St. John's University Athletics
Big City Classic Highlights 2011 St. John's Lacrosse Schedule
10/8/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
Oct. 8, 2010
- 2011 Schedule (PDF)
- 2011 Team Roster (PDF)
- WATCH: Coach Miller Talks About The 2011 Schedule
- INSIDE ST. JOHN'S Lacrosse Video Guide
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QUEENS, N.Y. - St. John's lacrosse head coach Jason Miller announced the 2011 schedule on Friday as he prepares to lead the Red Storm in the squad's second season of BIG EAST lacrosse.
The highlight of the 2011 slate is the annual Konica Minolta Big City Classic where the Red Storm will face conference rival Rutgers in the New Meadowlands Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. Eight of the team's fourteen contests come against teams that were ranked in the final USILA Top 20 Coaches Poll.
"We remain committed to playing as strong a schedule as we can," Miller said. "It's obviously a big undertaking, but we see huge dividends in terms of our program's growth, our players' development, our recruiting, and the overall excitement that surrounds our team. At the end of the day, I think competitive players want to play a great schedule, and we feel we have that here."
St. John's will host six of the team's 14 games, including conference matchups against Villanova and Georgetown. The Red Storm will also travel to face NCAA Tournament participant Syracuse and NCAA Tournament runner-up Notre Dame.
The non-conference slate includes bouts against Long Island neighbors Stony Brook and Hofstra as well as home games against Drexel and Sacred Heart. The Red Storm will host Yale for the first time since 1993.
"The next step for this team is to put ourselves in the discussion for an NCAA tournament bid," Miller said. "It's been pretty obvious over the last few years that the selection committee puts a premium on playing a strong schedule. Winning some of these games is easier said than done, in and out of conference, but it's really where we feel we need to be to take that step."
The season kicks off with home exhibitions against Massachusetts on Jan. 29 and Lafayette on Feb. 12.
The Red Storm then opens the regular season on the road on Saturday, Feb. 19, traveling to Worcester, Mass., to face Holy Cross.
St. John's returns home to face Yale and BIG EAST opponent Georgetown on consecutive weekends. The Yale contest marks only the fifth time that the two teams have played, with the last matchup coming in 1993. The Red Storm defeated Georgetown in dramatic fashion the last time the teams played at DaSilva Memorial Field in 2009.
St. John's renews a long-running series with Siena on March 12 when the team travels to Loudonville, N.Y. A road trip to face Vermont on Sat., March 19, comes between a pair Tuesday contests with Long Island programs Stony Brook (March 15) and Hofstra (March 22).
A home contest against Sacred Heart on March 26 will be the last non-conference game before the heart of the BIG EAST schedule.
On Sunday, April 3, St. John's will travel to East Rutherford, N.J. to compete in the third-annual Konica Minolta Big City Classic against conference rival Rutgers. The contest marks the first time that St. John's has participated in an Inside Lacrosse event and the program's first appearance in an NFL stadium venue.
The Red Storm travels to Rhode Island on April 9 to face Providence in a conference contest. The team then heads west to play Notre Dame in Notre Dame, Ind., on April 16. The Fighting Irish came within one goal of the national title in 2010, losing to Duke in overtime.
St. John's then returns home to face off against conference opponent Villanova and non-conference foe Drexel. The final game of the season comes at Syracuse, as the Red Storm faces the Orange on May 7 at the Carrier Dome.
St. John's first takes to the field this fall when the team competes in the Christian Prince Memorial Tournament on the campus of Yale University on Oct. 17. The Red Storm will face Marist and Sacred Heart in the fall exhibition games. The Marist game will commence at 11 a.m., while the Sacred Heart contest will start at 3 p.m.
