With Big East Tournament play beginning this weekend for St. John’s Men’s Soccer team, the 2023 season was built on hot and cold streaks. Going 8-3-5 and 3-1-4 in conference play,  the season was marked by star performers pulling the Johnnies through it all. 

Coach David Masur’s Johnnies’ started their season with a win against Lehigh on Aug. 24, and went on to win the next three out of five games. They capped this run with a resounding 7-1 victory against Temple on Sept. 11,  showcasing the Red Storm’s high powered offense with seven different players scoring.

To round out the first half of the season, the Johnnies dropped two straight games including a 2-1 loss to UConn in the first Big East matchup of the season on Sept. 15.

In this first half, redshirt junior forward  Nicolas Fleuriau Chateau emerged as an offensive leader for the team. Chateau is currently ranked top three within the Big East in scoring with 14 goals, six of those scored in the first half of the season alone. 

St. John’s began the second half of their season strong with an impressive showing against the No. 4 ranked Akron on Sept. 23, drawing at 1-1. Undoubtedly, this match built confidence within the team as they went on to win and draw four games each. Their conference record, 3-1-4, earned the team the fourth seed in the Big East Tournament. 

The Johnnies defense came into their own as the season progressed, with senior goalkeeper Alec McLachlan performing excellently. McLachlan and the Johnnies’ back line earned three clean sheets in eight games while holding ranked opponents like Akron to one goal in what was his best performance of the season. 

Senior defender Thomas Lamille was another valuable piece for the back line, with production on both sides of the field. He recorded three assists in two straight matches, carrying a major part in holding ranked opponents like Georgetown and Akron to only one goal. On Oct. 23 Lamille took home the honor of Big East defender of the week for his stellar efforts.

Chateau continued his fantastic play in the second half of the season with two multi scoring games, one of these being in a pivotal Big East matchup against Creighton resulting in a 2-2 draw. Chateau was awarded Big East offensive player of the week on Oct. 31 after this dominant performance.

Chateau, Lamille and the rest of the Johnnies squad face UConn in the inaugural match of the Big East Tournament on Sunday at 6:00 p.m. at Belson Stadium