Pirates Fall to St. John's in BIG EAST Tournament

Published: Sunday, November 10, 2024

by Michael Bellifemini

QUEENS, N.Y. – The No. 6 Seton Hall Pirates (11-6-1) saw their season come to an end Saturday night, falling 2-0 to the No. 3 St. John’s Red Storm (9-5-5) in the first round of the BIG EAST Tournament.

On this cold November night on the pitch, Seton Hall’s offense created several opportunities, all of which were turned aside by the Red Storm defense. The Pirates managed only one shot in the first half, courtesy of Til Kauschke.

In the 25th minute, Julian Jakopovich scored his second goal of the season, capitalizing on a broken play in the box and beating goalkeeper Matias Molina. Miguel Diaz provided the assist and came close to extending St. John’s lead early in the second half, but his shot struck the crossbar.

From that point forward, the Pirates played with more urgency and desperation as they began piling up chances, including several corner kicks and rushes down the field. Hugo Gebore fired the Pirates’ first shot on goal in the 55th minute, and later, in the 78th minute, Jack Kossoudji narrowly missed high on a close-range chance in the box as the Red Storm clung to their one-goal lead.

St. John’s secured an insurance goal in the 83rd minute when Thomas Lamaille scored on a third consecutive shot directed at Molina, who had made a couple of great saves but conceded long rebounds. The Red Storm coasted from there, with Alec McLachlan stopping both shots on goal he faced, while Matias Molina saved two of the four shots on goal during the contest.

After a magical start that saw them climb as high as 8th in the country, the Pirates came back to earth, dropping out of the rankings and struggling in conference play. Following an opening six-match win streak, they were unable to win consecutive matches for the remainder of the season.

St. John’s led the shot count, 11-8, with three players—Diaz, Nikolajewski, and Jakopovic—receiving yellow cards. The lone yellow card for the Pirates was issued to Jared Smith. The Red Storm will now await their opponent in the second round of the Big East Tournament in Boyds, Maryland, where they will face the winner of the matchup between the No. 2-seeded Providence Friars and the No. 7-seeded UConn Huskies, which also kicked off Saturday night.

The Pirates will have to wait and see if the selection committee awards them an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, though their chances appear slim at the moment.

Michael Bellifemini is an Assistant Sports Director at 89.5 WSOU and can be reached at michael.bellifemini@student.shu.edu. 

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