QUEENS, N.Y. – After seeing two of its non-conference matches postponed or canceled last week due to COVID-19 issues within opposing programs, the St. John’s men’s soccer team has added an out-of-league contest prior to Saturday’s Big East opener.
The Red Storm will welcome Stony Brook University to Belson Stadium Tuesday at 2 p.m. (ESPN3).
St. John’s originally was scheduled to play Fordham University Feb. 18, but that match was postponed after the Rams announced a two-week pause on all athletic activities due to high rates of COVID infection on campus. The Johnnies were then set to face NJIT on Sunday before a positive test within the Highlanders program forced the cancelation of the game.
The Johnnies enter the match with a record of 1-0-0 after taking down Saint Joseph’s, 1-0, in their season opener Feb. 15. Tani Oluwaseyi, the preseason Big East offensive player of the year, delivered the game-winner, finding the back of the net in the 64th minute for his first goal of the season. Last season, Oluwaseyi became the first St. John’s player in nearly 25 years to be named the Big East offensive player of the year after scoring 11 goals and dishing out five assists. The first Johnnie since 2003 to score double-digit goals in a season, Oluwaseyi led the conference in scoring and finished second in points.
Originally scheduled to open this season against Fordham Sunday, Stony Brook will make its 2021 debut when it takes the field at Belson. Last season, the Seawolves went 4-11-2, including a 1-6-0 mark in America East play. Stony Brook was picked to finish eighth out of nine teams this spring in a preseason poll of the league’s coaches.
Stony Brook lost its top two players in terms of point production from last season to graduation in Jared Dass (six goals) and Mark Irvine (one goal, three assists). No other member of the Seawolves recorded more than one goal or one assist in 2019.
St. John’s and Stony Brook have met only one time in the history of the two programs, playing to a scoreless draw Sept. 11, 2009, at Belson Stadium. The Red Storm went on to win its eighth BIG EAST title that year, finishing 9-3-9 and matching a sseason NCAA record for draws.
The Red Storm is set to begin the Big East portion of its schedule on Saturday when it travels to Seton Hall for a 3 p.m. match against the Pirates at Owen T. Carroll Field.
