Saint John's soccer returns to conference play with a 4 p.m. game at No. 23 Gustavus Adolphus on Friday, Oct. 6, in St. Peter. – Live Stats | Live Video

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: For the first time in program history, Saint John's (5-2-3, 2-1-1 MIAC) recorded its second-consecutive scoreless draw on Saturday (Sept. 30) against unbeaten Wisconsin-Whitewater at Haws Field.

Junior goalkeeper Evan Siefken (Lakeville, Minn./North) made nine saves to post the 12th shutout of his career. The Warhawks edged the Johnnies in shots, 15-12 (10-4 on goal), and totaled an 11-5 advantage in corner kicks.

It was SJU, however, that nearly found the net off one of the game's 16 corner kicks when, after the corner kick pin-balled in the box, sophomore defender Lucca Holman (San Rafael de Escazu, Costa Rica/Lincoln School) unleashed a shot off the crossbar in the 88th minute.

SHUTOUT CENTRAL: Siefken recorded a pair of shutouts, his fourth and fifth of the season, as Saint John's recorded back-to-back scoreless draws for the first time in program history last week in Collegeville. He made three saves on Tuesday (Sept. 26) against Augsburg, which entered the game averaging 4.63 goals and 21.8 shots per contest this fall. Siefken then made nine saves on Saturday against unbeaten Wisconsin-Whitewater. He leads the MIAC in saves (59) and is second in shutouts (5).

A LOOK AT THE GUSTIES: Gustavus Adolphus (3-2-4, 1-2-2 MIAC) out-shot Saint Mary's by a 29-3 margin – 15-3 on goal – and posted a 15-1 advantage in corner kicks but the Cardinals' goal in the 24th minute gave the nationally ranked Gusties a 1-0 setback on Tuesday (Oct. 3) in St. Peter. Freshman forward Joe Flory leads the team with eight points and another freshman forward, Simon Woods, is right behind him with six, including two of the three game-winning goals. The duo has three goals apiece. Fifth-year goalkeeper Wesley Sanders has all nine decisions in net with a 0.90 GAA and a .810 save percentage (34 saves). GAC slipped six spots to No. 23 nationally and was ranked second in Region IX in the latest (Oct. 3) United Soccer Coaches polls.

LAST FALL: The Johnnies went 0-2 against the Gusties in 2022.

at Gustavus Adolphus 5, Saint John's 0 (Sept. 24, 2022)
SJU suffered its first loss of the season, 5-0, at then-No. 7 Gustavus last Sept. 24 (2022) in St. Peter. Owen Johnson scored the game's first goal for Gustavus in the 12th minute and Alex Krumenauer made it a 2-0 score 6:02 later. Raphael Cattelin gave GAC a three-goal lead in the 36th minute and the Gusties tacked on two more in the game's final 4:11.

Gustavus out-shot SJU by a 14-9 margin (10-3 on net). Three different Johnnies had a shot on goal. Senior midfielder Matt D. Anderson (Omaha, Neb./Creighton Prep) and sophomore defender Noah Hermanson (St. Paul, Minn./Holy Angels) were denied in the final four minutes before halftime, and GAC needed a defender to stop sophomore forward Cooper Nowak's (Princeton, Minn.) shot on goal in the 72nd minute. Siefken made five saves in the loss.

at Gustavus Adolphus 1, Saint John's 0 – MIAC Semifinals (Nov. 2, 2022)
The Johnnies ended the 2022 season with a 1-0 loss to then-No. 5 GAC back on Nov. 2 in the MIAC semifinals. Clarence Weah scored the game's lone goal in the 72nd minute.

Forward Ryan Erickson '23 nearly gave SJU an early 1-0 lead when he hit the post in the 25th minute. Siefken made six saves in the loss.

The Gusties finished with a 15-11 (7-4 on net) advantage in shots and corner kicks were 10-7 in favor of the home team. SJU, however, registered stat margins in shots (8-5) and corner kicks (5-2) in the second half.

SERIES HISTORY: SJU is 20-25-7 against Gustavus since 1979, including an 11-13-3 record in St. Peter.