The St. John’s Men’s soccer team claimed a draw in the first match of a five-game homestretch against the No. 2 Marshall Thundering Herd. The Red Storm entered the tie with two wins, a draw and a loss, earning their draw on Aug. 31 against No. 5 Wake Forest.
Marshall, who finished last season as the NCAA College Cup runners-up, losing in overtime to Vermont, entered their third game of the season with a win and a draw. This season marks the program’s sixth consecutive season in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 ranking.
The Thundering Herd controlled most of the early possession, building play from the back and having moments of promising attacks, although not recording a shot on goal and one corner. The Red Storm back line held strong against the attacks with center backs junior Antonio Biggs and senior Ivar Nå Aga clearing any dangerous passes.
St. John’s would threaten to score later in the half on a dangerous shot from senior fullback Jeremy Sharp. The challenge was met with a good save from English international Dan Rose. The Red Storm would have another dangerous attempt on the resulting corner, ending with a save from Rose.
The first half concluded scoreless and mostly uneventful, apart from a handful of corners and free kicks. The Thundering Herd finished the half with 63% possession, but only one off-target shot.
The Red Storm started the second half strong, earning two corners and a dangerous free kick in the first five minutes. Marshall’s defense, along with a save by Rose, fended off all three attempts, with a save by Rose and a clearance by the Herd defense.
In the 53rd minute, Trinidad and Tobago native Larry Noel picked the ball up on a rebound in the attacking third, going on a solo run through the Red Storm defenders and placing the shot in the bottom right corner. This marked the junior forward’s second goal of the season.
St. John’s would threaten to score on another corner after the cross-in was misjudged by Rose, but was cleared off the goal line by junior midfielder Thiago Apolinario.
In the 71st minute, St. John’s freshman midfielder Andrew Porucznik would break for a run down the field and would be met with a rough challenge from behind by junior Braian Amaro, resulting in a straight red card.
The Johnnies would equalize on the resulting free kick after a weak clearance fell to junior Igor Goncalves, who laid a pass off to Sharp, blasting a shot from outside of the box into the bottom left corner.
Marshall would nearly reclaim the lead in the 74th minute after winning possession off a turnover in the Red Storm’s half. Brazilian junior Joao Roberto fired a shot from well outside of the box that beat senior goalkeeper Alec McLachlan, but rattled off the crossbar.
St. John’s would continue to control the ball, having multiple scoring opportunities, but fail to convert a winner.
The second half would soon turn into a very physical game, with both teams splitting 36 fouls and 10 yellow cards, as well as some altercations between the two sides. Pushing matches, rough tackles and words were exchanged multiple times throughout the latter half of the match.
In the dying minutes of the match, sophomore midfielder Kaief Tomlinson whipped in a ball to Brazilian freshman Guilherme Gomes, who put a strong header past the goalkeeper for what would be the game-winner, but after a video review, the goal was ruled offside and was disallowed.
St. John’s ended the match with what would be a hard-fought draw against a top team, both teams missing out on big chances and getting physical with each other. The Red Storm will play their next match at home on Monday night against the Rhode Island Rams.
