Saint John's soccer travels to face Augsburg for a 7:30 p.m. game on Wednesday, Oct. 2, at Edor Nelson Field in Minneapolis. - Live Stats | Live Video

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (3-4, 1-2 MIAC) returned to the win column with a 5-0 shutout of Saint Mary's on Saturday (Sept. 28) in Collegeville. The Johnnies started their conference schedule with a pair of 1-0 losses to Macalester (Sept. 17 in Collegeville) and Hamline (Sept. 24 in St. Paul), but broke open the offensive floodgates with a 26-8 advantage in shots and five goals against the Cardinals.

Sophomore midfielder Danny Boyle (Downers Grove, Ill./Benet Academy) opened the scoring with his first collegiate goal – a header off a corner kick from junior midfielder Connor Drong (St. Cloud, Minn./Cathedral) – in the 18th minute. 

Senior forward Christian Rodriguez (Cold Spring, Minn./Rocori) put away a free kick at the top of the box for his third goal of the season and sixth of his career in the 39th minute to give SJU a 2-0 halftime lead and Boyle tallied his second goal of the game, unassisted, 2:41 into the second half.

Senior forward Mahmoud Soumah (Sartell, Minn./Sartell-St. Stephen) made it 4-0 with his third goal of the season in the 65th minute and freshman forward Ronan O'Connor (Woodbury, Minn./Hill-Murray) re-joined Rodriguez and Soumah for the team lead with his third tally of the season in the 72nd minute. Sophomore midfielder A.J. Miller (Maple Grove, Minn./Osseo) provided the assist on both goals.

Senior goalkeeper Evan Siefken (Lakeville, Minn./North) made four saves for his second shutout of the season and 15th of his Johnnie career (another shared).

The Johnnies posted a 10-4 advantage over the Cardinals n shots on goal and a 9-1 margin in corner kicks. SJU has now out-scored SMU 25-2 over the last seven meetings (6-0-1 record) in Collegeville.

A LOOK AT THE AUGGIES: Augsburg (8-2-1, 2-0-0 MIAC) saw its six-game win streak end with a 2-1 loss at then-No. 10 Wisconsin-Eau Claire this past Saturday (Sept. 28). Junior Ceazar Daniell gave the visitors a 1-0 lead in the 21st minute, but the Blugolds tied the game in the 37th minute and scored the game-winner with 5:29 to play. UWEC posted a 31-4 advantage in shots, including a 15-1 on goal. Junior Mitchel Munzing leads the team in goals (10), points (26) and game-winning goals (3). Freshman Frankie Pinto has a 6-2-1 record with a 0.97 GAA and a .791 save percentage (34 saves) in net.

LAST FALL: SJU and Augsburg played to a scoreless draw last Sept. 26 (2023) at Haws Field. The Johnnies out-shot the Auggies by a 15-8 margin (5-3 on goal), including 9-4 in the second half. SJU's best chance came in the 77th minute when junior forward Cooper Nowak (Princeton, Minn.) turned the corner on the right wing and centered the ball through the box to classmate Alex Bowman (Elk River, Minn./Rogers) at the far post, but Bowman's re-direction went wide of the net.

Siefken made three saves for his fourth shutout of the season and 11th of his career. Augsburg entered the game averaging 4.63 goals and 21.8 shots per contest.

The scoreless draw was SJU's seventh since 2010, but just the first in MIAC play since Oct. 23, 2012 (vs. Hamline in Collegeville). 

SERIES HISTORY: The Johnnies are 38-8-7 against the Auggies since 1976, including a 17-6-4 record in Minneapolis. SJU, however, is 2-5-1 in its last eight trips to Edor Nelson Field.