St. John's University Athletics
Lacrosse Team Kicks-Off Season Against Robert Morris Saturday
2/24/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
Feb. 24, 2006
Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
QUEENS, N.Y. - The St. John's lacrosse team opens the 2006 season on Saturday, Feb. 25 when it travels to Baltimore, Md. to collide with the Colonials of Robert Morris.Face-off is scheduled for 1 p.m.
ST. JOHN'S IN GAME OPENERS
The Red Storm is 9-6 all-time in season-openers and 1-0 since the program was restarted last year.
RED STORM VS. THE COLONIALS ALL-TIME
St. John's leads the series 1-0. The two squads met for the first and only time last year in the season-opener in Haverford, Pa. The Red Storm edged the Colonials 8-7.
SCOUTING ROBERT MORRIS
• Like the Red Storm, the Colonials began their program in 2005.
• Robert Morris comes into the weekend after winning its first contest in program history last weekend. The Colonials defeated Seton Hill, 9-1, at Joe Walton Stadium. Robert Morris is 1-0 on the season.
• In last weekend's game, sophomre Andrew Watt lead the Colonials with four points,three goals and an assist. He also fired 14 of the squad's 45 shots. Freshman Frank Keel also had a multi-goal contest for the Colonials. He tallied two goals and one assist. Sophomore goalie Jason Dockum kept the Griffins scoreless until the last 1:27 in the match. He recorded six saves with Robert Morris holding Seton Hill to just 143 total shots on the day.
• The top returners for the Colonials are Watt and sophomore Mike Fleming. Last season, Watt scored 17 goals and had 7 assists for 24 points, while Fleming posted 11 goals and 10 assists for 21 points.
• In Robert Morris' first year in program existance, the Colonials went 0-13 (including the 8-7 loss to St. John's). This season, most of the team's core returns, including 18 of 22 letterwinners and 8 starters.
EXPERIENCE
The biggest strength for the Red Storm heading into the 2006 season will be its returning experience. Last year, St. John's had just one player with NCAA Division I experience and 26 of the 33 members were freshmen. This season, the squad returns 22 letterwinners and nine of its 10 starters.
RED STORM CAPTAIN
Senior defenseman John Kutner (Garden City, N.Y.) was selected by Sowell to be the captain of the Red Storm.
COACHING STAFF ENTERS SECOND SEASON TOGETHER
Head Coach Rick Sowell and assistant coaches Dan Chemotti and Terry Gilroy,return to the Red Storm sidelines for their second seasons. Sowell is no stranger to building programs to prominence. He spent five years with the Big Green of Dartmouth guiding them in his final season to an 11-3 overall record, an Ivy League Championship and an NCAA tournament berth. Chemotti, who coached alongside Sowell at Dartmouth, works mostly with the midfield and offense, while Gilroy returns to help the defense. Last season, Gliroy worked with the man-down defense, which was recognzied by the NCAA for allowing the fewest goals in the nation when other teams had an extra-man opportunity.
ECAC LACROSSE LEAGUE
This season Fairfield University joins the ECAC Lacrosse League, increasing the number of schools in the conference from seven to eight. The Stags only strengthen the already competitive league, with the squad making the NCAA tournament two out of the last three seasons. In the 2006 preseason polls, six out of the eight ECAC programs are ranked in Inside Lacrosse Magazine and Face-off Yearbook's Top25 poll and four of eight in Lacrosse Magazine's Top-20 poll.
-Red Storm-
