Correction appended.
A second-half goal from Dylan Remick '13 propelled the men's soccer team to a 1-0 victory over No. 9 St. John's University Sunday, as the Bears keep rolling in the NCAA Tournament. The backline was strong for the Bears (12-4-3, 4-1-2 Ivy) as Ryan McDuff '13 and Eric Robertson '13 played staunch defense to keep a potent Red Storm (14-7-2) attack off the scoreboard. The win advances Bruno to the Sweet 16 of the tournament for the second year in a row.
"Going to play at St. John's is always going to be difficult," said Head Coach Patrick Laughlin. "Being the Big East Champions, they're an outstanding team. Playing them earlier in the year, I think we got to know them a little bit, and that was helpful for us. We knew it was going to be a massive challenge."
The two sides battled to a 0-0 double overtime draw Oct. 4, and the teams' parity stretched into the first half of play as both enjoyed even possession of the ball. Bruno's first chance came in the 13th minute when Kevin Gavey '13 forced a save from the St. John's keeper with a headed effort on net. St. John's applied pressure of its own, recording six shots in the half to the Bears' four.
"St. John's is very quick and they have a lot of small players that are technically excellent," Laughlin said. "They're a pass-and-move team, and we knew we needed to stay organized and condense the space. We did a real good job of limiting their chances and trying to hit them on the counter."
The Bears did just that, finding the back of the net on a counter-attack only three minutes into the second half. Remick sprinted 80 yards up the field to overlap Ben Maurey '15, who dished the ball outside to Remick on the wing. Remick struck the ball on frame, and a deflection off a Red Storm defender sent the goalie the wrong way as the ball flew into the net to give the Bears the 1-0 lead with the entire half to play.
After keeping the Red Storm at bay for the next 20 minutes, the Bears caught a break with 12 minutes left on the clock. St. John's midfielder Chris Lebo was sent off after a brash challenge on T.J. Popolizio '12, reducing the Red Storm to 10 men for the rest of the game. The Bears had to play lock-down defense to see the game out.
"It was one of those situations where you don't want to get too comfortable," Laughlin said. "You think, ‘They're down a man, it's going to be no problem now.' But St. John's kept pushing all the way to the end. … They completely went for it, and made it difficult for us."
The Bears will wait a week to face the winner of St. Mary's College of California (9-6-5) and University of California at Irvine (16-5-1) Sunday at Stevenson Field. But for now, the team is enjoying its privileged position.
"It's exciting to still be playing," Laughlin said. "To be one of the 16 teams that are left in the country — that's a pretty awesome feeling."
A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that the men's soccer team would travel to the West Coast to play its next game in the NCAA Tournament. In fact, the game was held at Stevenson Field Sunday at 5 p.m. The Herald regrets the error.
