Tani Oluwaseyi scored St. John’s lone goal. (Photo courtesy of St. John’s SID)
QUEENS, N.Y. – Despite holding a one-goal halftime lead, No. 14 St. John’s University men could not hold onto the advantage and allowed a pair of second-half goals by saw Providence College, which recorded a 2-1 Big East semifinal win at Belson Stadium Wednesday night.
The Friars (14-5) will face regular season champion Georgetown in Sunday’s noon title game (FS2).
The Red Storm (13-4-1) will learn its NCAA Tournament fate on the Division I selection show on NCAA.com Monday at 1 p.m..
Big East offensive player of the year Tani Oluwaseyi scored his league-leading 11th goal of the season on Wednesday night. His 11 goals are the most by a St. John’s player since Simone Salinno scored 14 times during the College Cup season of 2003. The sophomore recorded seven of the team’s 10 shots on the evening.
The Johnnies (13-4-1) outshot the Friars in the first half, 6-3, before Providence recorded a 13-4 advantage in the second half.
Big East co-goalkeeper of the year Jan Hoffelner held the Friars scoreless in the first half. Luka Gavran recorded four saves in the latter half..
Oluwaseyi took advantage of a Providence error in its defensive zone, using his speed to track down a loose ball and create separation from the nearest defender. Kkeeper Austin Aviza came off his line to stop Oluwaseyi’s shot, but the St. John’s forward headed home the rebound in the 14th minute.
Providence leveled the score with a goal from Paulo Lima in the 50th minute. The sophomore midfielder headed a ball inside the far post off a Friars corner kick, finding the back of the net for the sixth time in his last six games.
The visitors broke the deadlock with a goal from Davis Smith in the 87th minute.