Box Score 

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – Saint John's defeated Crown 4-1 for its first win of the season on Wednesday, Sept. 3 at Haws Field.  

Sophomore forward Ronan O'Connor (Woodbury, Minn./Hill-Murray) accounted for the Johnnies' second and fourth goals and assisted the third for a five-point outing. His five points are the most by a Johnnie in six years, when Ben Becker '20 recorded six thanks to a hat trick in SJU's 5-2 victory at Northwestern on Sept. 7, 2019. 

Freshman midfielder James Torguson (Shakopee, Minn.) scored the first goal of the game for SJU (1-0-2 overall) 12 minutes into play, recovering a rebound from classmate Axel Martin's (Lakeville, Minn./Rosemount) shot on goal. Martin's attempt was saved by the Polar goalkeeper off the right post but was rebounded into the top left corner by Torguson for his first collegiate tally. 

Freshman midfielder Ike Deuel (Maple Grove, Minn.) delivered O'Connor's first of the game when his free kick from the top of the box was saved by the Polars' goalkeeper but the rebound went right to O'Connor for an easy put-back. 

Senior forward Alex Bowman (Elk River, Minn./Rogers) gave the Johnnies a 3-0 lead just after the break, as O'Connor stole the ball from a Crown defender and fed Bowman with a cross near the right post.  



Crown (0-1-1 overall) ended freshman Austin Ertel's (Brownsburg, Indiana/Lawrence Central) shutout in the 52nd minute as Noah Feneis broke through the Johnnie defense to tuck the lone tally for the Polars under Ertel's arm uncontested. Ertel finished with three saves for his first collegiate win in goal (1-0-1 record). 

The Johnnies responded just three minutes later, as Martin intercepted a pass from the Crown keeper for a quick set up to a wide-open O'Connor for his second of the match and fourth of the season.  

Bowman nearly had his second of the game off a cross from senior forward Connor Drong (St. Cloud, Minn./Cathedral) in the final 10 minutes of the game, but his header hit the right post and deflected wide.  

SJU out-shot Crown 28-4 (15-4 on goal), including a mark of 15-1 margin in the first half. The Johnnies totaled nine corner kicks to the Polars' one. Both teams combined for five yellow cards (three on Crown, two on SJU). 

The win was the first at SJU for head coach Tudor Flintham '06. Flintham amassed 140 wins between coaching stints with Gustavus Adolphus and Nebraska Wesleyan (men and women) in 10 total seasons.  

The Johnnies continue non-conference play by hosting Bethany Lutheran at 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 7, at Haws Field.