by Andrew Melnykovych
Three important things the Louisville men’s soccer team likely gained by knocking off No. 10 St. John’s 1-0 Saturday:
- The inside track on the Red Division title in the Big East. If they stay in first, they earn a bye in the first round of the conference tournament and the home-field advantage in the quarterfinal round. Given Louisville’s record at Cardinal Park this year, the latter is huge, since the likely opponent from the Blue Division could well be a top-10 team.
- A boost in the end-of-season RPI ratings, which the NCAA uses in determining seedings for the national championship tournament.
- Added confidence. Despite being outshot, the Cards managed to hang on to a 1-0 lead for more than an hour against a very good team.
Now it’s time to take that confidence to South Florida on Wednesday and earn a much-needed road win against quality opposition.