Men's Soccer Travels To No. 2 Seed St. John's For BIG EAST Semifinal

Kick-Off
The Friars will kick off against the St. John's Red Storm in a BIG EAST Semifinal contest on Wednesday, Nov. 13 at 6:00 p.m. The game is set to be played at Belson Stadium in Queens, N.Y.

BIG EAST Semifinals All-Time
The Friars have played in the BIG EAST Semifinal Round 13 times, including six of the last seven seasons. They hold a 4-9 record. The Friars appeared as the No. 3 seed in last year's semifinal, falling to Georgetown on the road. Providence is 1-2 against the No. 2 seed in semifinal match-ups.

How They Got Here
Providence hosted Marquette in a First Round game on Saturday, Nov. 9. The Friars earned their 10th shutout of the season, defeating the Golden Eagles, 3-0. Esben Wolf (Copenhagen, Denmark) scored the eventual game winner in the 29th minute off of a corner kick from Joao Serrano (Evora, Portugal). Trevor Davock (Medway, Mass.) increased the lead in the 62nd minute, finishing a Danny Griffin (Wethersfield, Conn.) rebound. Paulo Lima (Lisbon, Portugal) capped the game with a 79th minute goal.

The Friars outshot Marquette 13-5. Austin Aviza (Medway, Mass.) made two saves in the match.

Last Time Against St. John's
The Friars and Red Storm met just a week ago in the regular season finale (Nov. 6). Providence captured a 2-0 victory at home over then-No. 8 St. John's. Lima and Wolf scored the Friars' goals. Serrano and Davock assisted Lima's 50th minute tally and Tiago Mendonca (Faro, Portugal) and Kevin Vang (Cranston, R.I.) earned the assists on Wolf's goal in the 78th minute.

Providence outshot St. John's 11-9, including a 9-3 margin in shots on frame. Aviza made three saves for the Friars.

Scouting the Friars
Providence currently sits at 13-5 overall. The Friars finished BIG EAST Conference play with a 6-3 record and entered the post-season as the No. 3 seed. Serrano and Lima lead the Friars offensively with 15 points apiece. Serrano holds the team lead in assists (seven), while Lima leads the squad in goals (seven). Davis Smith (Amherst, Mass.) and Davock each have 12 points on four goals and four assists. Wolf is the other Friar with double-digit points, as he has 11 on three goals and five assists.

Aviza has started all 18 games in net for the Friars. He holds a .717 save percentage and a 0.85 goals against average. The redshirt senior has made 38 saves and has eight individual shutouts.

BIG EAST Awards
Five Friars earned All-BIG EAST recognition, as announced by the league on Nov. 11. Mendonca and Serrano were named to the First Team, while Lima earned Second Team honors. Griffin and Aviza were selected for the newly-added Third Team. Providence has now had at least one First Team selection in five-consecutive seasons.

Five Straight
The Friars have posted five-straight victories, which is the team's longest winning streak this season. The Friars' last loss came on Oct. 19 at DePaul. Providence then defeated five conference opponents, picking up three shutouts and a win over a ranked opponent in that span.

Shutout Streak
Providence has earned back-to-back shutouts in its last two games. The Friars have not allowed a goal in the last 236:10 of action. As a team, Providence has 10 total shutouts this season. Aviza has eight and the other two are combined shutouts.

Outshooting Opponents
Providence has outshot opponents 297-102 this season. In all 18 games this season, Providence has recorded more shots than its opponent. The Friars rank fifth nationally in shots per game, averaging 17.33.

Earning Corners
The Friars rank eighth nationally in corner kicks per game, averaging 6.83. Providence has taken 123 total corners on the season.

Limiting OT
The Friars have only played in two overtime games this season. Both have resulted in victories, as Providence defeated UConn on Oct. 8 in the 92nd minute and bested Creighton on Oct. 26 in the 98th minute. Providence has not tied a single game so far this season. The last time that happened was 2016 when Providence went 15-7.

Scouting the Red Storm
St. John's finished the regular season at 13-3-1 overall and 6-2-1 in league play. The Red Storm claimed the No. 2 seed in the BIG EAST Tournament and are currently ranked No. 14 in the United Soccer Coaches Poll. The Red Storm are 7-1 at home this season and are averaging 2.06 goals per game. As a team, St. John's has nine shutouts on the season and has held opponents to just 0.76 goals per game.

Who to Watch
Sophomore Tani Oluwaseyi, who was recently named BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year, leads the Red Storm with 10 goals and 24 total points. Einar Lye has 14 points and Niko Petridis has 12. Lye has five goals and four assists, while Petridis has four goals and four assists. Skage Simonsen leads the team in assists, with six.

Jan Hoffelner and Luka Gavran have both seen significant time in net, typically splitting games. Hoffelner did play all 90 minutes in the last game at Providence. He holds a 0.63 goals against average and a .813 save percentage. Gavran has a 0.86 goals against average and a .788 save percentage.

Series History Against St. John's
First Meeting: Providence – 1, St. John's – 0 (1987)
Last Meeting: Providence – 2, St. John's – 0 (2019)
All-Time Series: St. John's leads the series, 9-19-4

How to Watch
Stream the game live on the BIG EAST Digital Network: http://www.Caffeine.tv/BEDN

-GO FRIARS-

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Players Mentioned

Austin Aviza

Trevor Davock

Danny Griffin

Paulo Lima

Tiago Mendonca

Joao Serrano

Davis Smith

Kevin Vang

Esben Wolf