The Johnnie soccer team starts a three-day stretch of games with a 10 a.m. match on Friday, Sept. 4, at Minnesota-Morris. SJU travels to Crown on Saturday (Sept. 5) before returning home to host Coe (Iowa) at 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 6.

LIVE COVERAGE
-10 a.m. Friday at Minnesota-Morris: Live Stats | Live Video
-5 p.m. Saturday at Crown: Live Stats | Live Video
-3 p.m. Sunday vs. Coe: Live Stats | Live Video

A MORNING MATCH ON FRIDAY: Friday's game was originally scheduled for a 3 p.m. start but was moved up to 10 a.m. due to the heat index forecast for the afternoon/evening.

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (1-0 overall) opened its 2026 season with a 2-0 shutout of St. Norbert (Wis.) earlier this week on Tuesday (Sept. 1) at Haws Field.

A pair of freshmen accounted for the goals and another newcomer, sophomore transfer Alex Keekley (St. Louis Park, Minn./Minnetonka), made three saves for the shutout in his SJU debut. Seven of the team's 11 starters – five freshmen and two transfers – were new to the Johnnies' soccer program.

Freshman defender Billy Cornett (Minneapolis, Minn./Cretin-Derham Hall) gave SJU a quick 1-0 lead just 1:14 into the match. A throw-in from sophomore forward Eli Ryan (Victoria, Minn./Minnetonka) found the head of classmate Axel Martin (Lakeville, Minn./Rosemount), who drove the ball away from the net to sophomore midfielder James Torguson (Shakopee, Minn.). Torguson found Cornett streaking along the top of the box and the freshman took a touch, spun and launched a shot to the top-right corner of the net.

Cornett nearly had his second goal of the game, but it was disallowed due to a foul on the corner kick early in the 52nd minute.

Freshman midfielder Laird Holden (Iowa City, Iowa/Regina) added the insurance goal with 2:12 to play. Keekley's punt connected with Ryan, who dribbled into the box and found Holden open to his left for a nifty one-timer.

SJU posted a 14-7 advantage in shots (9-4 on goal) and a 6-0 margin in corner kicks.

FAST START: Cornett's tally was the fastest for SJU to start a season in exactly nine years – Sept. 1, 2017 – when a Zack Boerjan cross went off a Nebraska Wesleyan defender for an own goal just 32 seconds into the eventual 4-3 overtime win in Collegeville. SJU's Tudor Flintham '06 was in his third season as head coach of the Prairie Wolves at the time.

A LOOK AT THE COUGARS: Minnesota-Morris (1-0 overall) started its 2026 campaign with a 1-0 win on Tuesday (Sept. 1) at Concordia-Moorhead. Despite being out-shot 16-4 (8-1 on net), sophomore forward Jake Anargyros' goal in the 20th minute stood as the game's lone tally. Anargyros (10g/5a) and senior defender Cade Simonson (0g/1a) were both All-UMAC honorable mention last season for a UMM team that finished 6-9-3 (4-6-2 UMAC). The Cougars were picked to finish fourth in the UMAC preseason coaches' poll.

TWO YEARS AGO: Twelve Johnnies recorded a point in a 9-1 win over Minnesota-Morris the last time the two teams met on Sept. 10, 2024, in Collegeville. A trio of Johnnies – O'Connor, midfielder Christian Rodriguez '25 and forward Mahmoud Soumah '25 – scored two goals apiece. Three others tallied two assists each: Bowman, midfielder Danny Boyle and defender A.J. Miller.

O'Connor opened the game's scoring with his first collegiate goal in the sixth minute and tacked on the second 10 minutes later. Rodriguez gave SJU a 3-0 halftime lead with the first of his two goals with just under two minutes remaining in the first half.

Bowman scored his second goal in as many games, and 11th of his career, in the 59th minute and Drong gave the home team a 5-0 lead with his first goal as a Johnnie 1:21 later.

A miscommunication between an SJU defender and goalkeeper Evan Siefken '25 led to an own-goal and the lone tally for the Cougars in the 63rd minute.

Soumah answered for SJU with his first collegiate tally in the 68th minute, followed by a goal from forward Andrew Pitzner in the 74th and another from Soumah in the 87th. Rodriguez ended the scoring with his fifth collegiate goal with 1:55 to play. 

SJU recorded a 35-8 advantage in shots (21-4 on goal) and a 10-2 margin in corner kicks.

SERIES HISTORY: The Johnnies are 12-1-1 all-time against UMM, including a 5-1-1 mark in Morris. SJU has won each of the last 11 meetings overall with a 34-3 goal differential. 

A LOOK AT THE POLARS: Crown (0-0-1 overall) played Saint Mary's to a 1-1 draw on Tuesday (Sept. 1) in Winona. SMU registered a 19-2 advantage in shots, including a 11-1 mark on goal, and gained a 1-0 lead in the 34th minute. Ashton Hosler tallied the equalizer just 2:08 later. He led the team in goals (8) and was second in points (17) last fall. The Polars posted a 7-12-4 record (5-6-1 UMAC) in 2025 and were picked fifth in the UMAC preseason coaches' poll.

A YEAR AGO: SJU defeated Crown 4-1 for its first win of the season last Sept. 3 (2025) at Haws Field. Junior 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. 

Torguson scored the first goal of the game for SJU 12 minutes into play, recovering a rebound from Martin's 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. 

Sophomore 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. 

Forward Alex Bowman '26 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 ended sophomore 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. 

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 forward Connor Drong '26 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).

SERIES HISTORY: The Johnnies are 2-0 all-time against Crown. The first meeting was a 5-0 SJU win on Sept. 8, 2012, in St. Bonifacius. 

A LOOK AT THE KOHAWKS: Coe (0-1 overall) opened its season Tuesday (Sept. 1) at home with a 3-1 loss against Grinnell (Iowa) and visits St. Scholastica Friday night before traveling Sunday to Collegeville. The Kohawks' lone goal in the opener came on a penalty kick from junior forward Brandon Kostelny. Last season, Kostelny finished third on the team with seven points (3g/1a). Senior midfielder Isaiah Jakel leads all returners from last season in goals with four. Sophomore goalkeeper William Shaw made six saves in Tuesday's opener. He appeared in nine games last season, with six starts, and posted a 3-2-2 record with a 1.64 GAA and .769 save percentage. Coe finished seventh in the American Rivers Conference with a 2-6 record (4-9-4 overall) and was picked to finish seventh again this season in the league's preseason coaches' poll.

32 YEARS AGO: Sunday's game is the first between SJU and Coe since the first, a 6-0 Johnnie victory on Sept. 11, 1994, in Collegeville. According to the St. Cloud Times' recap, SJU out-shot Coe by a 55-0 margin (18-0 on goal). Todd Kuznik (1g/1a) and Eric Ross (1g/1a) had three points apiece, while Jaime Smith and Craig Steele tallied two assists each.