St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
3-7
Le Moyne
2-5
St. John’s Erases Four-Goal Deficit, Downs Le Moyne, 9-7
3/23/2024 6:38:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse
Bobby Seel and Brian Kelly record hat tricks
SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The St. John's men's lacrosse team erased a 4-0 first-quarter deficit to down Le Moyne on Saturday, 9-7, in the first-ever meeting between the two schools.
The Red Storm (3-7, 0-0 BIG EAST) utilized a 7-0 run to complete the comeback to pick up a win in its final non-conference contest of the season. Saturday was the first time the Johnnies have come back from a four-goal deficit since it rallied against UMass Lowell, 15-13, on March 23, 2019.
Brian Kelly tallied four points on three goals and an assist, recording his sixth four-point game of the season to extend his point streak to nine games. Through 10 contests this year, Kelly's 31 points and 12 assists both lead the Johnnies and his 19 goals are tied for the most on the squad.
Bobby Seel tallied his second hat trick of the season to extend his team-best point and goal streaks to 11 games. The junior scored all three of his goals during the pivotal 6-1 scoring spurt and is tied for the team-high with 19 on the year.
Freshman Richie Reid scored the sixth goal of his freshman campaign and sophomore Jake Wright tallied two points (1 G, 1 A) for the fourth straight game. Since being inserted into the starting lineup on March 9 against Binghamton, the sophomore has registered four goals and two assists.
Senior midfielder Caleb Zuhoski tallied his 10th goal of the season and added an assist. The 10 are a career-high for the Riverhead, N.Y., native.
Jordan Hayes added an assist for his first-career point, while Sean Duffy picked up his first helper of the season on Saturday against the Dolphins.
Kyle Munson recorded his fourth-straight game with double-digit stops making 16 saves at Ted Grant Field. The redshirt junior allowed just two goals over the final three quarters and made 14 stops during that stretch.
Defensively, Jack Schirtzer had a season-best four caused turnovers and scooped two groundballs. As a team, the Johnnies forced 10 Le Moyne giveaways.
Faceoff specialist Dane Armstrong went 10-for-20 at the "X" and scooped a game-high eight groundballs.
Isaac Frechette and Seth Benedict each had two-goal outings for the Dolphins (2-5) while AJ DeMeo scooped five loose balls. Carter Ruhm made 12 saves for Le Moyne between the pipes.
Le Moyne scored four times in the first seven minutes of the game to take a 4-0 lead before Seel got the Johnnies on the board with just under four minutes to go in the quarter. After Armstrong won the ensuing faceoff, Zuhoski found an open Wright who cashed in on the doorstep of the crease to cut the deficit to two. Le Moyne scored one more to take a 5-2 lead into the second quarter.
Kelly opened the scoring in the second quarter on a helper from Hayes, capitalizing on the fast break off a caused turnover by Schirtzer, bringing the Red Storm back within a pair of goals. The Johnnies cut their deficit to one four minutes later when Kelly escaped from three defenders to find a wide-open Seel who put in into the twine for the second time of the afternoon. After Le Moyne was called for a penalty, The Garden City, N.Y., native netted his third of the game off a feed from Wright to tie the score, 5-5, heading into halftime. Five Munson saves held the Dolphins scoreless in the second quarter, marking the first time since Feb. 11, 2023, against Manhattan that the Red Storm have held an opponent off the scoresheet in a quarter.
Zuhoski converted off a feed from Duffy just over five minutes into the second half to give the Red Storm its first lead of the day and one it never relinquished, 6-5. Kelly doubled the lead four minutes later, bouncing a ball past Ruhm to give the Johnnies a 7-5 advantage. Strong defense kept Le Moyne off the scoreboard again in the third quarter.
Kelly completed his hat trick with 8:29 left in the fourth and Richie Reid scored 32 seconds later, giving the Red Storm its largest lead of the afternoon, 9-5. Le Moyne beat Munson for the first time since the first quarter to cut the deficit to three, 9-6. The Red Storm held Le Moyne scoreless for 38:48 of game time. The Dolphins scored again with just over two minutes left to make it 9-7. Two Munson saves and strong defense kept the Dolphins off the board over the final minutes to secure the third win of the season for St. John's.
The Red Storm will return to Queens next Saturday to open BIG EAST play against Marquette. Faceoff from Belson Stadium is set for 11 a.m.
