The St. John’s men’s lacrosse team was narrowly defeated by Delaware, 12-11, in a game held at Cox Family Field at Belson Stadium on February 14. Despite trailing by five goals after the first quarter, St. John’s managed to tie the score in the third quarter but ultimately lost by one goal.
Delaware took an early lead, ending the first quarter ahead 8-3 after a six-goal run. St. John’s responded strongly in the remaining quarters, outscoring Delaware 9-4. Ryan Ormond led St. John’s with three goals and two assists, while Chase Huggard contributed two goals and two assists. Freshman Brody Hergott scored his first collegiate goal and provided an assist. Team captain Adrian Nowak extended his streaks for both goals and points.
Goalkeeper Matt Nelson made a season-high 16 saves on 48 shots, keeping St. John’s competitive throughout the match.
The teams exchanged early possessions before Mitch Campbell opened scoring for St. John’s at the 11:58 mark of the first quarter. Delaware quickly countered with two goals to take the lead, but Owen Rogers tied it up soon after with his first collegiate goal. Jake Wright briefly put St. John’s ahead before Delaware’s six-goal run ended the quarter.
In the second period, both teams failed to score during man-up opportunities until Ormond added another goal for St. John’s, followed by Noah Plenn’s fifth goal of the year that narrowed Delaware’s lead to three goals. Nelson kept Delaware scoreless in this quarter—something not achieved by St. John’s since March 23, 2024.
Ormond scored again early in the third quarter to bring St. John’s within one goal of tying Delaware, who then responded to increase their lead back to two goals. Huggard answered with his first goal as a Red Storm player before adding another to tie the contest at nine apiece late in the third period. The teams entered the final frame tied at ten after trading additional goals.
Early in the fourth quarter remained scoreless until Delaware netted twice within 38 seconds for a two-goal advantage with just over ten minutes left to play. Nelson made several key saves during this stretch to keep hope alive for St. John’s.
Nowak converted on a man-up opportunity late in regulation to cut Delaware’s lead down to one goal; however, despite further attempts—including hitting the post with eight seconds left—St. John’s could not find an equalizer.
St. John’s will next face Quinnipiac at Quinnipiac Soccer and Lacrosse Stadium on Tuesday at 2 p.m.
