St. Joe's goalie Jack Rapini records first shutout, big factor in successful season

When you watch Jack Rapini in goal, you see how comfortable he is. Once a goalie on the ice is now a goalie on the lacrosse field. 

"It just helped me a lot," Rapini said about his experience as a hockey goalie. "On low shots, I am able to drop to them quicker because I'm used to butterflying a lot in hockey."

The St. Joe's junior has been making an impact for the Marauders since he joined the varsity team as a sophomore.

This season, he's one of their starters. He's helped the team grab another Monsignor Martin title and has become a leader on the field.

"You're either really excited, energetic and you talk a lot or you're a more introverted person where you don't speak a lot," said assistant and goalie coach Jonathan Curry. "Jack is a great leader but he's not the rah-rah type. Now he's starting to understand how important that is at the goalie position to help your defense."

One of the most memorable moments for Rapini came last week when he made 11 saves against Canisius and didn't allow a single goal.

"It's a very rare thing to accomplish," Curry said.

It was Rapini's first career shutout and the school's first ever shutout against its rival in program history.

"It was just awesome," Rapini said. "It was a great feeling. Our defense just played great the whole game."

Have you ever heard of a goalie also having a goal? Rapini does.

In their very first game of the year down in Florida, Rapini scored an end to end goal to start the season off right. 

Our goalie from two years ago scored a bunch of goals so I just learned from him," he said.

St. Joe's will play for a Catholic state championship in Long Island.