The St. John’s men’s soccer team will be making yet another appearance in the NCAA tournament.

The Red Storm (10-4-4, 4-3-1) were handed an at-large bid despite their 2-1 loss at Georgetown in the quarterfinals of the Big East tournament on Nov. 3. The Johnnies will be pitted against the Farleigh Dickinson Knights (9-5-6) in the first round.

“We’re really excited and it’s a great opportunity and an honour to play in the tournament,” said St. John’s head coach Dr. Dave Masur. “[The team] is energized and excited and we’re ready to play.”

This will be Masur’s 19th NCAA tournament appearance since being named head coach in 1991. He won a national championship in 1996 and reached the College Cup on three other occasions – in 2001, 2003 and 2008.

One of Masur’s most accomplished seniors, Jack Bennett, will lead the Johnnies into their match with FDU. Despite being handed a more defensive role this season, he leads the team in goals with five, three of which have been game-winners. He also leads the team in total points with 14. Senior Andres Vargas and junior Nick Matthews each have four goals and 11 points on the season.

The Johnnies will head into the FDU match high on confidence as the game will be played at Belson Stadium – where they went 6-1-2 this season, only losing to USF.

The opening goal of the match will be crucial for the Red Storm, as they are 6-0-0 when leading at the half and 10-0-0 when scoring first, as opposed to a 0-4-1 record when trailing at halftime.

The Big East will be well-represented in the NCAA tournament this year. Syracuse, Villanova, USF, Connecticut, Georgetown, Notre Dame, and Louisville will join the Red Storm as the eight conference teams in the competition. Notre Dame (14-3-1), the 2012 Big East tournament champions, was named the No. 1 overall seed.
Masur’s men will take to the pitch at 7 p.m. on Nov. 15 at Belson.