By Kyle Melnick
After scoring the St. John’s boys’ lacrosse team’s eighth goal of the third quarter Friday afternoon, attackman Mac Haley jogged behind the goal as teammates joined him to celebrate. As teammate Ryan Duenkel jogged to chest bump Haley, he stopped in front of the senior, looked Haley in the eye and extended his right hand for a handshake.
In the midst of one of the D.C. area’s most grueling schedules, No. 1 St. John’s continued to handle business with a 17-6 win over No. 2 Gonzaga on its home field in Northwest Washington.
After years of playing second fiddle to Gonzaga in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference, St. John’s players said the win over their biggest rival was one of their most satisfying early-season triumphs.
“Even though our younger guys kind of only know beating Gonzaga, I know . . . we didn’t used to beat Gonzaga very much,” senior defender Riley Figueiras said after the Cadets improved to 9-0. “It means a lot for the older guys.”
While St. John’s players circled Friday on their calendars at the beginning of the season, they weren’t able to look past their opening opponents. The Cadets have beaten a handful of nationally ranked teams, including Baltimore-area powers Boys’ Latin and Calvert Hall and Canada’s top team, Hill Academy.
Gonzaga (8-1) also has wins over nationally ranked teams and had the potential to be the Cadets’ toughest challenge yet. Inside Lacrosse ranks St. John’s and Gonzaga as the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the country, respectively. The Eagles have won nine of the past 10 WCAC titles. Read more at The Washington Post.
