St. John's University Athletics
St. John's Hosts Jacksonville in Midweek Matchup
2/17/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
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QUEENS, N.Y. - The St. John's lacrosse team hosts Jacksonville on Thursday, Feb. 18, in a midweek matchup set for 3 p.m. at DaSilva Memorial Field on the St. John's University Queens Campus.
Thursday's clash marks the second all-time meeting between the Red Storm and the Dolphins. Last season St. John's traveled to Jacksonville, Fla., dropping an overtime thriller, 12-11. Head Coach Jason Miller and his squad aim to capture the team's first victory in 2016 and even up the all-time series with Jacksonville.
The game will be broadcast live on ESPN3 produced by the St. John's Television Network (SJU-TV). Matt Shortis and Robert Engelke will be on the call. Live stats are also available via redstormsports.com
SERIES HISTORY: ST. JOHN'S vs. JACKSONVILLE
St. John's has met Jacksonville on the lacrosse field just one before, dropping an overtime game 12-11 last season.
The Red Storm will look to even up the series history, 1-1, with a home victory on Thursday.
A SURVEY OF HOME OPENERS
Under Coach Miller the Red Storm is 5-4 in home openers.
St. John's opened its 2015 home campaign with a 10-8 home loss against Rutgers on Feb. 07.
Since program reinstatement in 2005, the Red Storm is 5-6 in home openers and all-time St. John's holds a 14-12 record in home openers.
LAST TIME OUT: RED STORM UNABLE TO CORRAL RUTGERS ATTACK
Despite scoring three goals in the first four minutes of the game, St. John's dropped its season-opener at Rutgers, 19-11. The Red Storm employed a balanced attacking unit that saw eight different Johnnies tally points in the game, including a couple of hat tricks by two of Miller's starting attackmen, Eric DeJohn and Jason DeBenedictis.
St. John's went 3-of-3 in man-up opportunities, however could not contain Rutgers' transition game, losing the groundball battle 45-22.
Redshirt freshman Michael O'Keeffe played the last 41:20 minutes in goal, saving 11 of 20. Fresh-man Declan Swartwood recorded the first goal of his career and Kyle Skramko and Jack McClellan combined for five groundballs and two caused turnovers.
SCOUTING THE DOLPHINS
Jacksonville (1-1) dropped its first game of the season in an 11-5 loss to Monmouth in the Moe's Southwest Grill Lacrosse Classic.
The Dolphins were selected seventh out of eight in the Southern Conference Coaches Preseason Poll. Fifth-year Head Coach Guy Van Arsdale welcomes 14 newcomers to his roster including 12 true freshman. The Dolphins welcome back a nine-man senior class.
Despite winning the faceoff battle, 11-9, Jacksonville was outshot, 36-23, in its last time out against Monmouth.
Senior Dakota Rohlin and sophomore Shawn Ewert lead the Dol¬phins in points scored, each with six. Ewert holds a perfect shooting percentage, having only recorded three shots the entire year.
EMPLOYING A BALANCED ATTACK
Coach Miller's offensive unit, which currently ranks 16th in the na¬tion (11.00 per game), saw eight different players record points in the team's season-opener at Rutgers.
The Red Storm's 11 goals came by way of seven different Johnnies.
St. John's also went 3-of-3 in man-up opportunities, for 1.000 per¬centage, which ranks atop the NCAA.
FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH: THE FRESHMEN IMPACT
The 2016 Red Storm lacrosse team lists 17 freshmen on the roster. In the team's season-opener at Rutgers, four of these freshmen saw action, including a pair that saw major minutes.
Redshirt freshman goalie Michael O'Keeffe played the remaining 41:20 of the game between the pipes after he replaced started Jo¬seph Danaher in the second quarter. In his 41:20 of play, O'Keeffe saved 11 of 20 shots, for a 0.550 save percentage which ranks 14th in NCAA Division I.
Newcomer Declan Swartwood was the team's second-leading scor¬er as he tallied four points on three assists and one goal. Coming out of halftime, Swartwood launched a shot that found the net, the first goal of the second half and the first goal of his young career.
2016: A SEASON OF TWO SCHEDULES
For the second year in a row, the St. John's schedule is unlike sched¬ules of years past. The Red Storm's first nine games this spring will all be nonconference contests while the team's BIG EAST Conference slate will span the final five games of the regular season. This season marks the second time in school history that St. John's will complete its nonconference slate before opening conference play.
St. John's played Division I lacrosse from 1981 to 1995 but did not play a conference schedule until program reinstatement in 2005 as a member of the ECAC.
The Red Storm's 2016 campaign includes six home games and eight road contests.
AWARD SEASON: PRESEASON POLL AND ALL-BIG EAST ANNOUNCED
Redshirt senior attackman Eric DeJohn was named a unanimous selection to the Preseason All-BIG EAST team.
St. John's found itself voted sixth in the 2016 BIG EAST Preseason Coaches Poll, with seven points. The Johnnies sit one place behind Providence, who received eight votes in the poll.
RED STORM IN THE NATIONAL STATISTICAL RANKINGS
Last season, Eric DeJohn finished his junior campaign as the 10th-leading scorer in NCAA Division I lacrosse with 4.57 points per game, ranking 17th with 2.71 goals per game and 21st with 1.86 assists per game. Graduated senior Stefan Diachenko joined DeJohn on the goals per game list, ranking 15th with 2.86 per game. Diachenko held the 14th-best shot percentage in the NCAA (.430). Employing a balanced mix of offense and defense, the 2015 Johnnies ranked among the NCAA's elite in several statistical categories. The Red Storm was 31st in assists per game (5.64), tied-30th in caused turnovers (7.00), and 22nd in groundballs (30.21).
UP NEXT
St. John's will hit the road but stay close to home for an away battle against Long Island foe Stony Brook on Sunday, Feb. 21. The matchup is set for 1 p.m. at Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium on the Stony Brook campus.
Last season St. John's picked up its first victory of 2015 in a Valentine's Day matchup against Stony Brook at home. The Johnnies scored nine of the game's last 10 goals en route to a 13-8 vic¬tory. -- Red Storm --
