QUEENS, N.Y. (April 17, 2009) – Hobart slipped by the St. John’s men’s lacrosse team, 10-9, in a tightly-matched ECAC conference contest on Friday at DaSilva Memorial Field. The score was tied four times in just the first half in the competitive league game. Hobart’s three-goal lead in the fourth period was enough to keep the Statesmen one goal ahead of the Red Storm.

Senior Drew Schanen led St. John’s in scoring with three points off two goals and one assist. Senior Trevor Michaelsen had two goals. Senior Dom DeNapoli had a tremendous day at the face-off X, winning 15-of-22 draws.

With the loss, the Red Storm falls to 5-6 on the season and 1-5 in league play. Hobart advances its record to 6-5, 2-4 in the ECAC.

Hobart got on the board first with a man-up goal from Tim Bigelow.

St. John’s put it right back one minute later as senior LSM DeNapoli intercepted a Hobart clearing pass on the run. DeNapoli bobbled the ball, but picked it up quickly and ran up the right sideline to score about 20 feet away from the net to tie the score at 1-1 at 11:11.

Once again stopping a Statesman clear, the Red Storm made it 2-1 at 9:01 with a goal from Matt Hurst fed from long-stick defender Mike Sherry. Sherry, a sophomore, caused a Hobart turnover and stole the ground ball. On the fast break clear, Sherry saw Hurst on the left for a one-time pass on the run into the Statesman net, tallying his first career assist.

Hobart tied the score at 2-2 with an unassisted goal from Kevin Curtin at 5:47.

However, St. John’s came right back with a goal from Michaelsen off a pass in front of the net by Schanen.

The Statesmen tied the score for the third time 40 seconds later with their second man-up goal of the day at 3:11. Going into the second period, the score was tied, 3-3.

Schanen gave the Red Storm the one-goal lead once again with 13:35 left in the half, 4-3. Schanen picked off a pass from Hobart goaltender Max Silberlicht in a failed clear attempt for Hobart. The senior turned right around to score his first goal of the day.

Hobart came back with three-straight goals, the largest scoring run of the game, to give the Statesmen a 6-4 lead with 2:11 left in the half. Fed by senior Jamal Jones, Michaelsen brought the score within one goal with 32 seconds on the game clock. St. John’s trailed 6-5 during the halftime break.

Off the intermission, Schanen scored his second goal of the game off a pass from freshman Harry Kutner who was well positioned at the X behind the net. With 9:28 left in the third period, the score was tied 6-6.

Hobart took another two-goal lead with goals from Chris Pedersen and Mike Lazore to take a 8-6 lead with just under six minutes to play in the third. Red Storm senior Malcolm Miles got St. John’s right back in the game with a goal fed by Hurst with just over a minute left in the period.

In the final stanza, Hobart scored twice more to take a three goal, 10-7 lead over St. John’s with 12:01 left in regulation.

After Hobart’s final goal, scored by Kevin Curtin, St. John’s maintained a long possession while looking to set up a come-back. With 9:33 left to play, Hobart regained possession as Miles’ shot was saved by Silberlicht. Sherry gave St. John’s back the ball as he caused his fourth turnover of the game. Junior Reggie Davis picked up the ball and cleared the ball downfield to Kutner who netted another fast break goal for the Red Storm.

With just under six minutes to play, junior Garrett Mitchell was called for a holding penalty. Not to be discouraged, the St. John’s man-down defense, led by Dan Cremens, Sherry, Carlin Cornetta and Jerry Nevin kept the Statesmen quiet and regained possession with 5:40 left on the game clock. Rookie Carl Iacona cleared the ball and scored his second man-down goal of the season on a fast break run at 5:34. Iacona’s goal brought St. John’s within one goal, 10-9.

St. John’s got off three shots in the last five minutes of play, but couldn’t connect for the tying goal. Two of those shots were saved by Silberlicht.

Hobart scored three off its goals on man-up opportunities. St. John’s won the face-off battle winning 15-of-23 draws. Hobart’s Silverlicht had 12 saves, while Red Storm junior goalie Gavin Buckley saved eight.

DeNapoli led the Red Storm with nine ground balls.

In a quick turnaround, St. John’s will travel to Notre Dame, Ind., to face-off against the undefeated No. 3 Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Game time is set for Sunday, April 19 at 1 p.m. on Alumni Field.

– Red Storm –

St. John’s Travels To Penn State On Saturday For ECAC Road Contest
St. John’s lacrosse looking for its second conference win.
Web Release: http://redstormsports.cstv.com/sports/m-lacros/spec-rel/041009aaa.html

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STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (April 10, 2009) – St. John’s lacrosse visits State College, Pa., on Saturday for its second-straight ECAC road contest. The Red Storm will collide with the Penn State Nittany Lions at 1 p.m. on Jeffrey Field. Both teams are looking for their second league win.

Fans can follow the action from Jeffrey with live stats available via GameTracker on www.RedStormSports.com or www.gopsusports.com.
St. John’s (5-4, 1-3 ECAC) continues on its two-game away swing after traveling to Amherst, Mass., on April 4. The Red Storm lost 12-6 to the then-No. 14 Minutemen as UMass starting goaltender Doc Schneider allowed just two goals in his 54 minutes of play. Freshman Carl Iacona scored three goals in the last three minutes of play. Penn State (5-5, 1-3) will be riding the coattails of a 9-8 upset over No. 19 on Tuesday. Senior goalkeeper Drew Adams led the team with 20 saves, facing 28 on goal.
Both teams have one win in the conference. St. John’s notched a league win 10-9, over then No. 5 Georgetown on Feb. 28; while Penn State tallied its lone conference win, 10-8, over Hobart on April 4.
Saturday’s game will be St. John’s second-consecutive contest against a top-tier goalkeeper. Adams is the league’s three-time Goalie of the Year.

