The St. John’s Men’s Soccer team (7-5-5) earned a victory against No. 18 Georgetown on Nov. 2 at Belson Stadium and with it a top-three finish in the Big East, tying Providence College for the No. 1 spot in the East Division
The team held their annual senior night ceremony before the matchup. Seniors and fifth-year players Nigel Griffith, Antonio Biggs, Macoumba Ba, Eric Danquah, Godwin Partey, Justin Kopay and Emmanuel Smalios were honored before kickoff.
Both teams had the opportunity to earn a Co-Big East East Division Title, which translated to some extra ferocity on the field. The first half was a tight matchup, with neither team looking particularly threatening. Georgetown had one promising chance in the 31st minute after the referee did not give a potential penalty following a video review. The teams entered halftime with zero corners and zero shots.
The Red Storm started the second half by substituting junior midfielder Jackson Gould and sophomore midfielder Tyler Morck for fifth-year forward Nigel Griffith and senior midfielder Eric Danquah. It did not take long into the second half for both teams to record their first shots.
The game’s most important moment came in the 55th minute after Danquah drew a foul in the box, and after review, the referee confirmed a penalty for the Johnnies. Griffith assumed the responsibility and scored the goal, giving St. John’s a 1-0 lead.
Two minutes later junior midfielder Julian Jakopovic played a beautiful through ball into fellow junior midfielder Augustine Boadi, who squared it to Griffith to finish the swift build-up with his second goal of the game in the 57th minute. Griffith now has three goals on the season.
With the two-goal lead, the Johnnies gained control of the game, but the Hoyas had their chances to get back into it. The ball fell to Georgetown junior midfielder Zach Zengue, who forced an exceptional save from St. John’s junior goalkeeper Alec McLachlan.
Towards the end of the game, the physicality of the contest increased. St. John’s sophomore midfielder Camron Boumsong picked up a yellow card after tripping a Georgetown player to stop a counterattack in the 71st minute. Jakopovic would join Boumsong in the referee’s book in the 88th minute after a minor altercation with an opponent after the whistle.
The Johnnies saw out the rest of the game with no hiccups. St. John’s improved to undefeated in their last five outings with the 2-0 win.
The Red Storm’s top three Big East finish means they will host Seton Hall in the quarterfinals of the Big East Tournament on Nov. 8, after finishing up their regular season against the City College of New York on Nov.4.
