November 13, 2009
SEMIFINAL ENCOUNTER
St. John's men vs. Providence in Big East

After a win in the quarterfinals, the St. John’s men will play Providence in the Big East semifinals in Morgantown, W.Va. at 3 p.m. Friday.

The winner will advance to the Big East final at noon Sunday.

The Red Storm (8-2-8), ranked 24th in the latest National Soccer Coaches Association of America poll, enters game with an 11-game unbeaten streak (6-0-5).

In the NCAA's latest Ratings Percentage Index (PRI), St. John's comes in at No. 21. The RPI is a statistical measure used by the NCAA that combines winning percentage, strength of schedule and road victories to assess the overall quality of a team’s performance.

St. John's also is unbeaten against Providence at 19-0-3, dating back to a 1-0 victory Oct. 28, 1989. The Storm also won 15 straight games in the series between 1989 and 2004.

In its 3-0 quarterfinals win over Rutgers, Kyle Hoffer scored his second career game-winning goal, his second this year. Junior John Tardy, a transfer from Clemson, also picked up his first points in a Red Storm uniform as he recorded a goal and an assist in the game.

Goalkeeper Derby Carrillo, who made one save, posted his third consecutive shutout and ninth of the season. He has not allowed a goal since the Oct. 24 encounter at Cincinnati, a span of 313:49.

Providence (10-6-3) have a five-game winning streak, including a 2-1 win over Villanova in the Big East first round and a 1-0 triumph at the University of Connecticut in the quarterfinals. Matt Marcin leads the attack with five goals, four game-winners, and two assists. Timothy Ritter has five goals, all game-winners, while Marc Cintron has two goals and four assists. Goalkeeper Timothy Murray is 10-6-2 with a 0.84 goals-against average and nine shutouts.

Live stats will be available at www.bigeast.org. The game will also air live on the CBS College Sports Network. The winner will move to the BIG EAST Finals at noon on Nov. 15.