St. John’s Heads Down I-95 to Face RV/RV Villanova

QUEENS, N.Y. – The St. John's lacrosse team will travel to Villanova, Pa., to face RV/RV Villanova on Saturday. Faceoff from Villanova Stadium is set for 12 p.m.

The Johnnies (4-8, 0-2 BIG EAST) won their last two non-conference games but have dropped their first two conference games of the season, most recently falling to Denver, 14-7, last week in Queens.

The Red Storm trailed by just two at the intermission and outscored the Pioneers in the second quarter, but a 7-2 second half run propelled Denver to its first BIG EAST victory of the season.

In his first game of the season, Caiden Vlasimsky tallied four points on a career-best three helpers and a goal to lead the St. John's offense last weekend. The senior from Dallas, Texas has scored in his last three games dating back to last season.

Brian Kelly extended his point streak to 15 games last Saturday with his sixth hat trick of the season, giving the senior attackman a career-best 49 points this season, most in the BIG EAST. Kelly has eight games with at least three points this season and was named to the 2025 Tewaarraton Award Watch List.

Fellow attackman Adrian Nowak enters Saturday's contest in Villanova with eight straight multi-point games, coming off a one-goal, one-assist performance against the Pioneers. The first-year captain has 36 points and has at least one point in all 12 of the team's games this season.

Along with freshman Ryan Ormond's 22 goals and three helpers, the Red Storm's starting attack has accounted for 110 of the 217 points the team has collected and 69 of the 135 goals the team has scored.

Ormond is one of three freshmen to reach double digits in points this season. Mitch Cambell has 21 points on nine scores and 12 assists, while Jayson Cardenas has scored in nine of the team's last 10 games and has 18 points in 2025.

Midfielder Bobby Seel is up to 30 points in 2025 after his two points over the weekend extended his team-best point streak to 28 games. The senior from Garden City, N.Y., has nine multi-point efforts this season and has found the back of the net in 10 games.
Defensively, sophomore LSM Dylan Lee and freshman defenseman Quinn Falasca are both top four in the BIG EAST in caused turnovers per game.
Lee became the first player in Red Storm history to be named BIG EAST Specialist of the Week following his three caused turnovers and four groundballs against Hobart on March 22, while Falasca has a team-best 19 on the season. The rookie is also second on the team with 32 groundballs. His 2.7 loose balls per game is the 12th most in the conference.

Between the pipes, Patrick Scarborough has reached double-digit saves in eight consecutive games. The Dickinson transfer is 11th in the nation and leads the BIG EAST with 13.0 stops per game.

Saturday will be the 27^th all-time meeting between the two northeast rivals. When the teams squared off last season in Queens, Villanova earned a 14-9 win on April 13, 2024, despite six combined points from Seel and Kelly.

Villanova won its third-straight game on Saturday, taking down Providence, 11-8, on the road, improving to 5-5 on the season and a perfect 2-0 in BIG EAST play. The Wildcats also took down then-No. 20 Denver, 10-9, in overtime on March 29.

Colin Michener and Matt Licata lead Villanova this season with 25 and 23 points, respectively, while Luke Raymond, Nicholas Lucchesi, and Gavin Michener each have reached double digits. 20 players have recorded at least one point for the Wildcats.

Villanova has relied on its defense this season, scoring a BIG EAST-low 9.2 goals per game but allowing just 10.7 goals per contest. On the defensive end, the Wildcats force a conference-best 9.6 turnovers per game and have the 10th-best ride in the country, allowing opponents to clear just 80 percent of the time.

Tyler Sandoval has won 62.8 percent of faceoffs this season, eighth best in the country, while netminder Denis Fargione leads the BIG EAST with a 54.8 save percentage.

Following Saturday's contest outside the City of Brotherly Love, the Johnnies will return home to take on No. 14/13 Georgetown next Saturday. Faceoff on Senior Day from Cox Family Field at Belson Stadium is set for 12 p.m.

St. John’s Heads Down I-95 to Face RV/RV Villanova

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Players Mentioned

Jayson Cardenas

Quinn Falasca

Brian Kelly

Dylan Lee

Adrian Nowak

Ryan Ormond

Patrick Scarborough

Bobby Seel

Caiden Vlasimsky

St. John's University Athletics