St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
0-1
New Jersey Institute of Technology
1-0
St. John’s Falls to NJIT in Season Opener, 10-8
2/3/2024 6:03:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse
Redshirt freshman Adrian Nowak tallied a hat trick for the Red Storm
The St. John's lacrosse team fell short against NJIT, 10-8, in its 2024 season opener on Saturday afternoon at DaSilva Memorial Field.
The Red Storm jumped to a 5-1 advantage in the first quarter and outshot its opponent 44-38 but were unable to complete a fourth-quarter comeback in Queens.
Redshirt Freshman Adrian Nowak scored the first three goals of his college career for the Red Storm (0-1) while freshman Richie Reid and Dylan Lee each found the back of the net in their first games in St. John's uniforms. Senior Caleb Zuhoski and juniors Bobby Seel and Luke Mangan added tallies for the Johnnies.
Caiden Vlasimsky tallied two assists and fired a pair of shots on goal at DaSilva. Goaltender Kyle Munson recorded 10 saves on Saturday, marking the seventh time in the last eight games the redshirt junior has recorded double-digit saves.
Defensively, St. John's forced NJIT into 26 turnovers forcing 13 of them. Midfielder Jordan Hayes caused a game-high three turnovers while Kyle Wasilewski and Jack Schirtzer each forced two takeaways.
The Johnnies excelled in transition going 24-for-26 (92.3) percent in the clear game on Saturday.
NJIT's Arthur Miller scored five goals for the Highlanders while goaltender Liam Brown made 20 saves on the afternoon.
The Red Storm hit the ground running in the first quarter, scoring the game's first three goals. After NJIT turned the ball over on the opening possession of the game, Nowak put one in the back of the net to give the Johnnies the early 1-0 lead. Reid made it 2-0 on his first career goal, capitalizing off another Highlanders' turnover. Dane Armstrong won the ensuing draw and 40 seconds later, Luke Mangan buried a shot off a feed from Jack Lutfi to stretch the Johnnies' advantage to three, 3-0.
After NJIT scored its first goal of the season at the 6:35 mark of the first quarter, Zuhoski pushed the lead back to three after wheeling around ensuing defenders and launching a shot into the twine. Brady Rauner tossed a back pass to Lee as the long-stick midfielder ripped one to make it 5-1 after scoring the Johnnies' fifth goal in under nine minutes of play. Eight different players recorded a point in the opening frame for the Red Storm.
With the Johnnies up 5-2 after the first, the second quarter was a defensive battle. The teams were scoreless throughout the first 6:25 of the frame before NJIT broke the goal drought to shrink the St. John's lead to two. The Highlanders scored two more times late in the quarter to even the score at five going into the locker rooms, 5-5.
NJIT scored the first three goals out of halftime to take the lead for the first time in the contest, 8-5. The Johnnies ended the Highlanders run when Nowak scored from just outside the crease for his second goal of the afternoon, cutting the deficit to two. 52 seconds later, Seel scored his first of 2024, bringing the Red Storm within one heading into the final 15 minutes, 8-7.
The two squads traded goals early in the fourth frame. After NJIT scored the first goal in the quarter, Nowak scored off a restart behind the cage to complete his first career hat-trick, cutting the deficit to 9-8. The Highlanders tacked onto their advantage with 10:46 to play to hold a two-goal edge. While the Red Storm threatened over the final 10 minutes, Brown tallied five saves between the pipes to seal a victory for the visitors.
The Red Storm will look for its first win of the season next Saturday against Quinnipiac. Faceoff from DaSilva Memorial Field is scheduled for 1 p.m.
