St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
Villanova
St. John’s to Host Villanova on Senior Day
4/12/2024 10:22:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
The Johnnies will look for their second BIG EAST win of the season
The St. John's lacrosse team will return to Queens on Saturday to face Villanova on Senior Day. The ceremony to honor the team's 16 seniors will begin at noon and faceoff from Belson Stadium is set for 1 p.m.
The game will be streamed on ESPN+ with Joe Perez on the call and live stats will be available at RedStormSports.com.
RedZone will be giving away St. John's lacrosse tumblers and free grilled cheese sandwiches to the first 200 St. John's students. Gates to Belson Stadium will open at 11:30 a.m. and admission is free for all fans.
The Red Storm (4-8, 1-1 BIG EAST) is coming off an 18-8 setback last Friday on the road against No. 10/8 Denver. The Johnnies took a 1-0 lead early but surrendered a 10-0 run to the Pioneers and were unable to overcome the deficit.
Caleb Zuhoski picked up his second hat trick of the season against Denver, bringing his career-best goal total up to 15 for the season. The senior midfielder has scored in nine of 12 games and has 19 points in 2024.
Sean Duffy scored a goal and added two helpers last Friday for his first multi-point effort of the season. Sophomore attackman Jake Wright has six straight multi-point games following his two-point effort (1G, 1A) against Denver. Wright has a career-best 15 points in just nine games this season.
Junior Bobby Seel added a pair of scores to extend his team-best point and goal streaks to 13 games, dating back to 2022. Seel has 10 multi-point performances this season and 12 points in the Red Storm's last seven BIG EAST contests.
The Johnnies excelled on the clear on Friday, converting 18-of-20 opportunities. Kyle Munson made 10 saves between the pipes against Denver, marking his fifth straight game with double-digit stops. The former BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week leads the BIG EAST with 11.4 saves per game and his 50.2 save percentage is third-best in the conference. Against then-No.6 Villanova last season, Munson made 20 saves, a career-high at the time.
The St. John's offense has been paced all season by Brian Kelly, who leads the team in goals (23), assists (13) and points (36). The junior attackman has seven games this season with at least four points.
Saturday will be the 26th meeting between the Johnnies and the Wildcats in a series that dates back to 1985. Last season, Villanova earned an 18-8 victory in Villanova, Pa., on April 1, 2023. Duffy recorded a three-goal, two-assist performance for the Red Storm.
The Wildcats fell to Providence last Saturday, 15-12, to drop to 6-5 and 0-2 in BIG EAST play this season. After falling behind 6-2 early in the second quarter, the Wildcats came back to tie the game at 7-7, but a 5-0 Providence run sealed the Wildcats' second straight loss to open BIG EAST play. Attackman Matt Licata tallied six points on three goals and three assists for Villanova. Colin Michener recorded a four-goal performance while Nicholas Lucchesi added a hat trick. Defensively, Stephen Zupicich caused a team-best four turnovers while Jack Shoemaker forced three giveaways and scooped six groundballs. In net, Anthony Wilson made just five saves on the 19 shots he faced.
The Wildcats rank 4th in the conference in goals and assists per game, scoring 11.3 times and recording 6.5 helpers per contest. Michener's 33 goals this season lead the Wildcats while Licata's 2.5 goals per game ranks third in the conference. In Villanova's two BIG EAST games this season, the squad's top duo has nine goals combined. Eight Wildcats have double-figure points in 2024.
Defensively, the Wildcats allow 10.7 goals per game. Their 32 groundballs and 10.9 caused turnovers a game lead the conference. Zupicich leads the Wildcats with 36 caused turnovers and Shoemaker has 20 of his own. In net, Wilson stops 48.5 percent of the shots he faces. The Wildcats are strong at the faceoff 'X', winning 59.6 of its draws. Justin Coppola leads the faceoff unit, winning 128 of the 204 draws he has taken this season.
Following Saturday's contests at Belson Stadium, the Red Storm will head to Washington D.C. for an April 20 clash with No. 6/6 Georgetown. Faceoff from Cooper Field is set for noon.
