St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
1-0
NJIT
0-1
Brian Kelly’s Game-Winner Propels St. John’s Past NJIT, 15-14
2/8/2025 3:49:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse
Adrian Nowak tied the program’s single-game record since reinstatement with seven assists
NEWARK, N.J. – Adrian Nowak had a career-best 10 points as the St. John's lacrosse team won its season opener against NJIT, 15-14, on Saturday at Mal Simon Stadium in Newark, N.J.
Brian Kelly scored the game-winning goal with 3:25 remaining in the fourth quarter, and the Red Storm's defense made a strong defensive stand, helping Johnnies win their season opener for the first time since 2021. The game featured nine ties and nine lead changes.
Nowak had seven assists on Saturday, tying the single-game program record since reinstatement in 2005, to go along with three goals in the win. The 10 points are the most by a Red Storm player since Kieran McArdle had 13 points on March 23, 2013.
Freshman Ryan Ormond began his collegiate career with a bang, tallying six goals, becoming the first player since Jonathan Huber in 2022 to find the back of the net six times in one game.
Kelly's game-winner was the lone score of a one-goal, five-assist performance from the 2024 All-BIG EAST First Team selection, marking the fourth six-point game of his career. The senior now has 142 career points, passing Mike Madsen for sixth place on the program's all-time points list.
Danny Koch and Mitch Campbell each scored the first goals of their college careers in their first games with the Red Storm. Koch added an assist and two caused turnovers to round out his strong performance. Dan Koban added a goal in his first-career start, while senior midfielder Bobby Seel found the back of the net to run his point streak to 17 games, dating back to the 2023 season. Long-stick midfielder Dylan Lee added a goal for the Red Storm to go along with a team-best three caused turnovers, and James Easton tallied a helper.
In his first start for the Johnnies between the pipes, Patrick Scarborough made 14 saves on 28 shots faced to earn the victory. Sophomore faceoff specialist Adam Dembicki won 12-of-28 draws and scooped six groundballs in the win.
JC Echezuria had three goals and two assists to lead NJIT, while Alystair Hemberger added a hat trick. Isaac Vanzomeren won 17 faceoffs and netminder Cameron Kurdyla made eight saves.
St. John's went two-for-three on the extra man advantage, marking the first time they scored multiple man-up goals in a game since 2023. The 15 goals are the most in a game for the Red Storm since scoring 17 in a win against Fairfield on March 22, 2022.
The Johnnies struck first as Koban buried a feed from Easton into the upper corner just under two minutes into the game. Ormond's first of the day doubled the lead at the 10:55 mark, catching a pass from Nowak at 'X' and bouncing a shot past Kurdyla. Three straight NJIT goals gave the Highlanders a 3-2 advantage, but Nowak's snipe tied it at four before Koch found the back of the net on Nowak's second assist of the opening quarter to give the visitors a 4-3 lead. After NJIT knotted the score at four, Kelly earned his second assist of the first half, helping Ormond find the back of the net to reclaim the lead, 5-4, after the opening 15 minutes. Scarborough had four stops in the first quarter.
NJIT scored three goals in the first 4:21 of the second frame to retake the lead, 7-5. Nowak's fourth point of the afternoon brought the Red Storm back within one, 7-6, but the Highlanders quickly reclaimed their two-goal advantage with 7:52 left in the half, 8-6. Ormond completed the first-half hat trick, and Mitch Campbell found the back of the net to bring the Johnnies level, 8-8, with 5:10 remaining. After another NJIT score, Ormond's fourth of the half sent the teams into the locker rooms even at 9-9.
Ormond picked up right where he left off to start the third quarter, grabbing a feed from Kelly on the doorstep of the crease and putting it past Kurdyla to reclaim the lead, 10-9. An NJIT goal tied it back up at 10, preceding back-to-back scores from Seel and Ormond, giving St. John's its largest lead of the afternoon, 12-10.
NJIT scored at the end of the third quarter to get back within one, 12-11, before Dylan Lee's man-up goal early in the final frame regained the two-goal advantage for the Johnnies, 13-11. The Highlanders rattled off three straight scores over the next three minutes to go back in front, 14-13. Nowak stopped the run with the Red Storm's second man-up tally of the quarter to knot the back-and-forth affair back up at 14. Following a terrific defensive play by freshman Quinn Falasca, Nowak found Kelly on the doorstep to break the deadlock for the final time, 15-14, with just over three minutes left. The Red Storm defense stood strong over the final minutes, finally forcing a turnover with 1:01 left to close out the victory.
With the win, the Johnnies even the all-time series against NJIT at 1-1. The Red Storm will be back on the road next Saturday to face Delaware. Faceoff from Delaware Stadium is set for 12 p.m.
