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January 13, 2020
Niko Petridis became the latest in a long line of St. John's men's soccer standouts to hear his name called in the MLS SuperDraft on Monday afternoon, as the New York Red Bulls selected the explosive midfielder 93rd overall.
Petridis becomes the 12th player in St. John's history to be taken in the MLS College Draft/SuperDraft and the first since Tim Parker was picked 13th overall in 2015. Parker, who was originally drafted by Vancouver, currently plays with the Red Bulls.
This past season, Petridis led the Red Storm to its best season in nearly a decade, as the Johnnies won 14 games, earned a national seed in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2011, reached the NCAA Round of 16 for the first time since 2008 and climbed as high as no. 4 in the United Soccer Coaches poll, the team's highest ranking since 2009.
Individually, Petridis played in 17 games, four of which were starts, and finished third on the team in points with four goals and four assists on the campaign. 11 of those 12 points came during a tremendous four-game stretch for the Norwalk, Conn., native, as he tallied a goal and an assist against Iona on Sept. 10 before repeating that stat line two games later against Columbia on Sept. 13. The next time out in the Red Storm's BIG EAST opener against No. 19 Xavier on Sept. 20, Petridis played a part in all three of the Johnnies' goal, scoring twice and assisting on another in a 3-1 victory. Petridis was named the BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week for his efforts, which included two game-winners.
In 2018, Petridis played in all 18 contests and made two starts in his first year with the program. He was only of only three players to appear in all 18 games for the Red Storm.
Prior to arriving in Queens, Petridis excelled for two years at the University of Connecticut, where he finished second on the team in points with three goals and three assists in 2017 after landing a spot on the American Athletic Conference All-Rookie Team in 2016.
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