No. 22 St. John’s grabbed its first win since Sept. 15 with a decisive 3-0 victory over LaSalle last night.
In their first ever meeting against the Explorers (3-5-2), the Red Storm (6-4-1) scored all three goals in the second half.
“The guys were energetic, they want to keep playing,” head coach Dave Masur said. “That’s one of the biggest qualities of any great team.”
The Johnnies sprayed an array of shots midway through the first half, but came out empty handed each time. Their best opportunity appeared in the 26th minute when junior Jordan Rouse played off a cross from sophomore Danny Bedoya inside the box, only to find the keeper’s chest instead of the back of the net.
St. John’s seemed to finally nab a goal when Bedoya chipped the ball over the keeper. Instead of crossing the painted line, though, the ball was cleared by the last ditch effort of a LaSalle defender.
The Johnnies finally broke the scoreless draw in the 67th minute when sophomore Brandon Savino, assisted by Bedoya and senior Jimmy Mulligan, landed a header into the back post.
“Bedoya made a great run down the line across the defender,” Mulligan said. “I played a little slip in ball and he played an excellent ball to Savino on the back post.”
Junior Daniel Herrera gave the Red Storm the assurance goal in the 80th minute when he played off a rebound by the goalie into the lower left corner.
Sophomore Cody Albrecht added to the tally less than a minute later when he chipped the ball over the keeper’s reach, who was near midfield.
“I got the ball right before midfield and the keeper came off his line and didn’t handle it and Albrecht came in from behind and put it in,” Mulligan said.
When the Explorers entered St. John’s territory, Diaz and company held a solid backline on the other end of the field.
Recording his 27th career shutout, Diaz is now in sole possession of second place for most shutouts among active goal keepers.
“He’s been fantastic for us to have been a four year starter in our program,” Masur said. “It’s important that Diaz elevates his game even higher so that we’re ready to make a big run in the middle season.”
