Led by a blistering first-half attack, the No. 3/2 Denver Pioneers defeated the St. John’s lacrosse team, 15-6, on Saturday afternoon at Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium. Denver (9-2, 3-0 BIG EAST) used a 9-1 first half to build a lead that the Red Storm (6-6, 0-3 BIG EAST) could not rally from as the visitors dropped its fourth-straight contest. Austin French led the way for the Pioneers with five goals and an assist for a six-point game while Joe Reid tallied a first-half hat trick for the hosts. Jason DeBenedictis scored a pair of goals in the third quarter for the Johnnies to move into the team lead with 27 goals. Declan Swartwood also added two tallies in the second half for his fourth multi-goal game of the season and second over the last four contests. After a five-point performance against Marquette, Corey Haynes collected a three-point afternoon with a goal and two helpers. The senior scored the first of the tilt for the Red Storm and how now recorded multiple points in six games this season. Tied for a game-high seven shots, Joe Madsen saw his 16-game goal scoring streak come to an end on Saturday as the sophomore could not find the back of the net. The Locust Valley native did tally a pair of helpers for another multi-point outing. Colin Duffy was the final St. John’s student-athlete to score while Luke Roediger also added an assist. Justin Corpolongo finished with a team-high four faceoff victories for the visitors, but the Pioneers dominated from the X as Trevor Baptiste finished 19-of-24. Denver also won the groundball (29-28) and the shot (42-33) battles. John Saunders collected a career-high seven groundballs to lead the Johnnies. Matt Hanley tallied 12 saves for the visitors, including a whopping six in the fourth quarter. Josh Matte made eight saves through three periods while Alex Ready turned aside two in the final stanza for the Pioneers. After an early faceoff win by the Pioneers, the St. John’s defense stood tall as Saunders forced an errant pass that was intercepted by Hanley and gave the Johnnies an opportunity to strike early. Both Haynes and Joe Madsen were denied on opportunities before the Pioneers scored the first goal of the game for a 1-0 lead with 11:55 to play in the first. Hanley made another great read to intercept another pass on the next Denver possession; however, Joe Madsen was denied again to keep the hosts in front. Reid deposited his second tally of the game moments later when a shot through traffic beat Hanley to his right for a 2-0 advantage. St. John’s did not let the early hole phase them, however, striking for its first goal just moments later. Corpolongo secured his first faceoff victory and allowed for Haynes to sneak free and fire a shot through the legs of Matte to cut the deficit to one with five minutes to play in the first. The Johnnies had multiple looks to even the game, including a grade-A chance by DeBenedictis, but Matte kept the Pioneers in front. Denver restored its two-goal advantage late in the first quarter when a backdoor passing play connected with Austin French to push the lead to 3-1 after 15 minutes. Corpolongo claimed his second victory at the X to open the second quarter and allowed for the Red Storm to attack early. Swartwood drove to the net and was pushed to draw and early man-up opportunity for the visitors in the stanza. On the extra man, Haynes had the best look from distance, but his shot went just wide as the Pioneers were able to survive the kill. Moments after the kill, Reid scored his third of the contest when the senior was left alone in the slot to fire it past Hanley for a 4-1 DU lead. Roediger forced another Denver turnover and led an offensive attack the other way, but Chris Buscemi just missed high on the opportunity. Denver won possession back following the missed shot and the Pioneers immediately struck again to build a 5-1 lead and forced a St. John’s timeout with 9:34 remaining in the second. Hanley made his third save of the game out of the timeout, but a turnover allowed the hosts to quickly gain back possession and strike again for a 6-1 advantage. Corpolongo was assessed his third violation of the first half and the Johnnies were forced to go a man down for the technical penalty. On the extra man, DU scored its seventh goal of the contest before immediately scoring again on the ensuing faceoff to build an 8-1 lead midway through the second quarter. The Red Storm gained its best possession of the frame following the goal, holding the ball in the attacking zone for multiple minutes, but Joe Madsen was denied in-tight again. The visitors were pushed into penalty trouble again as Aidan Marron was called for an illegal check to put the lethal Denver power play on the field for a minute. The Pioneers cashed in on the man advantage to build a 9-1 lead with just over two to play in the half. Joe Madsen had a final look towards goal in the closing moments of the opening 30 minutes, but his shot was blocked as the Red Storm went into the halftime break down by eight. The nine goals surrendered were the most in a half this season and the single goal tallied was the fewest over 30-minute period for the Johnnies. Denver struck in the opening seconds of the third quarter when a centering pass deflected off a body in front and found its way past Hanley for the tenth goal of the tilt for the hosts. Duffy had his best chance of the contest when the junior made a great move behind the net to free himself from the defender, but his shot was turned away by the legs of Matte. After the Pioneers added an eleventh tally, Swartwood got the goal back for the Johnnies with a great shot through the legs of Matte off a pass from Joe Madsen for the second strike of the game for the visitors. St. John’s struck again just seconds later as defense turned to offense. Saunders made another great play to earn a groundball in the defensive zone, and Roediger with an outlet pass. The junior then spotted DeBenedictis alone in the slot to finish off the pretty passing play. The Johnnies kept their strong third quarter going by responding immediately following a goal. DeBenedictis ripped a shot from long range for his second tally of the quarter and cut the deficit to eight. Denver tallied at the buzzer of the third quarter to lead 13-4 after 45 minutes. Hanley made a pair of great saves in the closing seconds, but the Pioneers hopped on the rebound for the tally. Saunders continued his strong play with the pole by forcing another turnover as the senior intercepted a cross-field pass to halt the DU attack. Despite the deficit, Hanley continued to fight for the Johnnies. The senior made four spectacular saves in a single possession, including a pair with his stick, to keep the Pioneers off the board on the attack. St. John’s continued to put on the pressure in the final stanza, striking for back-to-back goals to close the gap down to eight. Swartwood scored his second of the contest with a great shot from the right side of the offensive zone before Duffy tallied his first on a pretty 2-on-1 play between him and Joe Madsen. The Pioneers added their 15th goal in the final minute of the game to close out the victory. St. John’s returns to DaSilva Memorial Field next Saturday to battle Villanova at 1 p.m. Fans can watch the showdown with the Wildcats on ESPN3