Tani Oluwaseyi was named Big East offensive player of the year. (Photo courtesy of St. John’s SID)

QUEENS, N.Y. – On the heels of a regular season that featured 13 wins and a top 10 ranking for a majority of the campaign, the St. John’s University men received three Big East awards and saw six players earn spots on all-conference teams Monday.

Dr. David Masur led the Big East coaching staff of the year, Tani Oluwaseyi was named the conference offensive player of the year and Jan Hoffelner shared goalkeeper of the year honors with Georgetown University’s Giannis Nikopolidis.

This year marked the third time in program history that St. John’s has claimed three major awards in the same season. The first occurred in 1993 following an unbeaten regular season and immediately before the Red Storm’s second BIG EAST Tournament title. The other took place in 2008 following a regular season championship and before the Red Storm’s run to its fourth College Cup in the span of 12 years.

In addition to Oluwaseyi (first team) and Hoffelner (second team), four other members of the Red Storm earned spots on All-Big East squads. Brandon Duarte and Skage Simonsen were named to the second Team while Brandon Knapp and Einar Lye found places on the third team.

The Red Storm’s six All-Big East honorees are tied for the second-highest total in program history.

Masur, who led a staff made up of assistant coaches David Janezic and Flo Liu, earned Big East coach of the year honors for the fourth time in his nearly three-decade long tenure with the Red Storm. A two-time national coach of the year who has directed his teams to four College Cups and one NCAA Division I title, Masur has guided one of the nation’s most impressive turnarounds in 2019, as the Red Storm has nearly doubled its win total from a season ago.

After being picked to finish seventh in a preseason vote of the league’s coaches, Masur has led his team to a 13-3-1 overall record, including a 6-2-1 mark against conference opponents.

The Red Storm has spent seven weeks inside the top 10 of the United Soccer Coaches poll and has been ranked in nine out of a possible 12 weeks overall. Two of the Red Storm’s three regular season losses were to teams ranked inside the top 25 while the other was to a Providence team that currently sits at no. 21 in the RPI. Through games played on Sunday, St. John’s, which has ranked no lower than sixth this season in the RPI, is one of just a handful of teams nationwide to rank inside the top 25 in offense (2.06 goals per game, 23rd) and goals-against average (0.74- 15th).

The first Johnnie since Medufia Kulego during the national championship season of 1996 to be named the conference’s top offensive player, Oluwaseyi has proven to be one of the nation’s most electric talents in 2019. One of only two sophomores in St. John’s history to win the award alongside career scoring leader Huey Ferguson, Oluwaseyi leads the league and ranks 33rd nationally with 10 goals. Of his 10 goals, six came against Big East opponents and five were game-winners.
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Hoffelner, who started all 17 of the Red Storm’s games between, has split time with Luka Gavran for the majority of the season, forming a fearsome goalkeeping tandem. Through games played Sunday, Hoffelner ranks 13th nationally with a 0.63 GAA and 11th in Division I with a .813 save percentage. He played a part in nine shutouts, including the Red Storm’s lone solo shutout of the campaign against Butler University Sept. 28. A vocal leader, the Presbyterian transfer has helped organize a young St. John’s backline into one of the nation’s best lockdown units.

 

 

2019 BIG EAST Regular Season Awards

Offensive Player of the Year

Tani Oluwaseyi, St. John’s, So., F

Midfielder of the Year

Jacob Montes, Georgetown, Jr., M

 

Defensive Player of the Year

Dylan Nealis, Georgetown, Sr., D

Co-Goalkeeper of the Year

Giannis Nikopolidis, Georgetown, So.

Jan Hoffelner, St. John’s, Jr.

Freshman of Year

Wilmer Cabrera Jr., Butler, Fr., F

Coaching Staff of the Year

St. John’s

2019 BIG EAST All-Conference Teams

First Team

Derek Dodson, Georgetown, Jr., F

Tani Oluwaseyi, St. John’s, So., F

^ Samson Sergi, Xavier, R-Sr., F

Yudai Tashiro, Creighton, Sr., M

^ Jacob Montes, Georgetown, Jr., M

Tiago Mendonca, Providence, Sr., M

Max de Bruijne, DePaul, Sr., D

Dylan Nealis, Georgetown, Sr., D

Patrick Seagrist, Marquette, Sr., D

Joao Serrano, Providence, Sr., D

Giannis Nikopolidis, Georgetown, So., GK

Second Team *

Wilmer Cabrera, Jr., Butler, Fr., F

Luke Haakenson, Creighton, Sr., F

Achara, Georgetown, Sr., F

Carlton McKenzie, Seton Hall, Sr., F

Sean Zawadzki, Georgetown, So., M

Luka Prpa, Marquette, Sr., M

Paulo Lima, Providence, So., M

Skage Simonsen, St. John’s, So., M

Younes Boudadi, Creighton, Sr., D

Brandon Duarte, St. John’s, Sr., M

Shane Bradley, Villanova, Sr., D

Jan Hoffelner, St. John’s, Jr., GK

Third Team (at-large) *

Brandon Guhl, Butler, Sr., F

Jack Haywood, Butler, So., M

Jared Timmer, Butler, Sr., M

Kuba Polat, Creighton, Jr., M

Connor Alba, Marquette, Sr., M

Josh Coan, Marquette, Sr., F

Austin Aviza, Providence, Sr., GK

Danny Griffin, Providence, Sr., M/F

Brandon Knapp, St. John’s, So., M

Einar Lye, St. John’s, So., M

Derrick Otim, Xavier, Sr., M

Matthew Rosenberg, Xavier, RS-Jr., GK

^ denotes unanimous selection

* due to ties in voting there are extra members on the All-BIG EAST Second and Third Teams

Front Row Soccer editor Michael Lewis has covered 13 World Cups (eight men, five women), seven Olympics and 25 MLS Cups. He has written about New York City FC, New York Cosmos, the New York Red Bulls and both U.S. national teams for Newsday and has penned a soccer history column for the Guardian.com. Lewis, who has been honored by the Press Club of Long Island and National Soccer Coaches Association of America, is the former editor of BigAppleSoccer.com. He has written seven books about the beautiful game and has published ALIVE AND KICKING The incredible but true story of the Rochester Lancers. It is available at Amazon.com.