By Dylan Butler
After pounding out 19 shots against No. 16 Rutgers in a 1-1 tie Wednesday night, the St. John’s soccer team was concerned about its ability to finish its chances. Against Villanova Saturday at DaSilva Memorial Field, the second-ranked Red Storm put those worries to rest early, scoring five first-half goals — including two in a 39-second span — to cruise to a 5-0 victory.
“This was great for us,” said St. John’s sophomore defender Chris Wingert, who scored his first career goal in the rout. “Villanova didn’t really give us a great game, but to beat them 5-0 is a great win for us. No matter what the level of play is we haven’t been able to put teams away so to be able to do that tonight was nice.”
St. John’s (5-0-1, 3-0-1 Big East) continued its trend of dominating the first 45 minutes and needed just 2:11 to score its first goal, as Alberto Duenas’ pass led Jeff Matteo down the left wing and the senior midfielder slotted the ball high to the far post from two yards out by the near post to put the Red Storm ahead 1-0. It was Matteo’s fourth goal of the year.
Before public address announcer Bert Shoobs could relay the information on Matteo’s tally, St. John’s struck again. Timothy O’Neil’s cross found Angel Rodriguez, who was to the left of Villanova keeper Sean Teesdale. Rodriguez chipped the ball inside the far post from five yards out to put the Red Storm ahead 2-0 just 39 seconds later.
Angel Rodriguez continued to stay active in the offensive third and picked up an assist on St. John’s third tally, as Chris Bennice netted his first of the year on a header from six yards out. The Red Storm had a three-goal lead on just four shots in the opening 23 minutes.
“Angel and Jeff scored two great goals and then Angel had a good assist on Bennice’s goal,” said St. John’s head coach Dave Masur. “I think those three goals set the tone and we took advantage of the situation.”
Villanova (2-5, 1-3), a team that forced the defending national champion University of Connecticut to double overtime before finally losing earlier in the season, began to get frustrated and the result was a reckless and vicious challenge by Koji Hamada that knocked Matteo out of the game in the 24th minute.
Never attempting to go after the ball, Hamada first kicked Matteo’s knee before connecting with an elbow to his head. Hamada was immediately issued a red card. Matteo, meanwhile, stayed on the Red Storm bench, but limped off the field after the game with a swollen right knee.
Hamada’s ejection marked the first of two red cards issued to Villanova, as Stephen Leaman was also sent off in the 60th minute for his second yellow card caution of the game, as the Wildcats were reduced to nine men for the final half hour.
St. John’s also had a man-advantage in its game against Rutgers for the final 30 minutes of regulation and the 30 minutes of overtime, but they couldn’t benefit. But against the Wildcats, the Red Storm quickly pounced as Mike Marcellino stole the ball from a Villanova defender, briefly tripped on the turf and slotted a low shot from 10-yards out past Teesdale to put St. John’s ahead 4-0 in the 32nd minute.
The Red Storm capped its scoring in the 35th minute when Simone Salinno was taken down in the box resulting in a penalty kick. Wingert stepped to the spot and beat Teesdale — who guessed correctly — low to the keeper’s left to give St. John’s a five-goal cushion.
Next up for St. John’s is the Philips/Adidas Classic at Rutgers University in Piscataway, N.J. After facing Cal State-Fullerton (3-2-1) Friday at 5 p.m., the Red Storm takes on Duke (4-3) Sunday at noon.
“If we want to get into the NCAA tournament, we have to do well the next couple of games here,” Masur said. “We get a chance to break away from the Big East and try our luck against some national caliber type teams.”
St. John’s 1, Rutgers 1. In another chapter of their storied rivalry, St. John’s and No. 16 Rutgers played to a 1-1 draw last Wednesday night. And while the score may indicate the parity, it was St. John’s that dominated possession. The Red Storm outshot the Scarlet Knights 19-3, but could only manage a Matteo goal in the 14th minute. Rutgers (3-1-2, 2-0-1), playing a man down after Matt Veltri was sent off in the 60th minute, tied the score on a rare counter attack in the 77th minute when Dennis Ludwig dribbled past Shalrie Joseph and beat Red Storm keeper Guy Hertz from 10 yards out.
Reach Associate Sports Editor Dylan Butler by e-mail at Timesledger@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 143.
