Even after surpassing the all-time points mark in St. John’s lacrosse history and being selected No. 5 overall in this year’s MLL Draft, there’s one moment that sticks out in Kieran McArdle’s mind more than anything else.
“When we beat Notre Dame in the Big East Tournament my sophomore year,” McArdle said. “No one thought we were going to win and they were a top five team at the time. We were just confident and went in there and it was just an awesome feeling.”
The senior attackman is aiming to cap off his sparkling career in red and white with a conference tournament title, saying it’s “without a doubt” his main objective along with securing a spot in the NCAA tournament.
However, no matter how the season ends for McArdle, he won’t get much time to reflect on his record-breaking career.
“Right when I’m done with my season the [MLL] season will already be started,” he said. “So I go straight into that.”
The Long Island native was drafted by the MLL’s newest franchise, the Florida Launch, on Jan. 10. He was not only the Launch’s first ever draft pick, but he was also the first St. John’s player chosen in the first round of the MLL Draft.
“It was just cool making it to the professional level,” McArdle said. “All of your hard work and everything just paid off. It’s just an awesome feeling to get that outcome.”
That monumental day in January was foreshadowing of sorts for McArdle’s final semester in a Red Storm shirt, as he rewrote the record books again two months later when he overtook Mike Bolger’s 27-year program points record in an 11-10 overtime win over Hofstra on March 18.
“[Bolger] was at the game,” McArdle said. “It was a cool feeling. He said congrats and was just happy for me.”
McArdle scored eight points in that Hofstra game, which brought his career tally to 222. Bolger’s career total was 219.
After the record-breaking performance, St. John’s head coach Jason Miller described McArdle as one of the “great ones” in a press release – something the future Florida Launch attackman is used to hearing, but doesn’t let it go to his head.
“It’s a huge honor to be one of the top players in the country, but I still have to go out there and prove it on the field every time, knowing my teammates need me,” McArdle said.
And it’s those 40-odd teammates who McArlde says he will remember most when he looks back on his career at St. John’s.
“I have 40 best friends coming out of college,” he said. “It’s just an awesome feeling.”
