It’s been less than a year since the St. John’s men’s soccer team played its first game in the friendly confines of Belson Stadium. In that short time, the Red Storm have made a nice home for themselves at the corner of Union Turnpike and Utopia Parkway.

When they took to the field on Wednesday night for their home opener, the No. 15-ranked St. John’s team was greeted by more than 1,600 fans – many of them students with faces painted and waving red and white pom-poms – and a raucous crowd.

With their 12th Man behind them, St. John’s scored three times in the first half – twice in 60 seconds – en route to a 3-1 win over archrival Rutgers in front of 1,609 at Belson. The win improves St. John’s to 2-0 in the BIG EAST Conference, and 2-2 overall.

The Red Storm got on board with a dominating first half, out-shooting the visiting Scarlet Knights 6-5, with five shots on goal, en route to a 3-0 lead at the break. Shooting at a goal with nearly 300 St. John’s students behind it, senior forward Simone Salinno (Lucera, Italy) got the Red Storm started. A Rutgers foul resulted in a free kick for senior Angel Rodriguez (Toms River, N.J.). Rodriguez’s shot from 15 yards out on the near side of the box went through traffic to Salinno, whose diving header beat Rutgers goalkeeper Scott Conway to the lower far post at 8:44.

The crowd of students behind the visiting goal were still celebrating when junior forward Matt Groenwald (Mt. Prospect, Ill.) put in his second goal of the season less than a minute later. Junior teammate Chris Corcoran (Marshfield, Mass.) made a midfield run on the left wing and passed to Groenwald about 25 yards out. Groenwald’s shot from 15 yards out beat Conway to the lower far post.

Groenwald wasn’t finished with just that goal. The junior, who has battled through three surgeries in his first two seasons at St. John’s, gave St. John’s what would prove to be an insurmountable lead for Rutgers in the 35th minute. The speedy forward picked up a loose ball from about 20 yards out and blasted a shot that again beat Conway to the lower far post.

The Red Storm would continue it in the second half, taking eight shots, including six on goal. Junior Ryan Kelly (Marlton, N.J.) had a pair of shots blocked, while Conway was able to save one from Rodriguez in the first 20 minutes of the second stanza. Rutgers narrowed the gap to 3-1 at 67:49 when Chris Karcz headed one past St. John’s goalkeeper Guy Hertz (Ramat-Hasharon, Israel), with the assist to Josh Gros. St. John’s had more chances down the stretch, including a pair in the final minute from Groenwald and one from sophomore Jean Camere (Miami, Fla.) that Conway was able to save.

The Red Storm took 14 shots, including nine on goal, while Rutgers had 10 shots, five on goal. St. John’s had two corner kicks, while the Scarlet Knights (2-1, 1-1) had three. Hertz made four saves in between the pipes for the Red Storm, earning his second win of the season.

St. John’s continues its home stand on Saturday, playing BIG EAST rival Georgetown at Belson Stadium at 8 p.m.