St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
No. 10/8 Denver
St. John’s Travels West to Take on No. 10/8 Denver
4/4/2024 1:01:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse
The Red Strom has won two straight and four of its last six
QUEENS, N.Y. – Following its dramatic come-from-behind 13-9 victory over Marquette to open BIG EAST play last Saturday, the St. John's lacrosse team will continue conference play when it travels to the Rocky Mountains to take on No. 10/8 Denver on Friday night.
Faceoff from Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium in Denver, Colo., is set for 8 p.m. ET. The game will be streamed on Pioneer All-Access and live stats will be available on RedStormSports.com.
The Red Storm has won its last two games, falling behind early and rallying in both contests. On March 23 against Le Moyne, the Johnnies trailed 4-0 in the opening frame before closing the game on a 9-2 run to defeat the Dolphins, 9-7. It was déja vu for St. John's against the Golden Eagles at Belson Stadium last Saturday. Marquette took a 5-0 lead in the first five minutes of the game, but three-straight goals from Brian Kelly ignited the St. John's offense and kickstarted the Red Storm's largest comeback victory since March 23, 2019.
Five players recorded multi-point games for the Red Storm against Marquette, led by Kelly's four-goal, one-assist performance. The junior attackman was named BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week and earned a spot on the USILA Division I Team of the Week. Kelly is on an active 10-game point streak and leads the Johnnies in goals (23), assists (13) and points (36). In the Red Storm's four victories this season, the Red Hook, N.Y., product has 11 goals and 18 points. Kelly has seven games this season with at least four points.
Sophomore Jake Wright continued to impress, notching a career-best four points on two goals and a pair of assists against Marquette. Wright has nine goals in his last five games and has five straight multi-point games. In eight games this season, Wright has a career-best 13 points.
Caiden Vlasimsky tallied his second hat trick of the season on Saturday, giving him nine goals and 15 points on the season. Vlasimsky has six multi-point efforts this season.
Midfielder Caleb Zuhoski added three points against Marquette (2 G, 1 A), including a late score that clinched the victory for St. John's. The senior has 16 points (12 G, 4 A) this season and has scored in 8-of-11 games. This year is the first time in his career Zuhoski has eclipsed the 10-goal mark.
Bobby Seel continued his breakout campaign, adding a goal and a helper to extend his team-best point and goal streak to 12 games. The Garden City, N.Y., native has nine multi-point efforts this season and has recorded at least two points in seven straight contests.
Drew Wasserman scored his fourth goal of the season against Marquette while Braeden Pratt and Ryder Ochoa each tallied an assist for their first career points.
Kyle Munson had another terrific day between the pipes, stopping 13 of the 22 shots he faced, marking his fifth consecutive game with double-digit saves. The redshirt junior was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll for the second straight week for his outing against the Golden Eagles. Munson currently leads the BIG EAST with 11.6 saves per game and a 52.3 save percentage. The former BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week has not allowed more than nine goals in any of the Red Storm's four wins.
The Johnnies forced 10 Marquette giveaways and won the groundball battle, 32-27. The win was the Red Storm's first in BIG EAST play since 2016.
St. John's has won four of its last six games for the first time since they won six-of-seven in 2018.
Friday will be the 11th all-time meeting between the Red Storm and the Pioneers. When the two programs met on April 15, 2023, in Queens, the Johnnies held a 10-9 lead heading into the final frame, but eventually fell, 12-10.
Denver won its BIG EAST opener last Saturday, defeating Villanova, 9-6, in Villanova, Pa. The 10th-ranked Pioneers held their opponent to under 10 goals for the sixth time this season against the Wildcats. With the game tied 3-3 at halftime, Denver outscored Villanova 6-3 over the final two quarters. Michael Lampert paced the Pioneers offense, recording four points on two goals and two assists. Cody Malawsky added two scores and a half while Stephen Avery and Noah Manning each added multi-point performances. Defensively, Jimmy Freehil caused a game-best six turnovers and Malcolm Kleban made seven saves on 13 shots faced to secure the win. Alec Stathakis was outstanding at the faceoff 'X', winning 13-of-19 draws. Denver struggled on the clear against Villanova, converting on just 18-of-25 opportunities.
On the season, JJ Sillstrop has a team-best 19 goals and is tied for the team lead with Lampert with 28 points. Six Denver players have double-digit points this year and 22 players have recorded at least one point this season. Freehill leads the Pioneers with 12 caused turnovers while A.J. Mercurio has forced 10 giveaways. Stathakis has won 133 faceoffs and his 59.9 percent win rate is 12th in the country and third in the conference. Denver excels on the man-down, touting an 84.2 percent penalty-kill rate, the best in the country.
The Pioneers were picked to finish second in the conference this season after finishing with a 4-1 BIG EAST record a season ago. Denver has been ranked as high as No.1 in both the Inside Lacrosse and USILA polls this season.
Following Friday's contest in Colorado, St. John's will return home on April 13 to face RV/RV Villanova on Senior Day. Faceoff is set for 1 p.m. at Belson Stadium.
