St. John's University Athletics
St. John’s Prepares for No. 11/11 Georgetown
4/19/2024 10:53:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
The Red Storm will look for its first win over the Hoyas since 2016
QUEENS, N.Y. – The St. John's lacrosse team will head to Washington D.C. for a Saturday afternoon clash with No. 11/11 Georgetown.
Faceoff at Cooper Field is set for noon. The game will be streamed on the BIG EAST Digital Network on FloSports with Jeremy Huber on the call and live stats will be available at RedStormSports.com.
The Red Storm (4-9, 1-2 BIG EAST) fell to Villanova on Saturday, 14-9, at Belson Stadium. St. John's took an early 1-0 lead, but a 9-2 Villanova run helped the Wildcats pick up their first BIG EAST win of 2024.
Five players found the back of the net for St. John's against Villanova and four Johnnies recorded multi-point outings.
Bobby Seel had a four-point outing last weekend, scoring two goals and adding two assists, extending his team-best point and goal streak to 14 games. Over that span, the junior has 25 goals, 14 assists and 12 multi-point efforts. Seel's 1.9 goals per game ranks 10th in the BIG EAST.
Sophomore Jake Wright continued his breakout campaign, recording his first career hat trick against Villanova. Wright has 14 goals in his last seven games and has seven straight multi-point appearances. In 10 games this season, Wright has a career-best 18 points.
Brian Kelly inched closer to his third-consecutive 40-point season last Saturday, adding two goals for the Red Storm. With the two scores, the Red Hook, N.Y., native has 130 points for his career, good for sole possession of 8th place on the program's all-time points list.
Sean Duffy has been heating up, tallying three points in each of the Red Storm's last two contests while senior midfielder Caleb Zuhoski has scored in 10 of the team's 13 games this season.
Defensively, Jack Schirtzer caused two turnovers against Villanova, bringing his total for the year up to a team-best 29. Kyle Munson has recorded 10 straight games with double-digit saves between the pipes for the Red Storm, most recently making 11 stops against Villanova. Munson currently leads the BIG EAST with 11.4 saves per game and his 49.6 save percentage is third best in the conference.
Saturday will be the 24th meeting between the Red Storm and the Hoyas. The Red Storm last triumphed over their rivals from Washington D.C. on April 22, 2016, emerging with an 8-6 victory.
Georgetown (8-3, 2-1 BIG EAST) fell to Denver last Saturday, 10-8, breaking an eight-game winning streak. The Hoyas led 8-6 at the end of the third quarter, but the Pioneers ended the game on a 4-0 run to finish off a top-10 victory. Georgetown put together a balanced scoring attack with eight different players scoring goals against Denver. TJ Haley recorded a team-best three points, scoring a goal and adding two assists. Defensively, Ty Banks caused three turnovers while Anderson Moore and James Ball each scooped five groundballs. Between the pipes, Moore made seven saves on 17 shots faced. The Hoyas were 1-for-2 on the extra man and converted 18-of-20 clears.
Georgetown boasts wins this season on the road against Notre Dame and Richmond. The Hoyas have held their opponents to less than 10 goals in five of its 12 games this season. Moore's 9.5 goals against average leads the BIG EAST and is eighth best in the nation. Moore also touts a conference-best 52.3 percent save rate. Aidan Carrol and Haley have paced the Georgetown offense, totaling 38 and 37 points this season, respectively. Alexander Vardaro has 24 goals while Preseason BIG EAST Player of the Year, Graham Bundy Jr. has 22 scores. At the faceoff 'X', James Ball has won 124-of-209 draws.
The Hoyas are strong on both ends of the field, owning the BIG EAST's second-ranked scoring offense (12.4 goals per game) and the second-best scoring defense (9.6 goals against per game). Georgetown leads the conference in assists per game (7.8), points per game (20.2) and shot percentage (32.5%).
Following Saturday's contest in the Nation's Capital, the Red Storm will conclude its regular season slate next Friday night when Providence comes to Queens. Faceoff from Belson Stadium is set for 7 p.m.
