Nov. 16, 2007

QUEENS, N.Y. - A trio of Red Storm men's soccer players have earned All-BIG EAST recognition for the 2007 season. Senior Jeff Stepan was named to the All-BIG EAST Second Team, senior Jason Landers was named to the All-BIG EAST Third Team and sophomore Joel Gustafsson was named an All-BIG EAST Honorable Mention. This is the first career All-BIG EAST honor for both Stepan and Gustafsson. Landers, a first team selection in 2005, earns his second career All-BIG EAST honor.

Stepan, a tri-captain, has started all 21 games this season for the Red Storm. The defender has tallied four goals and an assist for nine points and is tied for the team lead in both goals and points. The four goals also tie a career high for Stepan. In a 4-1 win over Pittsburgh on September 23, Stepan had his first career multi-goal game and tallied his second career game-winning goal. Those efforts, combined with his defensive efforts in a 1-0 shutout against then-No. 5 West Virginia, earned Stepan BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week honors on September 24. Stepan scored his first goal of the season against Virginia Tech on September 8. In a 2-2 tie with Seton Hall in the first round of the BIG EAST Tournament he added a goal and an assist before St. John's advanced with a 3-2 shootout win.

Landers, a tri-captain, has started 12 games in goal for St. John's. He has posted a 5-3-3 record with seven shutouts (one shared) and a 0.65 goals against average. The 2005 BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year has also posted a .818 save percentage. During a 2-0-2 span for the Red Storm, the keeper posted consecutive shutouts over Providence, then-No. 23 Villanova, then-No. 21 Michigan and Louisville. Landers also had a scoreless streak of 479 minutes over a period of six games. During the season, Landers became the Red Storm's all-time leader in shutouts (32) and moved into a tie for third with 31 career wins.

Gustafsson, a defender, has also started all 21 games this season. The 6-3 defender anchored a defense that allowed just 0.86 goals per game and posted nine shutouts during the year. Gustafsson has also tallied two assists this year. In a 1-0 win over Seton Hall on September 13, the defender assisted the game-winning goal to pick up his first career assist. He also added an assist against Seton Hall in the BIG EAST Tournament first round.