On Saturday, March 28, Villanova Men’s Lacrosse kicked off the 2026 Big East Season in Queens, NY, scoring a season-high of 21 goals in its 21-7 victory over St. John’s University (2-8, 0-1 Big East).
The victory on the road returns the ‘Cats (4-5, 1-0 Big East) to a winning streak after they suffered three back-to-back losses at the conclusion of non-conference play.
Graduate attackman Luke Raymond led the ‘Cats, scoring a career-high seven goals.
Junior faceoff George Clomb also collected a career-high, winning 17 faceoffs.
Senior attackman David Link followed Raymond in scoring, tallying six goals and collecting a season-high of five assists.
Senior attackman Colin Michener earned a hat trick.
Three Wildcats scored their first career goals. Freshman attackman Lachlan Moffatt scored two goals, while defensive midfielder Scott Mackie and junior midfielder Aidan Haggerty scored one each.
Seven individual players accounted for all of St. John’s scoring.
The Wildcats totaled 52 shots over the course of play, with 39 of those shots on goal. In comparison, the Red Storm totalled 24 shots, with 13 being on goal.
Sophomore goalie Matt Nelson collected 15 of St. John’s 18 total saves on goal, marking his ninth double-digit save performance in Queens.
Just 30 seconds into play, the Wildcats took the lead after Raymond found the goal off an assist from Link.
The Red Storm responded quickly, tying the game, 1-1, nearly one minute after Raymod’s goal.
The two teams scored back-and-forth goals before the first quarter ended, 3-3.
Villanova found its momentum in the second quarter, scoring seven unanswered goals before halftime for an 11-5 advantage.
Coming out of the intermission both Villanova and St. John’s faced an eight minute scoring drought. Moffatt ended the drought, putting the score at 12-5.
A minute later, St. John’s managed to score before Villanova scored five more goals in the third quarter.
During the final 15 minutes of play, St. John’s scored its final goal, while Villanova added four more goals to the scoresheet.
The game ended, 21-7.
The Wildcats will now continue their Big East season on April 4, returning to Villanova Stadium to face No. 13 Denver (4-5, 0-1 Big East). During the teams’ most recent meeting on March 29, 2025, the Wildcats defeated the Pioneers, 10-9, in overtime. Face-off is set for 12:00 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN+.
