The St. John’s men’s soccer team’s season ended on Tuesday night following a 1-0 loss to Fairleigh Dickinson University in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
The Red Storm (10-5-4), who received an at-large bid to enter the tournament, stumbled in their first hurdle against the Northeast Conference Champions despite controlling the tempo of the match for much of the 90 minutes.
“We created some reasonable chances, we had most of the game our way but we just were not able to get a goal in,“ said St. John’s head coach Dr. Dave Masur. “We give great credit to FDU, they were strong in the back.”
The teams went back and forth throughout most of the first half, but neither was able to capitalize. The Johnnies had an opportunity as early as the 11th minute when senior Jack Bennett’s cross failed to connect with freshman Jordan Rouse.
FDU (10-5-6) landed the only goal of the game in the 36th minute after Antony Moore pounced onto a ball that rebounded off of the Red Storm’s second team All-Big East defender Tim Parker and fired home.
Despite the goal, the Red Storm came out strong in the second half.
The Johnnies’ best opportunity came in the 56th minute when Bennett crossed to Sean Sepe, who failed to unleash a shot on goal before an FDU player could block it.
Even in defeat, though, Masur managed to take out positives from the loss.
“We’re happy with the program, with our players, with the energy they bring to practice and the game,” Masur said. “For the most part, when people come to a St. John’s game they see a team that works hard and shares the ball. We play an exciting game. It doesn’t always bring home a W but it builds trust and character.”
