The No. 13/12 Marquette University men’s lacrosse team moved to 2-1 in BIG EAST Conference play after holding off St. John’s, 14-12, on Saturday afternoon at Hart Park.
After 30 minutes of play, Marquette (9-2, 2-1 BIG EAST) held an advantage in shots, ground balls, faceoffs, and only committed two turnovers. However, even after reeling off two stretches of 3-0 runs, the Golden Eagles were held scoreless over the final 9:58 of the first half and St. John’s (3-8, 1-1 BIG EAST) was able to even up the game at 7-7 by scoring just 1:09 into the second half.
The tide of the game turned when MU received the only EMO opportunity of the game in which sophomore Ryan McNamara potted a shot past SJU goalie, Harry Burke. Marquette used a 5-2 run, following McNamara’s goal in the final 12:28 of the third quarter to take a 13-9 lead.
During this stretch, faceoff specialist K.C. Kennedy was able to win 7-of-9 draws to allow the Golden Eagles to control the ball. Junior Blaine Fleming scored two third-quarter goals and graduate attacker Jordan Greenfield completed his fifth hat trick of the season, while also dishing out two assists to lead MU.
Kennedy finished the game winning 16-of-29 face-offs, a career high for the redshirt junior.
The Marquette starting attackers finished with a total of 13 points after sophomore Kyran Clarke tied a program record with five assists.
Sophomore goalie Jimmy Danaher was able to withstand St. John’s fourth-quarter rally by making three saves to finish with nine on the day.
Marquette got off to a quick start to begin the day, scoring its first goal in transition as Jacob Richard found Liam Byrnes, who potted his third goal of the season just 1:32 into the contest. His early run set the tempo for a fast-paced first half that saw a combined 13 goals scored.
Eric DeJohn powered the Red Storm in the first 30 minutes of play, where he recorded four points (two goals, two assists), while Burke compiled eight first-half saves and finished with 12 on the afternoon.
DeJohn would finish with seven total points, including four assists. His third goal came with 20 seconds left in the game and made it just a 14-12 deficit for the Red Storm.
The Golden Eagles also got a big push from both its offensive and defensive midfields. McNamara, who tallied a hat trick, combined with Fleming’s two goals for seven combined points, while Richard, Gilligan, and Byrnes all recorded a point for the defensive midfield.
Marquette returns to action on Tuesday, April 7 in South Bend, Indiana to take on No. 1 Notre Dame at 3 p.m. Central time.
