Freshman Josh Thiermann scored his first goal of the season to send the No. 11 Notre Dame men's soccer team past St. John's, 1-0, in the quarterfinals of the BIG EAST Championship on Sunday afternoon at Alumni Field. The Fighting Irish will face DePaul in the semifinal round in Storrs, Conn. on Friday, Nov. 16. at 5:30 p.m.

Notre Dame (11-3-5) will be making its fifth semifinal appearance in the BIG EAST tournament. The last time the Irish were in the final four of the league championship was in 2003 when they captured the program's second BIG EAST tournament crown.

The Fighting Irish were in control throughout Sunday's match. An early strike from Michael Thomas off a Matt Besler throw-in nearly put the Irish on board in the first minute of play. Later in the first half, Joseph Lapira had consecutive shots saved by St. John's (9-7-5) goalkeeper Jason Landers, who made six saves on the day.

Notre Dame out shot St. John's 7-1 in the first half and 15-2 for the entire match. The Irish also produced one more corner kick than the Red Storm (4-3). The game was knotted, 0-0, at halftime.