St. John's senior attackman Jake Helmer celebrates his game-winning goal in overtime during the Johnnies' 11-10 victory over St. Thomas. Peter E. Russell/Pro-Sport Pictures
“He’s a big-time player that made big-time plays,” Daehn said. “He’s already the program’s all-time leading scorer but that was probably one of his best performances.”
Helmer finished the game with six points (three goals and three assists) and Fairbairn had five points (three goals, two assists). Both were recognized by Daehn and presented game balls for their efforts in the Johnnies' 11-10 victory.
St. John’s improved to 7-2 overall and 3-0 in the Upper Midwest Lacrosse Conference while St. Thomas fell to 5-3 and 1-2 in conference play.
Next up for the Johnnies is a matchup on Tuesday, April 22 at 8:30 p.m. in Fargo, N.D. against North Dakota State University (7-2, 3-0) currently the No. 2-ranked team in the Men’s Collegiate Lacrosse Association. St. John's is currently the No. 3-ranked team. The red-hot Bison will be trying to go undefeated in UMLC play for the first time in program history.
“As great of a game as that was beating St. Thomas, we need to have a short memory,” Daehn said. “It was obviously a great win over our biggest rival but we can’t make that our ‘Super Bowl’. We have to immediately turn our attention to North Dakota State and remember our main goal.”