The Johnnie soccer team begins this week's two-game homestand by hosting Crown for a 4 p.m. non-conference match on Wednesday, Sept. 3, at Haws Field. – Live Stats | Live Video

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (0-0-2 overall) opened its 2025 schedule this past weekend with a pair of non-conference draws.

t-at Saint John's 1, Nebraska Wesleyan 1
Sophomore forward Ronan O'Connor (Woodbury, Minn./Hill-Murray) gave the home team an early 1-0 lead with the seventh goal of his career on the season's first shot on goal in the 14th minute. Freshman forward James Torguson (Shakopee, Minn.) battled an NWU defender for the battle near midfield and fed O'Connor for the breakaway goal.

Franklyn Herasme tallied the equalizer early in the 62nd minute when he dribbled and deflected the ball to himself through the box to the goal line.

Freshman goalkeeper Austin Ertel (Brownsburg, Ind./Lawrence Central) made five saves for SJU, which posted a 13-10 edge in shots (NWU led on goal, 6-4).

The draw was the first between the two programs in the series, which SJU leads 6-2-1.

t-Saint John's 2, at Concordia-Moorhead 2
Senior defender Carter Hermanson (St. Paul, Minn./Holy Angels) gave SJU an early lead in the 16th minute. Torguson started the play with a free kick from the right sideline that found classmate Olin Franzwa (St. Paul, Minn./Woodbury) on the opposite side of the field. Franzwa's pass into the box was headed away by a Cobber defender, but landed on the foot of Hermanson, who turned to beat the keeper with a quick goal off his left foot, the seventh of his career.

Ricco Rolle, CC's leading goal scorer last season, tied the game at 1-1 when he stole the ball from freshman goalkeeper Cole Hanson (Urbandale, Iowa) for an uncontested tally in the 41st minute.

SJU regained the lead in the 64th minute as a long ball from senior forward Connor Drong (St. Cloud, Minn./Cathedral) broke the Cobber defense to help O'Connor tally his second goal in as many days. O'Connor chipped the ball over the head of the hard-charging Concordia goalkeeper for the eighth goal of his career and a 2-1 Johnnie lead.

Parker Gast scored the equalizer for CC on a free kick at the top of the box following an SJU yellow card in the 74th minute.

The two programs encounter each other in two months – Saturday, Oct. 25 on the Collegeville pitch – for the game that will count in the MIAC standings.

Both teams totaled 10 shots and shots on goal were 5-2 in favor of the home team. Senior forward Alex Bowman (Elk River, Minn./Rogers) hit the crossbar on a long shot 10 minutes in.

Hanson made two saves in the first half, while sophomore Ed Krinke (Shoreview, Minn./Cretin-Derham Hall) collected a save in the second 45.

Fouls were 17-9 in favor of the Cobbers, but yellow cards were shown at a 4-1 count against SJU. The visitors also posted a 9-2 advantage in corner kicks.

A LOOK AT THE POLARS: Crown (0-0-1 overall) finished third in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) with a 9-5 record (14-10-2 overall) last fall and was picked to finish fourth in the UMAC preseason coaches' poll. The Polars played Wisconsin-Stout to a scoreless tie in their season opener last Friday (Aug. 29) at home. Crown returns six players who recorded double-digit point totals last season and senior goalkeeper Leo Roque, who started 23 games last season, went 13-8-2 and had three saves in the opener. The top returning point scorer is junior forward Ashton Hosier with 23 (10g/3a). The Polars' roster consists of players from seven different countries, including the U.S.: Brazil, Guatemala, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands and Portugal.

THE LAST MEETING: Saint John's exploded for four second-half goals en route to a 5-0 shutout at Crown the last and only other time the two soccer programs have met on Sept. 8, 2012 at St. Bonifacius. Josh Whitaker '14 gave SJU a 1-0 lead 20:57 into the match, with an assist going to Matt Carson '13, and tallied his second goal of the game in the 54th minute before the flood gates opened. Ian Scudder '14 scored his first goal of the season at the 78:04 mark and classmate David Wee '14 added his second of the year 1:04 later. Zane Heinselman '14 ended the scoring with his second goal in as many days, on a pass from Michael Coborn '13 with 2:59 remaining in the match. 

Kevin Lebahn '15, the Johnnies' new assistant coach in 2025, made two saves to record his first win, and shutout, in his first collegiate start in net. The Johnnies out-shot Crown 32-10 in the match, including an 18-1 advantage in the second half alone.