JAMAICA, N.Y. -- Nothing can ever be taken for granted. St. John’s Head Men’s Soccer Coach Dave Masur likes to remind his team of that fact. He wants his student-athletes to know that they must go hard every second of every game.

That’s why, after the ninth-ranked Red Storm took nine shots in the first half but could not muster the first score, he reminded his team to move on and continue to push forward.

That persistence again paid off, as the Red Storm scored a pair of goals – one from freshman Ashley Kozicki (Pleasant Valley, Pa.) and another from junior Matt Groenwald (Mt. Prospect, Ill.) - in the second half en route to a 2-0 win over Villanova on Wednesday night in BIG EAST men’s soccer action in front of 1,141 fans at Belson Stadium.

The two goals – which came in an 11-minute span – led the Red Storm to their fourth-straight win. St. John’s improves to 4-2-0 overall, and 3-0-0 in the BIG EAST, while Villanova falls to 3-4-0, and 0-3-0.

St. John’s out shot the Wildcats, 9-1, in the first half, with several strong chances, but were not able to put the initial score on the board. A pair of shots from senior Angel Rodriguez (Toms River, N.J.) were blocked one from senior Simone Salinno (Lucera, Italy) went high in the first 10 minutes of the game. Villanova’s first shot, and only on goal for the game, was a liner from 18 yards out from Jonathan Lopuski that was saved by Red Storm keeper Bill Gaudette (Hummelstown, Pa.).

In the second half, it was all St. John’s. Kozicki, who had his first career goal called back on offsides last Saturday against Georgetown, made his first one memorable. After receiving a pass from Red Storm junior defender Chris Leidner (Greenlawn, N.Y.), Kozicki dribbled along the 18 past a defender and sent a low blast that beat Villanova keeper Craig Bald to the lower near post, giving St. John’s a 1-0 lead at 59:47.

Eleven minutes later, Groenwald sent a ball to junior Chris Corcoran (Marshfield, Mass.), who played the ball back to his teammate as he moved to the far side of the box. Groenwald sent a blast on the far side of the box from 15 yards out, beating Bald to the lower near post, giving St. John’s a 2-0 lead at 70:09.

St. John’s dominated play through much of the second half, taking 14 shots overall, including four on goal. Junior Ryan Kelly (Marlton, N.J.) took two shots in the second stanza, including one that hit the crossbar, while Salinno, senior Tim O’Neill (Philadelphia, Pa.) and Groenwald each tallied three shots.

The Red Storm finished with 23 shots, while Villanova tallied two. St. John’s had three corner kicks and the Wildcats added one.

Gaudette made one save in goal for St. John’s, while Bald had four for the Wildcats.

St. John’s wraps up a four-game home stand on Saturday night at 8 p.m. against Syracuse.