Villanova University

Oct. 18, 2006

Final Stats

JAMAICA, N.Y. - The St. John's Red Storm (8-5-2 overall, 4-4-2 BIG EAST) defeated the Villanova Wildcats (6-9-1 overall, 2-8-0 BIG EAST) 2-0 in a men's soccer match played on Wednesday evening here. The loss eliminates the Wildcats from the 2006 BIG EAST Conference Tournament which begins next week.

The Red Storm tallied the game's only two goals in the final six minutes of action.

Villanova attempted the only two shots of the first period, as midfielder Neil McNulty put a long range attempt on goal in the fifth minute and defender Adam Brazitis a header from 12 yards in the 44th minute. St. John's pressured from the corners of the Villanova zone and held a 3-1 advantage in corner kicks, but was held without a shot.

Less than three minutes into the second half, St. John's Ryan Soroka broke loose in the Villanova end for the best scoring chance of the contest. On a two-man push with senior Danny Dragoi, Soroka touched toward the middle of the field and fired a shot from 25 yards that banged off the right post. Dragoi committed a foul on the rebound attempt, and the ball was spotted and cleared on a free kick by Friel.

A cross by Engstrom was deflected out of bounds by Jon Wells to set up the Red Storm's corner in the 63rd minute. The corner got loose to the top of the box where Michael Luk one-timed a shot that sailed high of the net. Minutes later, Georgios Spanos sent a low cross through the box that went to Habib's feet, and the sophomore turned and fired a left-footed shot that was blocked by Wells.

St. John's sent a number of dangerous balls through the Wildcats goal box, but Friel and the VU back line were able to secure and clear the crosses. Patrik Engstrom continued the pressure in the 71st minute when he beat two Wildcat defenders and was tripped up 15 yards from the goal.

In the 84th minute, Luk broke through with a hard shot from the right wing. Dragoi used some fancy footwork on the Villanova goal line to find space and sent a ball through the box that Luk settled and fired from 15 yards.

Villanova countered with an opportunity of its own in the 85th minute, as Joe Taylor fired a shot from the top of the box that was blocked by the Red Storm defense. The rebound bounced wide of the goal to the feet of Michael Seamon who fired a shot from eight yards out that was pushed aside by Landers.

Minutes later, Soroka sent a through ball ahead to Terra who had nothing but space ahead of him as he pushed ahead to the Villanova goal. One-on-one, Terra beat a charging Friel with a shot to the far post for his third score of the season. Terra's goal gave St. John's a two-goal cushion and put the game out of reach with 1:48 showing on the second-half clock.

With one game remaining, the most points the Wildcats can garner is nine, which leaves them short of the final Red Division postseason berth. Villanova closes out the regular season on Saturday at home against Cincinnati at 1:00 p.m.