An experienced Red Storm men’s soccer team seeks to take the next step and return to the NCAA tournament for the first time in three years
St. John’s men’s soccer always sets a high standard for itself. This upcoming season is no different, as an experienced squad aims to take the next step and reach the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2021.
Injuries plagued the Red Storm in the 2022 season, finishing with a 4-8-5 record (W-L-D). They got healthier and rebounded last season, doubling their win total and finishing with an 8-4-5 record. Legendary head coach David Masur returns for his 34th season of coaching the Red Storm and hopes his team continues progressing.
“We hosted a game in the Big East tournament, but we also lost a couple of tight games last year,” Masur told Rumble in a phone interview. “We’re pretty excited about this returning group. We got a list of guys who can step up in the attacking half.”
Forwards
Masur and the Red Storm will need those players to step up in attack after losing last season’s top goal scorer, Nicolas Fleuriau Chateau, to the MLS SuperDraft. Chateau accounted for 14 of the Red Storm’s 31 goals in 2023 and was the lone Johnny named to the All-Big East First Team.
Even with Chateau’s ability to find the back of the net consistently, St. John’s lagged as a unit in finishing last season. The Red Storm were ranked 35th out of 202 teams in the country with 13.8 shots per game but were 194th in the country in shot accuracy (36.2%).
“Over the last three or four years, we’ve probably created more chances than our opponents about ninety percent of the time, but we need to be able to convert them,” Masur said.
Two returning forwards stand out for St. John’s: Miguel Diaz and Macoumba Ba, who tend to play as wingers. Both players served as the primary playmakers last season, with Diaz (9) and Ba (6), respectively, finishing first and second in assists on the team in 2023.
Macoumba Ba suffered a separated shoulder last spring, but Masur says he has recovered and will be ready to play in Wednesday night’s exhibition versus Drexel.
In April, Diaz was named a 2024 Men’s Big East Breakout candidate by Top Drawer Soccer’s Victor Olorunfemi.
“Both of them can be very dangerous on the wide flanks,” Masur said.
Graduate student Nigel Griffith also returns after logging two goals and two assists as a regular contributor last season.
The Red Storm will also have budding attacking options as well. Chilean sophomore Martin Kozak scored four goals during the spring exhibition season. Freshman Luca Fargnoli scored in his unofficial collegiate debut in an exhibition against Fairleigh Dickinson last week. Returnees Brady Geho and Jackson Gould have competed for minutes in the front half.
David Masur has high expectations for incoming Norwegian freshman Olav Dechlyn Hauge. The Bergen, Norway native previously made 28 appearances across two seasons for Norwegian fourth-division club IL Sandviken, scoring three goals and chipping in one assist.
Midfield
The Red Storm’s attack is backed up with a fortified midfield. Junior midfielder Augustine Boadi transferred from Boston College last spring and is expected to create stability in the middle of the park. Last season, the Ghanaian tallied a team-high three goals in 13 appearances (10 starts) for the Eagles.
Cameron Boumsong and Eric Danquah are seen as Masur’s midfield mainstays. Boumsong is a defensive midfielder and looks to build off a promising finish to his freshman season when he made three starts in the Red Storm’s last four games. Danquah started in all but one match last season, producing two goals and two assists as a junior.
Defense
Fielding solid defensive units has never been a problem for St. John’s under Masur, and that is once again the case this season. There is no shortage of veterans on this backline rotation that held opponents to 1.16 goals per contest last season, which was 64th best in the country.
Graduate student Justin Kopay will play in his third and final season for the Red Storm this season, and he is a workhorse in the backline, as he played a full 90 minutes nine different times in 2023. Junior Markus Pusztahegyi also returns after making nine appearances and six starts last season.
Antonio Biggs and Thomas Lamaille will play their third straight season together, as they both played together at Tyler Junior College in 2022 and St. John’s last season. Defender Bjorn Nikolajewski will return after missing all of 2023 with an ACL injury.
Incoming St. Francis (PA) transfer Julian Jakopovic provides versatility as a left-back and holding midfielder.
Goalkeeping
Expected to start in the net is junior Alec McLachlan, whom Masur regards as a hardworking player who has continued to improve since his arrival last season. In 16 starts in 2023, the Stockport, England native had a 7-3-5 record in goal, recorded four clean sheets, and was named to the All-Big East Third Team.
Redshirt junior Emmanuel Smalios returns after he battled injuries last season. Joining the club is junior goalkeeper Amari Thompson from Division-II College of Staten Island, who also made an appearance for the Guyanese men’s national team last May in a friendly versus Trinidad and Tobago. Incoming freshmen David Anderson and Jack Ferguson are also a part of the goalkeeping unit.