Seton Hall
Seton Hall tied with No. 4 St. John's in double overtime thriller
Date: October 26, 2019By: Michael Daly
The Seton Hall men’s soccer team drew with No. 4 St. John’s, 1-1, on Saturday night at Owen T. Carroll Field in South Orange, New Jersey.
Within the first 20 seconds against St. John’s, Seton Hall’s senior midfielder Nathan Tremonti had a foul called on him after he made excessive contact with a Red Storm player. 60 seconds later, Seton Hall was penalized for an offsides call that forced them to halt their offensive attack against St. John’s’ defense.
Red Storm midfielder Tani Oluwaseyi applied pressure to the Pirates’ defense when he had room and attempted a shot to the right of the goal that went out of play at the 12:33 point in the first half. Rafael Bustamante committed his second foul in less than two minutes when he ran into Carlton McKenzie. 39 seconds were taken off the clock, as McKenzie was laying injured on the turf and he was able to walk off the pitch on his power. The clock picked up and a physical battle ensued. McKenzie would later return to the match.
McKenzie was awarded a yellow card at the 28:23 mark after he forcefully defended a St. John’s offensive attacker. Sean Macleod’s shot at the 39:11 waypoint sailed to the left of the St. John’s goal. Macleod came off the bench for the Pirates and became an immediate source of offensive productivity.
With 2:02 remaining in the half, Skage Simonsen’s shot ricocheted off the top crossbar. The game remained scoreless at the end of the first half. There was a bit of a shot disparity as St. John’s attempted a total of four shots, while Seton Hall attempted two in the first 45 minutes of play.
To begin the second half, Luka Gavran replaced Jan Hoffelner in goal for St. John’s. Red Storm defender Luke Hansen perpetrated a foul on a Seton Hall offensive player. Oluwaseyi charged up the field during an offensive attack and put the Red Storm on the board with 4:28 into the second half. The goal was assisted by Matt Chandler and Brandon Duarte. The Red Storm was ahead 1-0 after Oluwaseyi’s goal.
51:02 into the game, Seton Hall’s McKenzie was issued a warning due to when he ran into the Red Storm’s goalkeeper, Gavran. 56:47 on the clock saw St. John’s’ sophomore midfielder Brandon Knapp fire a shot that brushed off the top of the net. McKenzie found space within the 18-yard box and attempted a shot at the 61:51 waypoint but Gavran denied his chances at tying the game.
The head referee assessed a yellow card to Andrea Borg at the 69:20 point, which was Borg’s first of the match. More than two minutes later, Eden O’Leary registered a yellow card after being over aggressive on a defensive stand while defending an offensive strike from St. John’s.
When asked after the match about the physicality that took place on the pitch, Seton Hall’s head coach Andreas Lindberg said; “I thought we kept our cool pretty well. It’s New York versus New Jersey and all that comes with that.”
The chippy play continued when St. John’s goalie Gavran and defender Chandler were yellow carded for knocking down Vittorio Argeri at 17:38 point when he attempted a shot against the Red Storm’s defense. O’Leary responded to his yellow card with a goal scored in the 75th minute to knot the game up at 1-1.
Less than nine minutes left in regular time, Stephen Elias attempted a shot when he raced past St. John’s defenders but he angled the shot wide left of the goal. At the 87:30 mark, St. John’s midfielder Einar Lye missed a header that sailed far above the net. C.J. Tibbling responded on the next sequence with a shot that nearly went in the goal as it clipped off the right post with less than two minutes to go in regular time. Neither team could score the game-winning goal at the end of 90 minutes, which resulted in extra time in South Orange, New Jersey.
Andreas Nota stopped the Red Storm twice in the opening minute of overtime, as the attempted on shot on goal and a corner kick. Nota was shaken up soon after this sequence and the medical staff came out on to the field, but he stayed in the match. Both teams engaged in a defensive standoff in the first overtime period, as another 10 minute overtime period was forced.
Seton Hall and St. John’s could not net a goal in the second overtime period and the match ended in a 1-1 draw. There was a total of 11 yellow cards and one red card. St. John’s finished the match with 15 total shots and only two of them being on goal, while Seton Hall attempted 12 shots with three of them on goal.
Coach Lindberg spoke on the draw against the Red Storm; “I don’t necessarily think we deserved to win [the game] but I think we deserved the point. I am happy for the boys being able to come from behind.”
The Seton Hall Pirates are back in action this Tuesday, Oct. 29, at 5 p.m. at Owen T. Carroll Field against Army West Point. Seton Hall is now 5-7-1 on the year and 2-5-1 in Big East play.
Michael Daly is the Web Editor at WSOU Sports and can be reached at wsousportswebeditor@gmail.com.
