Saturday, October 24
South Orange, N.J. (Owen T. Carroll Field)
6 p.m.
St. John's University
at
Seton Hall
Photo by: Brenden Willsch Creative LLC
10/23/2026 11:43:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Crucial BIG EAST battle to kick off at 6 p.m. in South Orange
QUEENS, N.Y. – The St. John's men's soccer team will kick off the home stretch of its BIG EAST slate on Saturday night in South Orange, taking on the Seton Hall Pirates in a match with significant postseason implications for both sides.
Kick-off is set for 6 p.m. on ESPN+.
Both St. John's and Seton Hall enter the weekend with five points in the BIG EAST standings. If the season ended today, the Pirates and the Red Storm would be one point out of a tie for final spot in the BIG EAST Tournament, which will be held from Nov. 12-15 at Maryland SoccerPlex in Boyds, Md. The four-team conference tournament field will be compromised of the two division winners and then the next two highest point totals from the remaining 10 BIG EAST teams.
The Red Storm has earned a point in both of its BIG EAST road matches so far. The Red Storm played then-No. 4 Creighton to a 1-1 draw on Oct. 2 in Omaha before registering a scoreless draw with DePaul two weeks later in Chicago.
Tuesday's game at Maryland was the Red Storm's third contest against a ranked for in its last five opportunities. In total, St. John's has played four top-25 opponents in 2026.
Saturday's match has all the makings of a defensive battle, as Seton Hall's Devin Armstrong (7) and St. John's Nico Bezama (5) rank near the top of the BIG EAST in shutouts. Armstrong is tied for third nationally in that category while Bezama is tied for 22nd. Seton Hall has allowed just 12 goals in 13 games and is one of just 32 teams in the nation to boast a sub-one GAA.
Seton Hall is coming off a win in its non-conference finale, taking down Liberty, 2-0, on Tuesday night in South Orange. The Pirates outshot the Flames, 23-5, including a 13-1 edge in shots on goal. Sivert Ryssdalsnes and Timothy Valentine provided the scoring in the 52nd and 85th minutes, respectively, for Seton Hall.
Seton Hall found the back of the net just 11 times in 13 games. Three Pirates have scored two goals on the season: Ryssdalsnen, Valentine and Mikel Lejbowicz. Senior midfielder Nico Rubio is the team's leading point producer, tallying a goal and four assists on the campaign.
Armstrong has played every minute in goal this season for Seton Hall, posting a 0.92 goals against average and a .800 save percentage, the latter of which is good for 24th in Division I entering the weekend.
St. John's and Seton Hall will meet for the 50th time in a series that dates back to the inaugural year of St. John's Men's Soccer in 1979.
A fellow charter BIG EAST member, Seton Hall is the most frequently played opponent in St. John's history.
St. John's has won three of the last four meetings between the two teams. Last season, Seton Hall escaped Queens with a 1-0 victory despite the Red Storm owning an 11-5 shot advantage.
Kick-off is set for 6 p.m. on ESPN+.
Both St. John's and Seton Hall enter the weekend with five points in the BIG EAST standings. If the season ended today, the Pirates and the Red Storm would be one point out of a tie for final spot in the BIG EAST Tournament, which will be held from Nov. 12-15 at Maryland SoccerPlex in Boyds, Md. The four-team conference tournament field will be compromised of the two division winners and then the next two highest point totals from the remaining 10 BIG EAST teams.
The Red Storm has earned a point in both of its BIG EAST road matches so far. The Red Storm played then-No. 4 Creighton to a 1-1 draw on Oct. 2 in Omaha before registering a scoreless draw with DePaul two weeks later in Chicago.
Tuesday's game at Maryland was the Red Storm's third contest against a ranked for in its last five opportunities. In total, St. John's has played four top-25 opponents in 2026.
Saturday's match has all the makings of a defensive battle, as Seton Hall's Devin Armstrong (7) and St. John's Nico Bezama (5) rank near the top of the BIG EAST in shutouts. Armstrong is tied for third nationally in that category while Bezama is tied for 22nd. Seton Hall has allowed just 12 goals in 13 games and is one of just 32 teams in the nation to boast a sub-one GAA.
Seton Hall is coming off a win in its non-conference finale, taking down Liberty, 2-0, on Tuesday night in South Orange. The Pirates outshot the Flames, 23-5, including a 13-1 edge in shots on goal. Sivert Ryssdalsnes and Timothy Valentine provided the scoring in the 52nd and 85th minutes, respectively, for Seton Hall.
Seton Hall found the back of the net just 11 times in 13 games. Three Pirates have scored two goals on the season: Ryssdalsnen, Valentine and Mikel Lejbowicz. Senior midfielder Nico Rubio is the team's leading point producer, tallying a goal and four assists on the campaign.
Armstrong has played every minute in goal this season for Seton Hall, posting a 0.92 goals against average and a .800 save percentage, the latter of which is good for 24th in Division I entering the weekend.
St. John's and Seton Hall will meet for the 50th time in a series that dates back to the inaugural year of St. John's Men's Soccer in 1979.
A fellow charter BIG EAST member, Seton Hall is the most frequently played opponent in St. John's history.
St. John's has won three of the last four meetings between the two teams. Last season, Seton Hall escaped Queens with a 1-0 victory despite the Red Storm owning an 11-5 shot advantage.
Players Mentioned
GK
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