QUEENS, N.Y. – The Friars opened BIG EAST conference play with a dominant victory over St. John’s (15-6) on Saturday, April 1 in Queens, N.Y. The Friars improved to 7-3 overall (1-0 BIG EAST). The Red Storm move to 1-8 on the season and 0-1 in the BIG EAST Conference. The Friars put on an impressive performance in the opening quarter of BIG EAST play, scoring six unanswered goals. Ryan Schaffer (Plano, Texas) put the Friars on the board with two goals at 13:18 and 2:45 marks. Schaffer's first tally was followed by Damon Currie (Guelph, Ontario) (12:44) and Sean Leahey (Cranford, N.J.) (6:19). Austin Yezarski (Miller Place, N.Y.) (2:19) and Nick Hatzipetrakos (Syossett, N.Y.) (00:05) were also credited with goals down the stretch to close the opening frame. The Friars continued to pressure the Red Storm’s defensive line throughout the second quarter and recorded a total of eight unanswered goals before St. John’s Scott Scannell buried a shot past Tate Boyce (Matthews, N.C.) at the 8:29 mark in the second quarter. Brendan Kearns scored two goals (Wantagh, N.Y.) and Conner Byrne (Hicksville, N.Y.) recorded one tally during the second frame to give the Friars a 9-1 lead at halftime. The Red Storm outscored the Friars in the third quarter, 2-1. St. John’s Nick Heller and Jackson O’Leary registered one goal each. Leahey scored the lone Friar goal of the quarter with 3:25 on the clock. The Friars rooke a seven-goal advantage into the fourth and final quarter (10-3). The Friars outscored the Red Storm 5-3 in the final frame. Joseph McHale (Bernardsville, N.J.), Kearns, RJ Romeo (Wilton, Conn.), Leahey and Nick Preston (Victoria, British Columbia) each found the back of the net during the quarter. Providence’s Leahey and Kearns each registered hat tricks in the game. St. John’s O’Leary (2) and Mike Madsen (1) posted goals for the Red Storm during the fourth quarter. The win marks the Friars' largest margin of victory over a BIG EAST opponent since the league began sponsoring lacrosse in 2010. The Friars defeated St. John’s 15-10 during the 2016 season, which previously marked the team’s greatest margin of victory. "We came out firing in all aspects of play, and put together a terrific first quarter today that propelled us to the win," Coach Gabrielli stated. "We played fast and aggressive on offense, and we were physical on defense. This is a big road conference win for this team." The Friars will be back in action on Saturday, April 8 in Providence, R.I. against Georgetown University at 1:00 p.m. The game will be broadcast on the BIG EAST Digital Network via FOX Sports GO.