St. John’s University men’s lacrosse team began its 2026 season with a loss to NJIT, falling 17-10 in Flanders, New Jersey. The game took place at Mount Olive High School and marked the Red Storm’s first contest of the year.
The match was closely contested in the first half, featuring four ties and five lead changes. St. John’s managed to stay even with NJIT through much of the opening two quarters before the Highlanders pulled away after halftime.
Noah Plenn made his debut for St. John’s by leading the team with three goals, four assists, and seven points. Adrian Nowak contributed two goals and two assists on nine shots, while Jake Wright added two goals and an assist. Ryan Ormond also scored twice as he started his sophomore season, and Jayson Cardenas netted a goal in the third quarter.
Goalkeeper Matt Nelson recorded 13 saves during the game.
St. John’s capitalized on all three of its extra-man opportunities, going 3-for-3 on man-up situations.
Plenn opened scoring for St. John’s early in the first quarter. After NJIT tied it up, Ormond scored off a pass from Plenn during a man-up advantage. Wright followed with another powerplay goal assisted by Nowak to give St. John’s a 3-1 lead late in the first period. However, NJIT responded with two goals to tie it at 3-3 after one quarter.
The teams traded leads early in the second quarter before Plenn tied it again at 4-4 and then assisted Ormond for a brief 5-4 advantage for St. John’s. NJIT closed out the half by scoring three straight goals to take a 7-5 lead into halftime.
In the third quarter, Cardenas scored for St. John’s after NJIT extended its lead to three goals. Wright’s man-up goal brought St. John’s within three at 11-8 before Nowak added another tally late in the frame, making it 12-9 entering the fourth quarter.
NJIT began the final period with four consecutive goals to build a seven-goal cushion before Plenn broke their run with his fourth goal of the night off an assist from Wright. NJIT finished scoring on Super Bowl Sunday with one last goal for a final score of 17-10.
St. John’s will play its next game against Delaware on February 14 at Cox Family Field at Belson Stadium, with face-off scheduled for 1 p.m., streamed live on ESPN+.
