John's, becoming just the seventh coach in NCAA Division I history to win 400-plus games at a singular school. While at the helm, Masur has guided St. John's to a conference-leading 16 BIG EAST Regular Season or Tournament titles, 22 NCAA Tournament appearances over the last 33 years, four College Cups and a National Championship in 1996.
Masur added Assistant Coach Richard Ongaro, who arrives from Saint Joseph's and will specialize in working with the goalkeepers and elevated longtime coach Seth Roland to the role of assistant coach during the offseason.
St. John's was picked to finish third in the BIG EAST East Division in the Preseason Coaches' poll, which was released on Tuesday morning. The Red Storm received 45 points in voting, which ranked it fifth amongst the 12-team conference. Last year, the Johnnies were predicted to finish third and went onto win the East Division alongside Providence.
Defender Antonio Biggs was tabbed to the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team, recognized as one of the top 11 players in the league heading into his final collegiate season. The honor marked the first for the Kingston, Jamaica native, who has started 32 of his 33 appearances averaging 86.4 minutes per game on the backline over his two seasons in Queens.
The Red Storm will return 10 players from last year's team including Biggs. 2023 All-BIG EAST Third Team selection Alec McLachlan will return between the pipes in Queens this year. The Stockport, England native has started 35 games in net for St. John's and holds a 1.09 GAA and eight shutouts during that span. Julian Jakopovic, who tied for the team lead in helpers (4) on a squad that ranked 31st in the country in total assists is back in the midfield for Masur. Veteran returning defenders Bjorn Nikolajewski and Markus Pustaheygi will fortify the experienced Red Storm backline.
The Johnnies additionally welcome a talented class of 24 newcomers comprised of NCAA Division I and junior college transfers and 12 freshmen. Among the additions are Jeremy Sharp (Michigan State), Jad Benjelloun (Iona), Ivar Na Aga (Young Harris College), Takuto Kawase (Cowley C.C.) a pair of Salt Lake Community College products in Igor Goncalves and Diego Vasquez and freshmen Andrew Porucznik from New Jersey and Guilherme Gomez out of Brazil.
Temple enters the 2025 campaign in the third year under Head Coach Bryan Green and is coming off a 5-7-5 overall record last season. The Owls were picked to finish ninth in the American Conference Preseason poll and key returners for the squad include include 2024 assist co-leader Lukas Egarter, Elliot Rigbert, and Charlie Votel, who led the team in shots and strikes on target a year ago.
St. John's leads the all-time series 4-0-0 heading into Thursday's meeting. In the last meeting on Sept. 11, 2023, the Red Storm demolished the Owls, 7-1, marking the program's highest single-game goal total against a Division I opponent since 1998. The previous three meetings cam consecutively from 2017-19, with the Johnnies finishing on top in all of them, including a 1-0 overtime victory in their last visit to Philadelphia on Sept. 8, 2018.
Following Thursday's opener, St. John's will face the first of five currently ranked opponents on its 2025 schedule when it visits No. 23 Hofstra for a 7 p.m. local showdown on Long Island.
Thursday's season opener from the Temple Sports Complex in Philadelphia is set to begin at 7 p.m. The contest will be streamed on ESPN+. Matt Fine and Kevin Copp will be on the call from the City of Brotherly Love.
The Red Storm return to the pitch after capturing a Co-BIG EAST East Division Championship in 2024. The Johnnies finished with a 5-1-2 mark in league play and a 9-6-5 overall record and got hot down the stretch going 5-1-2 over their last eight matches, culminating with the program's first BIG EAST Tournament Semifinal appearance since 2019.
One of the most decorated coaches in all of college soccer, Dr. Dave Masur returns for his 35th season in Queens. Masur enters the 2025 campaign as the second winningest active coach in NCAA Division I Soccer with 459 career victories, five shy of Maryland's Sasho Cirovski (464). Last year, Masur earned his 400th career victory at St. John's, becoming just the seventh coach in NCAA Division I history to win 400-plus games at a singular school. While at the helm, Masur has guided St. John's to a conference-leading 16 BIG EAST Regular Season or Tournament titles, 22 NCAA Tournament appearances over the last 33 years, four College Cups and a National Championship in 1996.
Masur added Assistant Coach Richard Ongaro, who arrives from Saint Joseph's and will specialize in working with the goalkeepers and elevated longtime coach Seth Roland to the role of assistant coach during the offseason.
St. John's was picked to finish third in the BIG EAST East Division in the Preseason Coaches' poll, which was released on Tuesday morning. The Red Storm received 45 points in voting, which ranked it fifth amongst the 12-team conference. Last year, the Johnnies were predicted to finish third and went onto win the East Division alongside Providence.
Defender Antonio Biggs was tabbed to the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team, recognized as one of the top 11 players in the league heading into his final collegiate season. The honor marked the first for the Kingston, Jamaica native, who has started 32 of his 33 appearances averaging 86.4 minutes per game on the backline over his two seasons in Queens.
The Red Storm will return 10 players from last year's team including Biggs. 2023 All-BIG EAST Third Team selection Alec McLachlan will return between the pipes in Queens this year. The Stockport, England native has started 35 games in net for St. John's and holds a 1.09 GAA and eight shutouts during that span. Julian Jakopovic, who tied for the team lead in helpers (4) on a squad that ranked 31st in the country in total assists is back in the midfield for Masur. Veteran returning defenders Bjorn Nikolajewski and Markus Pustaheygi will fortify the experienced Red Storm backline.
The Johnnies additionally welcome a talented class of 24 newcomers comprised of NCAA Division I and junior college transfers and 12 freshmen. Among the additions are Jeremy Sharp (Michigan State), Jad Benjelloun (Iona), Ivar Na Aga (Young Harris College), Takuto Kawase (Cowley C.C.) a pair of Salt Lake Community College products in Igor Goncalves and Diego Vasquez and freshmen Andrew Porucznik from New Jersey and Guilherme Gomez out of Brazil.
Temple enters the 2025 campaign in the third year under Head Coach Bryan Green and is coming off a 5-7-5 overall record last season. The Owls were picked to finish ninth in the American Conference Preseason poll and key returners for the squad include include 2024 assist co-leader Lukas Egarter, Elliot Rigbert, and Charlie Votel, who led the team in shots and strikes on target a year ago.
St. John's leads the all-time series 4-0-0 heading into Thursday's meeting. In the last meeting on Sept. 11, 2023, the Red Storm demolished the Owls, 7-1, marking the program's highest single-game goal total against a Division I opponent since 1998. The previous three meetings cam consecutively from 2017-19, with the Johnnies finishing on top in all of them, including a 1-0 overtime victory in their last visit to Philadelphia on Sept. 8, 2018.
Following Thursday's opener, St. John's will face the first of five currently ranked opponents on its 2025 schedule when it visits No. 23 Hofstra for a 7 p.m. local showdown on Long Island.
Players Mentioned
Midfielder
/ Men's Soccer
Defender
/ Men's Soccer
Midfielder
/ Men's Soccer
Midfielder
/ Men's Soccer
Midfielder/ Forward
/ Men's Soccer
Goalkeeper
/ Men's Soccer
Defender
/ Men's Soccer
Midfielder
/ Men's Soccer
Defender
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