St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
Hofstra
St. John’s Renews Rivalry with Hofstra on Saturday in Queens
2/21/2025 10:06:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
The Johnnies and Pride will square off for the 27th time
QUEENS, N.Y. – Four days after taking down Quinnipiac, 15-9, in the team's home opener, the St. John's lacrosse team will host local rival Hofstra on Saturday. Faceoff from Belson Stadium is set for 1 p.m.
The 27th all-time meeting between the two programs will be on ESPN+, with Gabe Zoda on the call. Live stats will be available on RedStormSports.com.
The Johnnies improved to 2-1 for the first time since 2020 with the win over the Bobcats on Tuesday. After trailing 1-0 early, the Red Storm led the rest of the way, utilizing a 6-2 run to close out its first victory in a home opener since 2019.
The St. John's starting attacking trio of Brian Kelly, Adrian Nowak and Ryan Ormond continued to produce at a high level against Quinnipiac. Kelly earned his third five-point outing to begin 2025, scoring a season-best four goals and adding an assist in the home opener. The Red Hook, N.Y., product is tied for 17th nationally and fourth in the conference with 5.3 points per game, and his 3.0 helpers per contest ranks ninth nationally and third in the BIG EAST. The second-year captain is also fourth in the conference with 2.3 goals per game.
Kelly has had plenty of success facing Hofstra over the years, tallying 14 points against the Pride over the past two seasons.
Nowak is also on the Division I leaderboards following his three-goal, five-point outing on Tuesday. Through three games, the redshirt sophomore leads the BIG EAST with 6.0 points per contest and is third in the country with 5.0 assists per game. Ormond has stood out nationally, leading all freshmen with 4.0 goals per game, and is the only rookie this season to have six goals in a single game.
The three Red Storm attackmen are all ranked top 45 nationally in points per contest, combining for 46 points through three games. The dynamic trio has accounted for 25 of the team's 40 goals so far this season.
The St. John's freshmen have made an impact through the early part of the schedule. Mitch Campbell had the best game of his young career against the Bobcats, netting two scores and dishing out three assists for his first multipoint effort. Jayson Cardenas scored his first goal on Tuesday for his second point of the season, while Danny Koch found the back of the net for the second time in 2025. The rookies have combined for 23 points through the Johnnies' first three contests.
Preseason All-BIG EAST honoree Bobby Seel had his first multipoint game of the season against Quinnipiac, scoring a goal and dishing a pair of assists to extend his team-best point streak to 19 games. Dan Koban scored the Red Storm's first goal for the third time in 2025 on Tuesday, while Drew Wasserman got his first score of the year.
After assisting on just 50 percent of its goals a season ago, the Red Storm has recorded helpers on 29 of 40 scores so far this season, a 73 percent clip. The team's 9.7 assists per game is second most in the BIG EAST and ranks seventh nationally.
Defensively, Dylan Lee and freshman Quinn Falasca are currently tied for the BIG EAST lead with 2.33 caused turnovers per contest. Falasca had a season-best four forced giveaways on Tuesday, bringing his total to eight for the season to go along with 13 groundballs.
The Pride demolished Iona and Wagner to open the season before suffering defeat for the first time last Friday at home against Siena, 17-11.
Anthony Mollica's 12 points lead the Pride, while Drew Boardus and John Madsen have 11 points each. Seven Hofstra players have at least six points this season, and 14 players have at least one point. Rory Jones and Trey Parkes each have five assists, good for sixth best in the conference.
Saturday will be the first-ever meeting between the two programs at Belson Stadium. The Pride has won three straight against the Red Storm, including rallying from a five-goal second-half deficit to earn a 17-13 win last year in Hempstead.
Following Saturday's local rivalry contest, St. John's will stay in Queens to host Jacksonville on Friday, Feb. 28. Faceoff from Belson is set for 3 p.m.
