EASTON, Pa. - Lafayette secured an 11-9 victory over St. John's on Saturday, ending its non-conference schedule with a 4-2 record. Benjamin DiBattista (4) and Jett Klassen (3) recorded seven of the Leopards' 11 goals.

The Red Storm opened the first quarter with a goal courtesy of Noah Plenn at the 9:29 mark. DiBattista responded shortly after, firing a pass from Nick Muller into the back of the net to knot the score. Towards the mid-way point of the stanza, St. John's James Easton notched one of his two goals in the contest to retake the lead. The Maroon and White took a 4-2 lead into quarter two after a run of three consecutive scores. Charlie Foley, Joseph Duggan and Joshua Heaney all sent shots past the goalkeeper.

Goalkeepers Joe Doherty and Matt Nelson were effective in the second period. Lafayette's Doherty tallied three saves. The Malvern, Pa. native allowed just one goal, at 9:36 to Adrian Nowak. Nelson stopped five of the Leopards' seven shots, but was unable to prevent DiBattista and P.J. Hodge from pushing the lead to 6-3. With 10:12 on the clock, DiBattista netted his second score of the contest via an assist from Duggan, pushing the margin to 5-2. Hodge's goal at 3:56 gave the Leopards a 6-2 advantage that held through halftime.

Both defenses showed up in the third stanza, with only one goal coming between the two teams. Nowak collected his second of five scores score with 2:01 on the clock (6-4). During the quarter, St. John's committed six turnovers to Lafayette's one. The Maroon and White converted all four of their clear attempts, while the Red Storm were 3-7 on clears.

The final quarter witnessed a combined 10 goals, with Klassen and DiBattista partnering for all five of Lafayette's scores. Nowak led the charge for St. John's, racking up three goals. The final five minutes began with a goal from Brody Hergott, cutting the lead to 9-8. Klassen and DiBattista countered within 40 seconds of eachother, pushing the gap to 11-8 with three minutes left to play. A late score from Easton solidified the 11-9 final.

Lafayette scooped up 34 ground balls to 25 for St. John's. The Leopards forced six of the Red Storm's 22 turnovers. Faceoff specialist Nick Faccone won 10 of his 18 faceoff attempts, while Griffin Strange was 9-13. Doherty moves to 4-1 on the season, finishing the contest with 10 saves. Nelson (2-3) tallied 11 saves while allowing all 11 goals.

The Leopards host No. 11 Army on Friday to open Patriot League play.


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