St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
2-1-1, 0-0-0
No. 5 Wake Forest
2-0-1, 0-0-0
St. John’s Earns Impressive Draw at No. 5 Wake Forest, 0-0
8/31/2025 9:52:00 PM | Men's Soccer
Red Storm earn first road result against top-five opponent since Oct. 10, 2009
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The St. John's men's soccer team (2-1-1, 0-0 BIG EAST) battled No. 5 Wake Forest (2-0-1, 0-0 ACC) to a scoreless draw on the road on Sunday night.
The Red Storm's tied marked its first result against a top-five ranked opponent on the road since it drew then-No. 3 USF, 1-1, after double-overtime on Oct. 10, 2009.
The Johnnies become just the second team to shutout the Demon Deacons at Spry Stadium dating back to Nov. 5, 2023. The Red Storm outshot its hosts, 8-4 over the final 45 minutes.
Alec McLachlan strung together a stellar performance logging his third shutout of the season. The senior made four saves as St. John's starts a season with three clean sheets in its first four matches since the 2019 campaign, when the Johnnies jumped out a 7-0-0 record to start the season. The Stockport, England native now holds a 0.50 GAA and a .818 save percentage through four games.
Xavi Abeijon led all players with a season-high five shot attempts on Sunday night in Winston-Salem. Gabe Smyth tallied a pair of strikes while six other players registered a shot in Sunday's tie. Wake Forest outshot St. John's by just one attempt, 14-13.
In the early going, Abeijon delivered St. John's first shot of the game leaving his feet going fully parallel to the grass to register a diving header off of a corner from Jeremy Sharp that sailed just wide right.
The Demon Deacons created their first threatening chance in the 23rd minute as Wake Forest's Harvey Saraijan's drive with just McLachlan to beat skidded wide for a goal kick.
As Wake Forest continued to dial up the attacking pressure, the Demon Deacons created another one-on-one with Jeffery White blasting a strike toward the right side of the net that McLachlan deflected with his right leg rocketing the ball in the other direction.
The Demon Deacons had a look on goal once again as a combination play led to a close-range strike as McLachlan came up huge again deflecting the shot off his body and out of bounds.
St. John's came up with the final chance of the initial 45 minutes. Luca Fargnoli, fresh off his first career goal fired a shot while drifting towards the left side of the 18-yard box. The attempt floated over the crossbar in the 43rd minute.
The two sides went to the dressing level deadlocked at 0-0 through the opening 45 minutes at Spry Stadium. The Demon Deacons led in the shot category after the first half, 10-5.
In the second half, the shot production decreased on both sides with only one strikes in first 25 minutes of the latter frame.
The Red Storm generated an opportunity after earning a corner following a deflected shot attempt from Ivar Nå Aga. Julian Jakopovic provided the service as Antonio Biggs directed a header into a wall of Demon Deacon defenders. The defender corralled the rebound firing another drive toward the net but once again went into the waiting Demon Deacons' backline.
The home side ramped up its attacking prowess once again delivering another strike wide of the far post. In the 76th minute, the Demon Deacons were in an offside position as a goal off a set piece was disallowed.
Just shortly after, Gabin Thomelier battled through contact while on the ground to garner possession on the edge of the box. The Rennes, France native gained control and delivered a centering pass to Abeijon. The freshman settled the pass with a first touch and grounded a line drive just outside of the post.
Smyth recorded each of his two shot attempts in the final 10 minutes as the second was corralled by Jonah Mednard in the 87thminute. Neither side came up with a glaring opportunity in the closing minutes as the matched ended in a scoreless draw.
St. John's will face its second-straight top-five opponent when it hosts No. 2 Marshall on Friday night at 7 p.m. at Cox Family Field at Belson Stadium.
