St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
4-8, 1-1BIG EAST
No. 10/8 Denver
8-2, 2-0BIG EAST
St. John’s Falls to No. 10/8 Denver, 18-8
4/5/2024 10:51:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse
Caleb Zuhoski recorded a hat trick for the Red Storm
DENVER – The St. John's lacrosse team fell to No. 10/8 Denver, 18-8, on Friday night at Peter Barton Stadium in Denver, Colo.
The Red Storm (4-8, 1-1 BIG EAST) took a 1-0 lead early in the first quarter, but a 10-0 Denver run propelled the Pioneers to the victory.
Caleb Zuhoski tied his career high with three goals for his second career hat trick. The senior midfielder also scooped three groundballs.
Sean Duffy tallied three points on a goal and two assists for his first multi-point game of the season. Bobby Seel netted a pair of goals to extend his team-best point and goal streaks to 13 games. Seel is up to 32 points on the season, second most on the team.
Sophomore Jake Wright recorded his sixth straight multi-point performance, adding a goal and a helper. The sophomore has nine goals and six assists over that span. Drew Wasserman picked up his fifth goal of the year on Friday night.
In net, Kyle Munson recorded his seventh straight game with double-digit saves, making 10 stops against Denver. Through 12 games this season, the redshirt junior has a 50.2 save percentage.
Mic Kelly led the Pioneers (8-2, 2-0 BIG EAST) with a three-goal, two-assist performance. Noah Manning also tallied a hat trick and Richie Connell added four points on two goals and two helpers. Nine players recorded multi-point efforts for Denver on Friday night. Alec Stathakis was phenomenal at the faceoff 'X', winning 18-27 draws. Malcolm Kleban made six saves between the pipes.
Munson made three saves in the game's opening six minutes to keep the Pioneers off the board early. The Johnnies took a 1-0 lead when Seel ripped a straight-away shot into the upper left corner of the net off a feed from Duffy. Denver answered with five straight goals to take a 6-1 lead at the end of the opening quarter.
Four goals to start the second frame gave the Pioneers a 10-1 advantage with 10:11 remaining in the first half. Duffy ended the Denver run with 8:31 in to go in the quarter with a snipe over Kelban's left shoulder and Seel scored his second of the game just over a minute later to make it a 10-3 game heading into halftime.
The Pioneers scored two goals in the first 1:15 of the second half to push their lead back to 9, 12-3. Zuhoski netted one with 12:02 left in the quarter and Wright scored five minutes later on Duffy's second helper of the game to bring the Red Storm back within seven, 12-5. Denver answered with two goals in 17 seconds to make it 14-5. Zuhoski netted his second of the game late in the quarter, to bring the Johnnies within eight, 14-6, heading into the final frame.
Shortly after a Red Storm man-up opportunity expired early in the fourth, Wright found a wide-open Wasserman, who finished on the doorstep of the crease to make it 14-7. Denver scored four in a row to open up an 18-7 lead. Zuhoski completed the hat trick with 1:11 but it was too little too late for St. John's and Denver was able to close out the victory.
The Red Storm will return home to face Villanova next Saturday on Senior Day. Faceoff from Belson Stadium is set for 1 p.m.
