St. John's Hands Pirates First Home Loss

Published: Wednesday, October 23, 2024

by Darren Worrell

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. – The Seton Hall Pirates (9-4-1) hosted the St. John’s Red Storm (6-5-4) on Wednesday night, looking to rebound after a 2-0 loss to Georgetown. Meanwhile, the Red Storm sought to build momentum following a 1-1 draw against Providence. In a highly physical, back-and-forth contest, St. John’s clinched a narrow 1-0 victory.

Both teams wasted no time setting an aggressive tone. Early fouls by Seton Hall’s Til Kauschke and Liam Guske, followed by one from St. John’s Godwin Partey, set the stage for a physical battle. St. John’s pressed early, with a shot by Bjorn Nikolajewski going wide in the fourth minute. Seton Hall responded with two corner kicks in the early minutes, but neither resulted in a breakthrough.

In the 9th minute, Soren Jensen made a crucial save on a shot from Eric Danquah, keeping the Pirates level. However, the turning point came in the 25th minute when a handball by Seton Hall's Virgil Dall'Agnol awarded St. John’s a penalty kick. Martin Kozak calmly converted the penalty, sending a low line-drive into the left corner past Jensen to give St. John’s a 1-0 lead.

Seton Hall’s offense, led by Nico Rubio, created several chances but couldn’t break through St. John’s defense. A key moment came in the 23rd minute when Tim Strobeck’s shot was saved by Red Storm goalkeeper Alec McLachlan, who consistently denied the Pirates throughout the match. Jensen, too, was active, saving shots by Nigel Griffith and Jackson Gould.

The match continued with both teams committing numerous fouls, including one from Jared Smith in the 34th minute, and yellow cards were handed out to Dall’Agnol and St. John’s Tyler Morck in the first half. St. John’s ended the half ahead 1-0, capitalizing on their penalty kick, while both teams struggled to find a rhythm amidst frequent fouls and physical play.

In the second half, Seton Hall looked for an equalizer early, with Rubio taking several shots, including one in the 63rd minute. However, McLachlan remained solid in goal, saving attempts by Rubio and Kauschke. St. John’s also had their chances, with Gould’s 62nd-minute shot going wide.

The match was marked by frequent fouls and offside calls. Partey and Danquah both received yellow cards in the second half as St. John’s held their ground defensively. Despite multiple corner kicks and late pressure from Seton Hall, including a shot by Stan De Vries in the 88th minute, the Pirates could not find the back of the net. St. John's would hold on for the 1-0 win.

With this loss, the Pirates fall to 9-4-1 overall and 2-3-1 in conference play. This marks the Pirates' first home loss of the season, while the Johnnies clinch a spot in the BIG EAST Tournament. St. John’s improves to 6-5-4 overall and 4-1-1 in conference play. Seton Hall will look to bounce back when they travel to Cincinnati to face Xavier on Sunday at 7 p.m.

Darren Worrell can be reached at darren.worrell@student.shu.edu.

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