PISCATAWAY, NJ – In a showdown between two local rivals, third-ranked St. John’s scored two first half goals en route to a 3-1 victory over Rutgers in BIG EAST men’s soccer action tonight at Yurcak Field. With the loss, Rutgers falls to 4-3-3 overall (3-2-1 in BE play), while SJU improves to 9-1-2, 5-1-0 BE.

The Red Storm came on the attack early, controlling play throughout the first half. Their aggressive style paid off as Andre Schmid took a cross from Rich Bradley into the box and headed the ball just under the top post of the goal above the outstretched arms of RU goalie Ricky Zinter (Penfield, NY) to open a 1-0 lead at the 17:28 mark.

Less than eight minutes later, the Red Storm added another score, as Timothy O’Neill scored off a rebound of his own shot. O’Neill gathered the ball on the right wing and sent a header on goal, which was deflected by Zinter back to O’Neill for the second tally.

After the halftime break, Rutgers received a lift when SJU defender Chris Wingert sent a clearing pass into the Red Storm goal to narrow the gap to 2-1. The Red Storm, however, put the game out of reach in the 69th minute when Chris Corcoran scored on a cross from Bradley.

St. John’s held a 12-10 edge in shots and a 3-1 edge in corner kicks. Zinter stopped five shots, while SJU goalkeeper Bill Gaudette saved three.

The win gives St. John’s a 5-4-4 advantage in the all-time series between the two schools, the first time the Red Storm has held an advantage in the series.