SJU soccer adapting quickly to pre-season coaching change

The St. John’s soccer team hadn’t even touched the field yet when former head coach John Haws resigned a month before athletes arrived on campus in August. Haws’ departure left athletic director Bob Alpers scrambling to find a head coach within 30 days. Thankfully, there was a lot of interest in the position.

“Our soccer program has been a sleeping giant in the MIAC,” Alpers said via email. “The day we posted the position, we were overwhelmed with not only the number of applicants, but the quality and experience of the applicants.”

Alpers went on to describe how the decision-making process for choosing a head coach can be long and time consuming, time he didn’t have due to the nature of the situation. Fortunately, he knew exactly who to call.

“My first and only call was to Noel [Quinn], asking him to coach our men on an interim basis. Noel played here, served two stints as an assistant coach here and has had tremendous success as a high school coach including winning a state championship. He agreed to help us out when we needed him; largely out of loyalty and love for St. John’s,” Alpers said.

Even with the title of interim head coach, Noel Quinn is prepared, ready to improve his team and stack wins together with a goal of competing come November.

“My goals are to provide a player experience in which the players improve as individuals and improve as a team,” Quinn said via email. “Our goals are to improve every day, and if we can do that, we will give ourselves a great chance to win every game and be in contention for success later in the season.”

Despite the head coaching drama this early in the season, the Johnnies are off to a 2-2 start in nonconference play and their MIAC schedule is right around the corner. Junior forward Alex Bowman is prepared to face off against the MIAC despite the .500 start and the off-the-pitch issues this summer.

“I have experienced the ups and downs a season can have,” Bowman said via email. “As a team, we have played very well the last two games and we are all in a great headspace heading into MIAC play.”

Senior goalkeeper Evan Siefkin reflected on his own goals as well as the team’s goals as MIAC play starts this week and he looked ahead to the end of the season.

“I don’t have many personal goals,” Siefkin said via email. “I think my personal goals reflect our overall team goals, which are being very tough to beat in the regular season, but ultimately are to earn a spot in the playoffs in November.”

The Johnnie Soccer team has its eyes on playoff success, but Bowman acknowledges it is not a given.

“As always, it is the goal to win the MIAC and make the national tournament, but that doesn’t happen overnight, so we need to take it day by day,” Bowman said. “I need to help make sure we continue moving forward with our best foot forward, regardless of what happened the day before.”

Keeping your best foot forward could have been a struggle due to the recent coaching change, but confidence is high among the team and its leaders. Alpers is proud of the confidence and resiliency in not only the players but Coach Quinn as well.

“Through four games, we’ve outscored our opponents 12-3,” Alpers said. “I love the way our players have responded to Noel. I couldn’t be happier with the job he is doing.”

Alpers also cited that the champion of the NCAA last year came out of the MIAC. Even with the tough competition and the coaching change, he knows it will be a fulfilling season.

“Our guys won’t back down from any challenge and we’ll compete every single day,” Alpers said.