Men's Soccer sweeps weekend set with Akron, Penn State

Rankings

After an impressive win over No. 5 Akron, the Red Storm have moved up nine spots and now sit at No. 12 in the country.

Awards

For their efforts in both wins over the weekend, junior college transfer Casey Osborne and Rafael Diaz were named BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week and Goalkeeper of the Week, respectively.

#23 St. John's 2, #5 Akron 1

It was deja vu all over again for the Red Storm as senior Jimmy Mulligan played the role of hero for the second time in the first four games of the 2013 season. One week after scoring the game-winning goal in the season opener, Mulligan netted the golden goal to lift No. 23 St. John's past No. 5 Akron in front of a packed crowd at Belson Stadium on Saturday (Sept. 7).

St. John's found themselves down in the second half after the Zips found the back of the net in the 71st minute. Less than three minutes later, the Red Storm responded with a score of their own. Jelani Williams sent a pass into the box and Josh Godec sent home his first career goal to tie the score at 1.

It wasn't until the 106th minute that the Red Storm scored the game-winner. Tim Parker was taken down in the box, and Mulligan stepped up and came through in the clutch, giving St. John's the 2-1 upset over the Zips.

#23 St. John's 1, Penn State 0

It's always good to get your first career goal with a new team when it matters most. Osborne waited until the fourth game of the season to make his presence felt as he scored the lone goal for the Red Storm in their 1-0 win over Penn State on Sunday (Sept. 8).

On the defensive end, Diaz kept a clean sheet for St. John's (3-1-0), making four saves in the process to notch the squad's second-straight win.

Next up

The Red Storm conclude their four-game homestand against South Carolina (Sept. 13) and West Virginia (Sept. 15).