November 15, 2021
For the 22nd time in program history, the St. John's men's soccer team has earned a bid to the NCAA Tournament.
The Johnnies will host a first-round match at Belson Stadium on Thursday night against Princeton. Kick-off is set for 5 p.m. Broadcast information for the contest will be announced as soon as it is finalized.
The winner of Thursday's contest will travel to Corvallis, Ore., for a Sunday showdown against top-seeded Oregon State.
All 22 of the program's NCAA bids have come in the past 30 years under the direction of Head Coach Dr. David Masur. St. John's is 27-20-1 all-time in the NCAA Tournament with four College Cup appearances, including the University's first NCAA National Championship in 1996. The Johnnies have made 12 appearances in the NCAA Round of 16, including 10 straight between 1996-2005.
The Red Storm's last Round of 16 appearance came during the last traditional NCAA Tournament held in in 2019. That season, St. John's earned a national seed for the ninth time in program history before defeating former BIG EAST foe Syracuse, 2-1, in the second round at Belson Stadium.
St. John's (10-5-3) and Princeton (12-5-0) will meet for the second time this season, as the Red Storm downed the Tigers, 1-0, on Sept. 28 at Class of 1952 Stadium. Freshman Micaah Garnette scored his first collegiate goal in the 78th minute off assists from Atila Ashrafi and First Team All-BIG EAST selection Lucas Bartlett.
The Red Storm is 6-4-3 all-time against Princeton in a series that dates back to 1995. The Johnnies and the Tigers, who met every season from 2011 to 2018, have split their last four meetings dating back to 2016. St. John's is 2-2-1 all-time against Princeton at Belson Stadium.
St. John's finished third in the final BIG EAST regular season standings after compiling a conference record of 5-3-2. Of the team's five losses this season, four were to teams that qualified for the NCAA Tournament, three were against nationally ranked opponents and three were in overtime.
The BIG EAST placed five teams in this year's 48-team field, matching a post-realignment league record set in 2013.