The St. John’s men’s soccer team concluded their regular season with a 1-0 victory over Syracuse Friday evening on Senior Day.
Prior to the game, seniors Jack Bennett, Bjorn de Hoop and Andres Vargas were celebrated for their efforts and contributions to the team.
“Guys like Andres, Bjorn and Jack have all had to work hard and do the day-in-day-out stuff that made them better,” said St. John’s head coach Dave Masur. “We’re here to support them now and in the future.”
Both teams held each other scoreless in the first half. The Red Storm (10-3-4, 4-3-1) were the aggressive team throughout much of the first 45 minutes, but were unable to score because of the efforts of Syracuse (12-5-0, 5-3-0) keeper Alex Bono.
The Johnnies’ best chance came in the 31st minute when midfielder Nick Matthews, amidst a crowd of Orange defenders, recorded a shot on target, but was rejected by Bono.
The Orange gave the Johnnies a scare in the 73rd minute of the game when Tony Assante broke away from the defense, but his shot was saved by Rafael Diaz.
The Red Storm turned defense into offense and were able to take advantage of their opportunity in the 79th minute of the game.
Assisted by Danny Bedoya, Brandon Savino sent a shot inside the right post that could Bono couldn’t reach.
With the win, and because of a Cincinnati loss to Louisville, the Johnnies will receive the No. 3 seed in the Red Division for the BIG EAST Tournament and a first round bye.
They will begin defense of their BIG EAST championship title when they take on the Blue Division No. 3 seed, Georgetown.
