The St. John’s men’s lacrosse team faced Long Island University in a fall scrimmage on Oct. 18th ending in a 14-13 loss. It was an opportunity for both teams to get a glimpse of what is to come in the spring. The scrimmage format allowed both sides to make heavy substitutions and give multiple goalies game action.
St. John’s comes off a 4-11, 0-5 Big East record in 2025. The Red Storm’s roster is young, filled with underclassmen gaining experience to build toward the future of the program. Scrimmage games provide opportunities for this young roster to gel and learn from their mistakes when the games do count.
The Sharks jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead in the first quarter and overall dominated the first portion of the quarter. The Red Storm responded well from the early deficit, netting two quick goals to even things up.
With the score tied at two, sophomore defenseman Quinn Falasca went coast-to-coast and sniped one into the back of the net. Falasca put St. John’s on top 3-2, a score that was later tied up before the end of the quarter.
Both sides found the back of the net to start the second quarter. With the score knotted up at four, Red Storm sophomore goalie Matt Nelson made a sweet save. Nelson dropped to a knee and stopped a hard bouncing shot that was on net.
The momentum created from Nelson’s stop led directly to senior Jake Wright giving the Red Storm the lead. The Sharks answered immediately, with two goals within twenty seconds of each other for the lead to end the quarter with a score of 6-5.
In the third quarter, both teams traded goals to start. However, the sharks later took over, gaining a commanding 11-7 advantage. St. John’s barely had possession in the later stages of the quarter, allowing LIU to apply constant pressure on their defense.
The Red Storm showed zero signs of quitting in the fourth quarter. The physical intensity of the matchup was turned up a notch, greatly benefiting St. John’s. The Johnnies’ dominated the first 10 minutes of the quarter, scoring five consecutive goals to take a 12-11 lead. The Red Storm bench was ecstatic after sophomore Wade Bryan buried one for the lead.
The tone was immediately set when the Red Storm won the face-off and scored within six seconds of the opening whistle. LIU punched back with two goals to end the quarter and took a 13-12 lead. The Sharks killed the clock at the end of the fourth quarter effectively, not allowing the Red Storm a chance to tie.
Due to the unique scrimmage format, the game continued for 10 extra minutes in a fifth period. It was an opportunity for both coaches to get their deep rosters some much-needed game action.
The extra period was all Sharks, scoring a quick goal at the start and holding onto possession most of the way. The scrimmage finished in a 14-13 LIU victory.
While this game does not count toward anything, it is key for St. John’s to get game reps in before the real season starts in the spring. A young Red Storm squad has their sights set on making some noise in the Big East during the 2026 season.