VILLANOVA, Pa. – The St. John's Red Storm picked up a goal in the opening minutes off a mis-struck Villanova clearance attempt and went on to post a 3-1 victory over the Villanova Wildcats on a blustery fall afternoon at the Higgins Soccer Complex Saturday. The loss drops the 'Cats to 5-6-5 overall and 1-3-3 BIG EAST.
 
Sophomore Fynn Lahrsen notched his third goal of the regular season for the Wildcats in the 78^th minute off a feed from graduate student Michael teDuits. The helper was teDuits' team high fifth of 2025.
 
The second half included a pair of red cards, with one shown to each side.
 
Villanova added another name to its lengthy list of injury absences with stalwart sophomore back Lorenzo Avalos sidelined for this one.
 
The opening minutes featured some early Nova pressure, with the 'Cats nearly picking up a first minute ball on a ball sent into the Red Storm box that had to be alertly scooped up by goalkeeper Alec McLachlan. Junior transfer forward Sam Nyenka made his presence known up front as an attacking forward.
 
But then came an unfortunate twist. St. John's Guilherme Gomez sent a cross from the far-right side into the Wildcats' box where it found a Villanova defender. However, the attempt to knock the ball out of harms' way caromed instead underneath the crossbar of the goal, putting the Red Storm on top 1-0.
 
The goal came at the 5:50 mark.
 
Villanova kept moving forward, though, building an 8-3 edge in shots over the match's first 45 minutes. The margin remained 1-0 as the sides broke for halftime.
 
The Red Storm notched a pivotal second goal early in the second stanza.
 
A right-footed shot by Antonio Biggs found the back of the net at 46:44. Assists on the goal were awarded to Jeremy Sharp and Gomes.
 
The lead was extended to 3-0 at 55:36. St. Johns' Gabe Smyth sent a low shot that crossed the goal line in the center.
 
A red card was shown to the Villanova bench a short while later. St. John's Luca Fargnoli was also assessed a red card and sent to the sidelines.
 
The Wildcats struck back in the 78^th minute courtesy of the native of Frankfurt, Germany, Lahrsen. The forward finished off a feed from teDuits to narrow the deficit to 3-1.
 
Villanova has two regular season contests remaining this week. The first of those comes Tuesday in a non-league affair when Holy Family makes the short ride from Philadelphia to meet the Wildcats. Kickoff is set for 2:05 p.m. at the Higgins Soccer Complex (ESPN+).
 
The 'Cats conclude the BIG EAST regular season Friday evening at Marquette at 7 p.m. eastern.