Providence, R.I. – The Providence men’s lacrosse team opened up BIG EAST play with a 14-8 win over St. John’s on Saturday afternoon on Chapey Field at Anderson Stadium. 1st Quarter: Sean Leahey (Cranford, N.J.) opened the scoring, as his team-leading 14th goal of the season gave the Friars a 1-0 lead. St. John’s came back to take a 3-2 lead on goals by Colin Duffy and Joe Madsen but Ryan Nawrocki (Smithtown, N.Y.) scored his seventh goal of the season to even the game up at three after one. 2nd Quarter: The Friars grabbed a 5-3 lead early in the second quarter. Brendan Kearns (Wantagh, N.Y.) scored off a feed from Nick Shaw (Canton, Mass.) and Leahey finished his second goal of the day. St. John’s got back within a goal as Mike Madsen scored on the man up, but Providence came right back. Joshua Keller (Grand Rapids, Mich.) and Kearns scored eight seconds apart from one another to put the Friars up 7-4. The Red Storm received a goal from Declan Startwood, but Friars junior All-American goalie Tate Boyce (Matthews, N.C.) saved a Mike Madsen shot at the buzzer to keep Providence on top, 7-5, going into the half. 3rd Quarter: Providence maintained a two-goal lead into the beginning stages of the third quarter, but an offensive burst provided the Friars with some breathing room. Junior Alex George (Simsbury, Conn.) and Kevin McCordic (Medfield, Mass.) each scored their first goals of the season in consecutive fashion to put Providence up 10-6. The Friars' offense continued to fire on all cylinders as Nawrocki and Kearns each netted goals in the quarter’s final two minutes to give Providence a 12-6 lead going into the final frame. 4th Quarter: St. John’s trimmed the deficit to 12-7 on a goal by Corey Haynes. Nawrocki and Leahey put the game out of reach tallying goals to each complete the hat trick to give the Friars an insurmountable 14-7 advantage. Game Notes: The Friars (4-6, 1-0) outscored the Red Storm 7-2 in the second half, and did not trail over the final 54:12 of play. St. John’s, who has received votes in both major polls, had not let up more than 12 goals in a game all season coming into the day. The 14 goals is also a season-high for Providence. Three different Friars finished the day with a hat-trick. Leahey, Nawrocki, and Kearns all netted three goals. The hat-trick for Leahey was his third of the season. Leahey now has a team-high 16 goals. George won 7-of-11 face-offs for the Friars. What’s Next: The Friars will travel to Georgetown on April, 7th with face off scheduled for 3:00 p.m. on Fox College Sports Atlantic.