St. John's University Athletics
STJ Takes On Nittany Lions In Second-Straight Home Contest
4/9/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
April 9, 2008
QUEENS, N.Y. - The St. John's lacrosse team will host its second home game in two weeks as the team faces off against the Penn State Nittany Lions on Saturday.
- Saturday's game will be broadcast live as the ECAC's Game Of The Week on Comcast's CN8 with Joey Wahler and Jack Piatelli calling all the action from DaSilva Memorial. Face-off is scheduled for 1:04 p.m. For those who miss the games, ECAC college lacrosse coverage on CN8 may be viewed ON DEMAND for up to one week following the original airing of each game at no cost to Comcast Digital Cable customers. The games will also stream live online at http://www.cn8.tv. Live stats will also be available via GameTracker on RedStormSports.com.
- The Red Storm (0-9, 0-4 ECAC) will look to rebound off a tough 13-8 loss to Massachusetts last Saturday. The Minutemen took a seven goal lead going into halftime and despite outscoring the UMass 5-3 in the second half, St. John's could not overcome the early deficit. Penn State (4-5, 1-3 ECAC) is also coming off a league loss, as Hobart defeated the Nittany Lions 8-6. PSU head coach Glenn Theil will be looking for his 300th career-win on Saturday as he is 299-203 in 41 years.
The Series Against The Nittany Lions
- Saturday's contest is the fourth time the two teams have met in conference play and in program history. Penn State leads the series 3-0, winning 12-4, 13-3 and 9-5 since 2005. It will be the second time the teams have met on DaSilva's turf.
- When the teams last met in State College, Pa., last April 14, the Nittany Lions defeated the Red Storm 9-5. PSU took a three-goal lead in the first period before St. John's scored two in the second. A last second goal in the second period by then-sophomore Matt Viscusi ended the scoring at the half 4-3 in favor of PSU. Penn State led 7-5 going into the final period, but the Red Storm could only get off four shots and fell short 9-5.
- Penn State last traveled to Queens, N.Y. on April 15, 2006 and won 13-3. Then-sophomore Rob Gannon led the Red Storm offense, scoring two goals, making nine for 2006. Classmate Tom Michaelsen recorded the final goal, while then-junior Rick Ruggles picked up an assist.
- The teams first met on April 16, 2005 in State College, Pa. Penn State defeated STJ 12-4.
Last Time Out
- The Red Storm lost to Massachusetts on Saturday in a 13-8 conference decision. UMass took a significant seven goal lead that stretched four minutes into the second period and despite scoring five goals to the Minutemen's three in the second half, the Red Storm could not overcome the early gap that the Minutemen created.
- Red Storm senior Jack Rosson got the Red Storm on the board and ended the UMass run with 11:34 left in the second quarter after capitalizing on a Minutemen tripping penalty. Senior Graeme Gillespie assisted on Rosson's goal. Senior Tom Michaelsen led the team in points with three, netting two goals and tallying one assist. Senior Justin O'Donnell also had two goals. Freshman Joe Bagnasco netted his career-first goal, as he pushed his way past his older brother Ryan Bagnasco, who plays for UMass.
- The St. John's defense, then-ranked fifth in NCAA Division I in penalty-kill percentage, held the Minutemen to 2-for-8 man-up goal opportunities.
Welcome Back!
- Saturday's game will feature a special halftime presentation to coincide with St. John's annual Alumni Day festivities. At the break, the lacrosse program, represented by the 2008 senior class, will honor 1987 graduate Mike Bolger, the Red Storm's all-time leading point scorer. Bolger played in the mid-1980s and scored 97 goals with 122 assists for 219 points. Bolger is the all-time career assist leader as well. He is also the Red Storm's season assist and point leader for his 1987, 40 assist and 70 point performance.
Storm Tracker
- Senior Justin O'Donnell leads the team in points with 14 (12 goals, 2 assists). O'Donnell was named to the ECAC Honor Roll for the week of March 17 for his four-goal performance against the Loyola Greyhounds on March 15. Junior Trevor Michaelsen is second in points with 12 (9 goals, 3 assists). His brother Tom Michaselsen has 10 points off five goals and five assists.
Tom Michaelsen Earns ECAC Honors
- Senior Tom Michaelsen earned his first ECAC honor of the season during the week of April 7 for his three-point performance against Massachusetts last Saturday.
In The Red Zone - Period Breakdown
- The fourth quarter has been the strong period for the Red Storm offense as the team has outscored its opponents 17-14. In the second half, the Red Storm as tallied 32 of its 53 goals.
Red Storm In The National Rankings
- According to the April 7 rankings, St. John's is eighth in the country in man-down defense with an 80.4 percent kill-percentage. Senior Jack Rosson is No. 34 in face-offs out of 500 players in Division I. Danny Brennan of Syracuse leads the pack at No. 1. Rosson also leads the Red Storm in groundballs and is 30th in the country.
- Junior Dom DeNapoli and senior Tim LaMare also rank in the top 100 in groundballs (No. 61 and 71, respectively). Senior Justin O'Donnell and junior Tom Manes are in the top 100 in scoring with O'Donnell as No. 99 in goals per game and Manes as No. 100 in assists per game.
Scouting The Penn State Nittany Lions
- Head Coach of the Nittany Lions, Glenn Theil is hungry for a win as the team heads to Queens this weekend. In his 41st year as a head coach, Theil is 299-203 overall and is looking for win No. 300 which evaded him last weekend at Hobart.
- At Hobart last Saturday, PSU lost its second-straight league contest in an 8-6 decision. PSU's Rob Forster had two goals and an assist and Charley Henneghan had two goals to lead the Lion offense.
- The Nittany Lions are looking for their second league win, as they defeated Fairfield 7-2 in mid-March to garner its first of the season.
- Forster is the leading scorer for Penn State with 20 points off 11 goals and nine assists, leading the Lions in all three categories.
- Andrew Macrides and Max VanArsdale are second and third behind Forster in scoring with 13 points (9 goals, 4 assists) and 12 points (9 goals, 4 assists), respectively.
- Penn State also boasts the talents of two-time ECAC Lacrosse League Goalie of the Year Drew Adams. Adams has also been named to the Tewaaraton Trophy Watch List and the preseason All-ECAC team by Inside Lacrosse Magazine. Now in his junior year, Adams was also the ECAC Rookie of the Year in 2006.
On Deck
The Red Storm will head up to Geneva, N.Y,. to face the Hobart Statesman on April 19. Game time is scheduled for 1 p.m.
Red Storm Highlights
Red Storm fans can see highlights of past games now being broadcasted on CSTV All-Access.
- St. John's vs. Massachusetts (April 5, 2008)
- St. John's vs. Loyola (March 15, 2008)
Players Mentioned
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