St. John's University Athletics
St. John's Hosts Wagner Wednesday Afternoon
3/29/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
March 29, 2006
QUEENS, N.Y. - The Red Storm looks to stop its two-game slide when it collides with Wagner at DaSilva Memorial Field. Faceoff is slated for 3 p.m. St. John's (2-4, 0-2) is coming off a 10-5 loss to the Air Force Academy Saturday in Colorado Springs, Colo. Despite the final score, the Red Storm won 16 of 19 faceoffs, outshot the Falcons 33-25 and collected 15 more groundballs. The Seahawks, meanwhile, hold an 0-7 overall mark, 1-0 in the Metropolitan Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC).
THE SERIES
• This is the first meeting between the two programs.
SATURDAY'S MEETING
• St. John's travels to Easton, Pa., to battle Lafayette at Metzgar Field. The game is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. The Leopards enter this weekend on a three game losing streak. Lafayette owns a 1-6 record this season, 0-3 in the Patriot League. The Leopards' victory was against Wagner, 14-5.
THE SERIES
• Lafayette leads the series 1-0. The two programs met last year when the Red Storm fell to the Leopards, 5-4. Despite the final score, St. John's outshot Lafayette 40-25 and collected 17 more groundballs. Attackman Tom Michaelsen (Bethpage, N.Y.) recorded two goals while midfielder Jack Rosson (Severna Park, Md.) and former Red Storm player Patrick Zeis each notched one goal.
THE X-MAN
• Sophomore Devin Madden (Kensington, Md) was named to this week's ECAC Honor Roll by conference officials. Madden earned this recognition for his performance against Air Force. The midfielder won 16 of 18 battles at the faceoff circle and collected six groundballs. Madden has the second best faceoff winning percentage in the conference, posting a .639 mark. He also leads the Red Storm in groundballs this season, picking up 23.
SOPHOMORE STANDOUT
• Michaelsen leads St. John's in the goals, assists and points categories. The attackman has netted 11 goals, tallied seven assists for 18 total points. He has also collected 10 groundballs this year. Michaelsen has recorded at least one point in every game this season. His best contest was against No. 5 Georgetown when he scored three goals and three assists.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
• St. John's hits the road again Saturday to play Lafayette and next week to battle Rutgers. Including these two contests, the Red Storm will have played six of its first nine games away from home. St. John's will return to DaSilva Memorial Field Saturday, April 8, to collide with Massachusetts and then host Penn State the following Saturday.
IN THE CAGE
• Sophomore Dave Saccente (Lake Grove, N.Y.) has guarded the St. John's cage in all six games this year. Saccente tied a personal best against Georgtown, muting 18 Hoya shots en route to a spot on the ECAC's Weekly Honor Roll. He currently posts a .569 save percentage and averages 13.00 saves per game. Saccente also allows just 7.83 goals a game, which is the third best mark in the ECAC.
AGAINST THE NATION'S BEST
• St. John's has played two ranked opponents this year and played each team tough. On Saturday, March 4, the Red Storm rallied back from a 4-0 deficit in the first quarter to get within two goals in the second before the Hoyas went on to win the contest, 9-5. Last Saturday, St. John's gave No. 19 Loyola a challenge. The Red Storm led the Greyounds, 3-2, at halftime. Loyola responded in the second half and came out with the 6-5 win. St. John's will collide with two more ranked teams this season, No. 8 Massachusetts and once No. 19 Hobart.
DOWN THE STRETCH
• In the second half of St. John's schedule, the Red Storm collides with five ECAC squads to end its season. The string of league games begins on Wednesday, March 5 at Rutgers and concludes on Saturday, April 29 when the team hosts Fairfield at DaSilva Memorial Field. So far this season, St. John's posts a 0-2 record and will continue to look for its first ever conference win.
FIRST ROAD WIN
• The Red Storm recorded its first road win since the program was restarted last season. St. John's defeated Hartford, 9-7, on Wednesday, March 15 in West Hartford, Conn.
FRESHMEN PHENOMENAL
• Making an immediate impact on the Red Storm this season is midfielder Tom Manes (Philadelphia, Pa.).The freshman has started in five of the team's six contests and is second on the team in assists with four. Manes has also netted three goals for a combined seven points.
• Midielder Bobby Fitton (Oak Hill, Va.) and defenseman Dominick Denapoli (Hewlett, N.Y.) have also seen action in all six games this year. Fitton recorded a goal against Georgetown and has tallied five groundballs while Denapoli also picked up a goal against Robert Morris and has collected 18 groundballs.
• Meanwhile, midfielder Jamal Jones (Severn, Md.) has recorded two assists this season, one against Robert Morris and another against Air Force.
JUNIOR JUGGERNAUT
• Joining St. John's this season is defenseman Anthony Boyzmowski (Islip, N.Y.).The transfer from Herkimer County Community College has started all six games this season and has picked up 11 groundballs.
SCOUTING THE SEAHAWKS
• Searcing for a "W": Wagner enters Wednesday's contest still looking for its first win of the season. The Seahawks are 0-7 overall and 0-1 in conference play. So far this season the Seahawks have not scored more than five points in a single contest. The team's average loss margin is 11.4 points with its closing game coming against Bellarmine in Louisville, Kent. Wagner lost 13-8.
• Last Time Out: The Seahawks lost to Providence, 16-3, Saturday in Rhode Island. Wagner fell behind early, trailing the Friars 11-1 at halftime. Despite the loss, Seahawk goalkeeper Chris Sochaki stopped 19 shots.
• In the MAAC: Wagner has played just one conference game this season, against Providence. After Wednesday's game against St. John's, the rest of the Seahawks season will be against teams in the MAAC.
• Seahawk Returners: Wagner returns nine of its 10 starters from last season and 17 letterwinners. Two of the Seahawks top returners are junior midfielder Mike Coleman and senior middie Tom Marchetti. Coleman has recorded two goals, five assists and collected 10 groundballs this season while Marchetti has tallied four goals, one assist and 13 groundballs.
• Instant Impact: Freshman Jeff Policicchio presence has been immediately noticed on the Seahawks. The attackman leads in goals with five and is tied for the team lead in points with six, five goals and one assist.
• 2005 Campaign: Last season, Wagner posted a 2-12 overall record, 0-8 in conference play. The two Seahawk wins came against Lafayette and Robert Morris.
• The Skipper: Head Coach Ryan Flanagan enters his first season at the helm of Wagner and second season overall with the program. Before his time with the Seahawks, Flannagan worked with the defense at Maryland from 1997-2000. He graduated from Maryland in 2000.
ON DECK
• The Red Storm collides with Rutgers Wednesday, April 5 in Piscataway, N.J. in an ECAC match-up. Faceoff is slated for 7 p.m. St. John's then returns home to DaSilva Memorial Field Saturday, April 8 to take-on ECAC foe, No. 8 Massachusetts at 1 p.m. To purchase tickets, log on to www.RedStormSports.com or call 1-888-GO-STORM.
-Red Storm-
