JAMAICA, N.Y. -- One of the most intense rivalries in the BIG EAST and in NCAA mens soccer will take place on Sunday, when seventh-seeded Rutgers visits No. 2 seed St. Johns in a BIG EAST Tournament quarterfinal match. The match will be held at the Mitchel Athletic Complex in Uniondale, with a 6 p.m. kickoff.

The winner of Sundays game will advance to the BIG EAST semifinals, which will be held on Friday, November 10 at Yurcak Field on the campus of Rutgers University. Rutgers or St. Johns will advance to play the winner of the Boston College-Georgetown match. Admission to the match is free and directions to the Athletic Complex are listed below.

St. Johns finished the regular season with a 13-3-2 overall record and an 8-2-1 mark in the BIG EAST. The team won its last four matches and five of the last six. Junior Shalrie Joseph (Brooklyn, N.Y.) led the team in scoring with 11 goals and two assists for 24 points, which ranked fourth in the conference. Classmate Rich Bradley (Bayport, N.Y.) was second on the team with five goals and three assists for 13 points. The Red Storm defense led the team, as usual, this season. During the regular season, St. Johns posted 10 shutouts, including four-straight shutout wins to close out the season. Led by senior defenders Omar Chavez (New Rochelle, N.Y.) and Adam Maurer (Spring Valley, Calif.), along with sophomore Dave ODonnell (Nashua, N.H.), and senior goalkeeper Jeffrey Stoklosa (Newark, Del.), the Red Storm will enter holding its opponent scoreless in the last 376 minutes and seven seconds, dating back to a goal scored by Notre Dame on October 22. In the last six games, the Red Storm have given up one goal in a span of 466 minutes and seven seconds.

Rutgers enters the game with a 9-8-1 overall record. They finished the season in seventh place in the BIG EAST with a 5-5-1 mark. After starting out the season with four straight losses, the Scarlet Knights finished the season with a 9-4-1 mark in their last 14 games. Before losing a 2-1-overtime game to Connecticut in the season finale, Rutgers had posted consecutive wins over Pittsburgh, Notre Dame and Penn. RU has been led this season by Dustin Sheppard, a starter in 11 of 18 games at forward, who scored 12 goals and recorded four assists for 28 points. Fellow forward Dennis Ludwig started 13 of 14 games he played and finished second on the team in scoring, with 10 goals and two assists for 22 points. Goalkeeper Ricky Zinter posted a 9-5-1 record, carrying a 1.16 goals against average.

The match will only be the eighth head-to-head between the teams, but the closeness of the schools in distance, and the number of players from the New York area who grew up playing against one another, has made this one of the most anticipated every year.

And for the second time in three years, this will be the second meeting of the season. St. Johns beat Rutgers, 1-0, on October 11. A goal by Joseph  coming on an assist from sophomore midfielder Patrick Lonergan (Millington, N.J.)  just 2:19 into the game stood up for the Red Storm.

Head-to-head, St. Johns leads the series, 4-3-3, and has a 3-0-1 mark in the last four matches. Rutgers and St. John's have met three previous times in the BIG EAST Championship, with RU winning the first two meetings. In 1996, the teams played to a 3-3 tie, but the Scarlet Knights won on penalty kicks. In 1997, the Scarlet Knights beat St. Johns, 2-1, in double overtime. The last meeting in the conference tournament came in 1998, with the Red Storm posting a 2-1 win.

DIRECTIONS TO MITCHEL ATHLETIC COMPLEX

Take the Long Island Expressway (495-East) to Exit 39 South (Glen Cove Road). Proceed south to Old Country Road. Make a left on Old Country and go two miles to Merrick Avenue. Make a right turn on Merrick Avenue, until you reach Hempstead Turnpike and make a right. On Hempstead Turnpike, go about one mile and make a right turn on Earle Overton Boulevard (Nassau Coliseum on right). Go two traffic lights and make a left. Mitchel Field will be on the left.