When Andy DeMichiei scored the first of five consecutive second half goals for Marquette, the assembly of Golden Eagles fans who watched their team fall behind 6-4 during the first 30 minutes rejoiced loudly from the rain-protected garage behind DaSilva Memorial Field. They watched as Marquette came from behind to upend St. John’s 11-7 on April 9.
With the rain beginning to fall just after the playing of the National Anthem, both teams were bound to face problems with footing and planting. It didn’t, however, impact the Red Storm (1-10, 0-2) early, who scored within the first 15 seconds on an Eric DeJohn goal.
After Marquette (8-1, 3-0) followed with two goals from DeMichiei and one from Tanner Thompson, St. John’s responded with three more of their own to take a 4-3 lead going into the second quarter. James Bonanno and Jason Debenedictis scored early in the quarter during aperiod in which St. John’s outshot Marquette 17-2 to give the Red Storm a 6-3 lead before a Kyran Clarke goal for the Golden Eagles cut the lead to two before halftime.
Then, the tale of two halves happened.
Coach Miller began the game with goalie Joseph Danaher, who saved four of eight attempted shots. Redshirt freshman Michael O’Keeffe saved only three of ten shots during the final 30 minutes of play.
Marquette’s onslaught of second half goals and St. John’s struggles were due in part to the Red Storm going only 8-of -21 on faceoff battles, leading to four goals in less than four minutes in the opening minutes of the third quarter for the Golden Eagles.
Head Coach Jason Miller pointed to the differential of both halves, and how the drought affected his team during the rest of the game. “Marquette made a 4-0 run over the span of five minutes at the start of the third quarter,” he told RedStormSports.com. “That was probably the difference today.”
DiMichiei’s seven goals broke a Marquette record for a single game. Dibenedictis’ two points and DeJohn’s two goals and one assist led the Red Storm in scoring.
The home team went scoreless in the quarter, and didn’t get their next goal until the 7:29 mark of the fourth quarter. Marquette added three more to increase their lead to 11-7 and spoil St. John’s Big East home opener.
The Red Storm will play their final road game of the season in Denver next Saturday, as they take on the Pioneers (9-1, 2-0), last year’s NCAA Tournament Champions. The team will then return home and look to make a late season run during matchups with conference rivals Villanova and Georgetown.
The Big East tournament will commence on May 5 in Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium at the University of Denver.
