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St. John’s soccer players heavily featured in preseason awards

By Michael Szabo

St. John's soccer standout Tani Oluwaseyi was named as a Preseason All-American. (Photo by Andy Mead/ISI Photos/Getty Images)
St. John's soccer standout Tani Oluwaseyi was named as a Preseason All-American. (Photo by Andy Mead/ISI Photos/Getty Images) /
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St. John’s soccer is heavily favored in the Big East Conference preseason honors 

The Big East Conference announced its preseason awards and the St. John’s soccer team was well represented.

St. John’s forward Tani Oluwaseyi the Preseason Offensive Player of the Year on the heels of a stellar 2019 campaign in which the junior scored 11 goals and posted five assists in 20 appearances.

Oluwaseyi won the Offensive Player of the Year Award last season and now is looking to go back-to-back.

The junior was the first Johnnie to win the Big East Offensive Player of the Year award in nearly 25 years.

ALSO READ: How St. John’s can pull off upset against Villanova

The Ontario, Canada native was also named to the Preseason All-American First Team by College Soccer News earlier this offseason as well as being named to the MAC Herman Trophy Watch List last week.

The St. John’s Men’s Soccer team also features three players on the Preseason All-Big East Team which includes Oluwaseyi, and junior midfielders Einar Lye and Brandon Knapp. 

Lye finished last season second on the team in scoring with 5 goals and also notched five assists, starting all 20 of the Red Storm’s games in 2019.

The ever-present Knapp only missed 8 minutes of the Red Storm’s season, starting in all 20 games and scoring four goals and one assist.

St. John’s soccer looking to out-perform expectations

The Red Storm were also picked to finish third in the East Division of the Big East Conference, behind the defending National Champions Georgetown Hoyas and the Big East Tournament runners-up Providence Friars.

For conference play, the Big East was split for this year into East and Midwest divisions in order to limit travel.

ALSO READ: St. John’s gets another schedule adjustment

The East Division that contains the Red Storm, Hoyas, and Friars also includes Seton Hall, Villanova, and UConn.

St. John’s also checks in at No. 24 on the Top Drawer Soccer Poll heading into the start of the season.

The St. John’s Men’s Soccer team will kick off this unprecedented spring season on February 13 against Saint Joseph’s in Belson Stadium at 5:00pm EST.