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SJU: Roster | Schedule
St. John's: Roster | Schedule

PHILADELPHIA – After 471 days, the Saint Joseph's men's soccer squad will play a regular-season match as the Hawks open the 2020-21 campaign this Monday, February 15 at #16/#24 St. John's. Start time is set for 1:00 p.m. at Belson Stadium in Queens, N.Y. and will be streamed on ESPN3.

NOTE: This match was originally scheduled to be played on Saturday, February 13 but was postponed due to COVID-19 protocols.

Saint Joseph's is coming off of an 5-12-1 season (1-7-0 A-10) and returns 17 letterwinners, including eight starters in its entire defensive core of seniors David Grana (2g) and Daniel Morales (2g, 1a), junior Johnny Cunningham, and sophomores Alex Hartmann and Michael Mullins (1a) alongside senior midfielders Alvin Dahn (4g, 1a) and Aidan Watkins (2a) and junior midfielder Garrett Lyons (3g, 3a). Two-year captain Watkins, Morales, and senior midfielder Alan Kahlenbeck will captain the Hawks this spring.

Under the direction of 11th-year head coach Don D'Ambra, the Hawks are 3-6-1 in season-opening matches. The Hawks have been predicted to finish 12th in the Atlantic 10 this spring.

Monday's match will mark the third all-time meeting between Saint Joseph's and St. John's. The Hawks will look for their first-ever win over the Red Storm, as St. John's has won both matches of the series, in 1992 (3-2) and 2016 (2-0).

St. John's enters the spring 2021 season ranked #16 in the CollegeSoccerNews Media Poll and #24 in the TopDrawerSoccer.com Media Poll. The Johnnies reached the NCAA Round of 16 for the 12th time in program history in 2019 and return four 2019 All-BIG EAST selections, including reigning BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year Tani Oluwaseyi. 

D'Ambra shared his thoughts on the upcoming season with SJUHawks.com.

What are your expectations for the team this season?
"Although this season is an official season, our expectations are to make sure we maintain a safe and competitive environment. We have a much shorter time to prepare for the season, so we plan to hit the ground running and prepare our team for competition immediately. Our intentions are to compete in every match and put ourselves in a position to win every game."

What games are you looking forward to in the non-conference slate?
"I love the Philadelphia City 6 matches because it provides a local-rival environment, so we'll look forward to the Temple, Villanova, and Drexel games."

What is your outlook for Atlantic 10 play?
"The A-10 reduced the conference schedule from eight to six games, which makes each game that much more important. We feel we have a very good opportunity to have success in the A-10 matches this spring, so we want to make sure our team is well-prepared and able to perform to its maximum potential."

What makes this senior class (Kyle Allan, Alvin Dahn, David Grana, Jack Hirschfield, Alan Kahlenbeck, Daniel Morales, Aidan Watkins) so special?
"The collective leadership and character of this senior class is unmatched. They have helped raise the standard of our program on and off the field.  They care more about the program than they do about their own personal gain, which is unheard of in today's sports environment. I am extremely proud of all of the seniors, and I just hope they get some kind of competitive normalcy this spring."

What do you like from your returners?
"Our returning players have shown incredible maturity and growth since last year in terms of work ethic, leadership, quality on the field and attitude. Our future is bright because we have some talented players with extremely high character and passion for the program."

What are your early impressions of the newcomers?
"We have the talent, but unfortunately, we did not get an opportunity to play any matches in the fall, so there is still a lot that we need to see to evaluate our incoming players. I am impressed with their hard work and attitude thus far."