Saint John's soccer makes the trek to Winona for a 3:30 p.m. game at Saint Mary's on Tuesday, Oct. 28. – Live Stats | Live Video

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (10-4-3, 3-4-1 MIAC) scored twice in each half in a 4-0 victory over Concordia this past Saturday (Oct. 25) at Haws Field. SJU's first three goals came from freshmen, while senior defender Caden Ligman (St. Paul, Minn./Highland Park) capped the game with his first collegiate goal in the 77th minute. 

The win was the third in a row for the Johnnies, marking their first 10-win season since 2019 (10-8-1).

Freshman midfielder Olin Franzwa (St. Paul, Minn./Woodbury) opened the scoring 15:45 into the game, tallying the first of his collegiate career with a header in the box. Freshman midfielder James Torguson (Shakopee, Minn.) took a corner kick for SJU that sailed to the far end of the box, where senior defender Foster Conlin (Mooresville, N.C./Mounds View) nodded it to a jumping Franzwa for the eventual game-winner.

Less than three minutes later, freshman defender Gabe Franzman (Bettendorf, Iowa) scored his second of the year, taking a feed from sophomore forward Ronan O'Connor (Woodbury, Minn./Hill-Murray) - his first of two assists on the afternoon – and freshman midfielder Eli Ryan (Victoria, Minn./Minnetonka) down the left side of the field. Franzman beat the goalkeeper on the outside after taking a feed in the box from O'Connor, who received a long pass from Ryan to start the play. 

Concordia tallied five of its eight shot attempts after the halftime break, but freshman defender Drew Ripp (Onalaska, Wis./Holmen) put the game out of reach in the 71st minute for his second goal in three games. Freshman midfielder Carter Gellner (Chaska, Minn./Chanhassen) made an outlet pass down the field to senior forward Alex Bowman (Elk River, Minn./Rogers), who sent a well-placed cross into the box. O'Connor tipped the ball to Ripp who buried the Johnnies' third of the game.

Ligman scored six minutes later, as a corner kick from senior forward Connor Drong (St. Cloud, Minn./Cathedral) tipped off a Cobber and to the senior defender at the top of the box, who buried it into the left corner of the goal.

The Johnnies out-shot the Cobbers 26-8 (15-5 on goal) and amassed 19 corner kicks to the visitors' one.

Freshman goalkeeper Cole Hanson (Urbandale, Iowa) and classmate Austin Ertel (Brownsburg, Ind./Lawrence Central) combined for the shutout, SJU's second in a row. Hanson made two saves in 76:32, while Ertel saved three in the final 14 minutes.

RONAN'S RECORD BOOK: O'Connor has 16 goals in 17 games this season, the second-most by a Johnnie in program history, and three from the record of 19 scored by Ken Potts in 1974. His 41 points (16g/9a) are also second-most behind Potts' 56 in '74.

DEFENSIVE ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Conlin was named the MIAC Men's Soccer Defensive Athlete of the Week earlier today (Monday, Oct. 27). He played 159 minutes on the back line for the Johnnies last week, securing a pair of shutouts on Wednesday (5-0 over Wisconsin-Stout) and Saturday (4-0 over Concordia-Moorhead) in Collegeville. He assisted both game-winning goals, added six shots (two on goal) and helped SJU out-shoot opponents 65-10 (34-6 in on net). Conlin has 10 points (3g/4a) in 17 games this fall and has played 70 minutes or more in all of SJU's contests this season, 11 of which have been complete-game performances.

HOT COLES IN NET: Hanson played 166:32 of scoreless soccer in goal for the Johnnies last week, securing his first two collegiate shutouts on Wednesday and Saturday. Hanson made one save in a complete-game effort in SJU's 5-0 non-conference victory vs. Stout and saved a pair of shots against Concordia for three points and a 4-0 MIAC win. Since taking over starting duties for the Johnnies, the freshman has gone 5-2-1 with a 0.95 GAA and a .851 save percentage (40 saves).

A LOOK AT THE CARDINALS: Saint Mary's (4-9-3, 1-6-1 MIAC) suffered a 2-1 loss – its third-consecutive defeat – at St. Scholastica on Saturday (Oct. 25) in Duluth. The Saints built a 2-0 lead before freshman midfielder Leonardo Hernandez put the visitors on the scoreboard in the 74th minute. SMU posted an 18-15 edge in shots (was out-shot 10-6 on net) and a 12-6 margin in corner kicks. Senior forward Cohan Hare (5g/3a) and sophomore forward Thomas Laaksonen (4g/5a) lead the team with 13 points apiece. Junior Ryan Horlock is 3-8-2 with a 1.86 GAA and a .704 save percentage (57 saves) in net.

LAST SEASON: SJU blanked SMU 5-0 last Sept. 28 (2024) in Collegeville. The Johnnies opened the conference schedule with a pair of 1-0 losses to Macalester and Hamline, but broke open the offensive floodgates with a 26-8 advantage in shots and five goals.

Danny Boyle opened the scoring with his first collegiate goal – a header off a corner kick from Drong – in the 18th minute. 

Christian Rodriguez '25 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.

Mahmoud Soumah '25 made it 4-0 with his third goal of the season in the 65th minute and O'Connor re-joined Rodriguez and Soumah for the team lead with his third tally of the season in the 72nd minute. 

Evan Siefken '25 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 in shots on goal and a 9-1 margin in corner kicks.

SERIES HISTORY: The Johnnies are 41-7-6 against the Cardinals since 1976, including a 20-4-1 record in Winona. SJU is 13-2-1 in its last 15 meetings overall, with both losses occurring on SMU's pitch (1-0 on Sept. 17, 2016 and 2-1 in overtime on April 25, 2021).