No. 14/11 St. John’s continued their struggles playing away from home with a 1-2 loss to Fairleigh Dickinson on Tuesday night. In a rematch of last year’s first round of the NCAA tournament, the Knights (6-3-0, 0-0-0) again edged the Red Storm (5-3-1, 0-1-1) with a penalty kick in overtime.
The first half found itself to be a scoreless affair, with both teams looking to play a possession-heavy type of game in their 4-4-2 lineups.
Neither team was able to gain any sort of momentum in the first 45 minutes of action with both defenses holding their own.
Sophomore Danny Bedoya, trying to establish an aggressive approach early on, found himself with his greatest opportunity to score in the first half during the eighth minute.
Outmaneuvering Fairleigh Dickinson’s defenders, Bedoya sent a shot out 25 yards back but was unable to trouble the Knights’ goal keeper.
Fairleigh Dickinson had little going for them in the first half, including three failed corner kick opportunities. Backed by senior Rafael Diaz in the net, the Johnnies were able to clear the ball from the box each time.
The Knights opened up the second half, applying pressure to the St. John’s back four, forcing Diaz to make a save from a shot sent 30 yards out.
Fairleigh Dickinson was able to break the 0-0 tie in the sixty-fifth minute of the game when striker Nico Wright played a header off a cross to send it past the
experienced Diaz.
The Red Storm looked hapless as the game neared to a close, but sophomore Sean Sepe played a low cross off junior David Herrera to chip the ball above the opposing keeper’s reach in the
eighty-seventh minute. The equalizer marks Sepe’s fifth goal of the season.
The Knights controlled the possession in the first overtime, and broke the tie in the ninety-seventh minute when they drew a foul inside the box, allowing for a penalty kick. Diaz guessed the direction of the penalty kick shot correctly, but could not get his reach long enough as the ball found the back of the lower left net.
Not having won a game since September 15, the Johnnies will look to turn their fortunes around on Oct. 5 when they host Big East opponent Providence.
