VILLANOVA, Pa. – A pair of second half goals – both scored off after an initial save was made by goalkeeper Kent Dickey – carried St. John's (7-3-1 overall, 2-1-2 BIG EAST) to a 3-1 victory over Villanova (1-6-4 overall, 1-3-1 BIG EAST) on a rainy afternoon at the Higgins Soccer Complex.
 
A goal by Branden Johns at 49:10 had drawn the Wildcats level early in the second half but the Red Storm later rallied to collect the win.
 
"Credit to St. John's," stated Villanova head coach Tom Carlin. "I thought we came out a little flat at the start and they took advantage. We changed some things up defensively and we may have been a little tentative because of it."
 
Indeed, St. John's jumped out in front a mere 1:45 into this one. Miguel Diaz and Nigel Griffith worked passes at the top of the 18-yard box and found Macoumba Ba open on the left side. Ba drove a blast into the upper right part of the net to stake the Red Storm to the quick one goal advantage.
 
The St. John's pressure continued throughout the first 45 minutes. The Red Storm owned an 18-4 advantage in first half shots and only some strong work by Dickey – seven first period saves, 12 on the day – kept the tally at 1-0 when halftime arrived.
 
"I thought we had created some quality offensive chances in the second half and BJ (Johns) got us one early in the half," said Carlin.
 
Freshman Belmar Joseph sent a through ball on a counter attack aimed for Johns. The Maryland native used his high-octane speed to win a footrace with Red Storm goalkeeper Alec McLachlan who came off his line about 25 yards from goal. McLachlan got a piece of the ball but Johns was able to knock it past him and dribble further down the right side. His right-footed shot eluded a pair of St. Johns' defenders to draw the 'Cats level.
 
It was the third goal in the last two games for Johns.
 
"BJ has really been playing well," noted Carlin, "and he made a great play off a good ball from Belmar. It gave our guys a lot of energy."
 
Alas, it was St. John's that pushed across the next goal.
 
After a Red Storm shot that was originally ruled a goal was overturned on video review in the 55^th minute, St. John's wasted little time in pushing forward again. Nicolas Fieuriau-Chateau notched his 10^th goal of the campaign when he collected the rebound of a Ba shot that Dickey made the initial stop on. The time of the goal was 56:57.
 
Another bang-bang play in the goalmouth gave St. John's its third goal of the wet day. This time Colin Veitri send a blast that Dickey saved. Griffith, however, quickly scooped up the carom of that shot and banged it into the net at 68:07 for the day's final score.
 
"We had a couple of balls that we failed to clear," said Carlin. "St. John's made us pay for those."
 
Villanova honored NORD, the National Organization of Rare Disorders, before the game.
 
"We're just looking to raise awareness for those families dealing with rare disorders," said Carlin.