St. John’s Drops Contest to Lafayette, 11-9

Saturday, February 28

Easton, Pa. (Fisher Stadium)

4 p.m.

St. John's University

2-3

Lafayette

4-2

St. John's (N.Y.)

Lafayette

2/28/2026 6:54:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

The Red Storm will be back in action on March 7 against Bryant

EASTON, Pa. (Feb. 28, 2026) – The St. John's men's lacrosse team fell in a battle at Lafayette, 11-9, on Saturday afternoon at Fisher Stadium.

After trailing by three goals at halftime, the Red Storm came within one on three separate occasions in the fourth quarter but were ultimately outlasted in the final frame.

Adrian Nowak paced the Red Storm offense with five goals, converting on five of his six shots on target. James Easton added a pair of goals, while freshmen Noah Plenn and Brody Hergott each found the back of the net once each.

In goal, Matt Nelson recorded 11 saves on 38 shots faced in Easton. The sophomore is averaging 11.9 stops per game.

As action got underway, Noah Plenn broke the scoreless tie, slipping a bouncing shot past the goalkeeper to give the Red Storm a 1-0 lead. The Leopards responded just over a minute later, evening the score with 8:29 remaining in the quarter. Following a Lafayette timeout, St. John's regained the lead when Easton found the back of the net with 6:50 to play. The Leopards answered once again less than a minute later to tie the game at two. After a costly turnover in the offensive zone, the Leopards capitalized in transition, taking the lead with 3:13 remaining in the period. Lafayette added another goal before the end of the quarter to extend its advantage to 4-2.

To open the second quarter, Nelson made a pair of crucial saves against the Lafayette attack, to keep the Red Storm's deficit at two through the Leopards' first two possessions. After Lafayette extended its lead, 5-2, St. John's answered quickly, as Nowak found the back of the net just 36 seconds later to record the Red Storm's first goal of the quarter and cut the deficit to two. Both teams went scoreless for nearly six minutes before the Leopards regained a three-goal advantage. The defenses held firm over the final four minutes of the half, as Lafayette carried a 6-3 lead into the break.

In the third stanza, the two sides battled in a defensive stalemate as the third quarter featured just one goal. Nowak capitalized on the man-up opportunity with 2:01 to play to trail by two, 6-4, heading into the final quarter.

In the final quarter, St. John's wasted little time cutting into the deficit. Just over a minute into the period, Jake Wright found Nowak, who completed the hat trick to pull the Red Storm within one. Lafayette responded less than a minute later restoring its two-goal advantage to 7-5. Nowak continued his standout performance, netting his fourth goal of the day at the 11:31 mark to once again trim the deficit to one. St. John's earned a crucial man-up opportunity following a Lafayette penalty with 9:33 remaining, but the Leopards' man-down unit came up with the stop. Lafayette capitalized on the momentum, extending its lead back to two with 8:01 to play.

The Wantagh, N.Y., native answered once again, scoring his fifth goal of the contest and third of the quarter, to pull the Red Storm within one, 8-7. Lafayette responded just over a minute later, extending its lead to 9-7. Hergott kept St. John's within striking distance, firing home a goal to cut the deficit back to one. The Leopards continued the high-scoring fourth quarter, however, adding a goal with 3:47 remaining to make it 10-8. Following a trio of penalties against the Red Storm, Lafayette capitalized to push its advantage to three. Easton added his second goal of the day with under a minute remaining, but the comeback effort fell short, as St. John's dropped an 11-9 decision to the Leopards.

The Red Storm return to Queens on March 7 to host Bryant at Belson Stadium at Cox Family Field. Faceoff is scheduled for 12 p.m.