The Series Against Penn State
Saturday’s meeting is only the fifth-ever between the Penn State Nittany Lions and the St. John’s Red Storm. PSU leads the series 3-1 as the teams have only met in the league-play since 2005. St. John’s notched its first win in the series last season, 11-7, on DaSilva Memorial Field in the Red Storm’s first-ever televised game.
Penn State is 2-0 hosting St. John’s on Jeffrey Field.
On April 12, 2008, St. John’s got its first win of the season against Penn State as then-senior Justin O’Donnell led the Red Storm with six points off two goals and four assists, while classmate Rob Gannon led the team in goals with a hat trick. With the game tied four-times in the first-half, Trevor Michaelsen scored the eventual game-winning goal, man-up, with 5:22 left in the second period to put St. John’s up 6-5. PSU came within two goals with 12:12 left in regulation, but goals by Malcolm Miles and Rob Gannon sealed the deal on the Red Storm victory.
When the teams last met in State College, Pa., on April 14, 2007, 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.

Scouting The Nittany Lions
Penn State (5-5, 1-3 ECAC) is coming off two big wins against Hobart (April 4) and at No. 19 Bucknell (April 7). The Nittany Lions are led in scoring by rookie Jack Forster who has tallied 28 points on 16 goals and 12 assists on the season. Forster is a two-time ECAC Rookie of the Week honoree. His older brother Rob Forster is second on the team in points with 23 (17G, 6A). Against Bucknell on April 7, the older Forster scored the only two goals of the fourth period to help the Nittany Lions come back from a one-goal deficit. Chris Hogan is No. 1 in goals with 20.
The real leader on the Nittany Lions is three-time ECAC Goalie of the Year, Drew Adams. Adams has tallied 44 saves in four days. He led the team in the 9-8 upset over No. 19 Bucknell with 20 saves, three days after his 24-save performance in PSU’s 10-8 victory over Hobart on April 4. On the season, Adams has notched 151 saves, with a save percentage of .651. Against Hobart, Adams also picked up nine ground balls.
Head coach Glenn Theil is in his 32nd season at the helm of the Nittany Lions with a 229-175 record. Overall, Theil is 306-211 and is second on the list of career wins among active Division I coaches. His resume includes two national titles with the Virginia Cavaliers.
Penn State has had a lot of close calls this season, with four of its five losses in one-goal decisions, two in overtime. The Nittany Lions has lost games in OT to Robert Morris and Fairfield and one-goal losses to Loyola and UMass.
The Nittany Lions are receiving votes in both polls.

Last Time Out
Freshman Carl Iacona came away with four points in the Red Storm’s 12-6 loss to Massachusetts on April 4. Iacona netted three goals in the last four minutes of play to lead St. John’s in scoring.
The Minutemen jumped out to an 8-1 lead in the first half. In the third period, both teams scored only a goal each as senior Malcolm Miles netted the only goal for the Red Storm in the quarter.
Senior Dom DeNapoli won the battle at the face-off X, winning 11 of 20 draws.

In The Red Zone
Senior Drew Schanen leads St. John’s in points with 22 points on 18 goals and four assists. The North Brunswick, N.J., native’s goal-tally is also a team-best. Senior Trevor Michaelsen and rookie Harry Kutner are tied for second with 19 points. Michaelsen has 14 goals and five assists, while Kutner has 11 goals with eight assists.
Kutner and senior Malcolm Miles are tied for the team’s assist leader with four each. Miles has notched an assist in the last three games for the Red Storm, with a career-best four against Georgetown on Feb. 28.
Face-off specialist and LSM, senior Dom DeNapoli leads the team in ground balls with 89. Sophomore close-defender Mike Sherry is second on the team in GB’s with 25. Rookie midfielder Carl Iacona is close behind with 21.
Sherry leads the team in caused turnovers with 15, while DeNapoli is second with 14.

StormTracker Stat Of The Week
2-2: St. John’s is 2-2 on the road in 2009, with a 10-5 victory at Holy Cross on Feb. 14 and an 8-7 come-from-behind win at Siena on March 17. The two road victories are the most since 2006 when the Red Storm defeated Air Force and Lafayette on their home fields. A win at Penn State will give STJ its best road record since the program was reinstated in 2005.

Season Check Point – Around The ECAC
Undefeated in league play, UMass is first in the ECAC at 3-0 and an overall record of 6-3. Fairfield and Loyola are tied for second with records of 3-1. St. John’s, Penn State and Hobart all share a 1-3 record, while Rutgers (2-2) and Georgetown (1-2) are in between.
With no conference play-off, head-to-head results will determine the ECAC’s automatic qualifier. A three-way tie will be determined by record comparison, competition among common opponents and national RPI.
St. John’s is tied for second in the league in man-up goals per game (1.33) and man-down goals (.11) and caused turnovers (9.00).

On Deck
St. John’s will play two games in three days as the Red Storm hosts the Hobart Statesmen on Friday, April 17 at 3 p.m., then travels to Notre Dame, Ind. on Sunday for a 1 p.m. contest against the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

–  Red Storm  –

QUEENS, N.Y. (March 21, 2009) – Despite a career-best five-goal effort by rookie attackman Harry Kutner, St. John’s men’s lacrosse team fell 10-9 in overtime to the visiting Lehigh Mountain Hawks Saturday afternoon on DaSilva Memorial Field. Lehigh’s win is their second overtime victory this week.

Mountain Hawk senior Ricky Cornetta scored with .07 seconds left to force the No. 18 Red Storm into its first overtime game since April 23, 1994.

With the loss, St. John’s falls to 5-2 on the season. Lehigh’s record advances to 3-6.

Down for the majority of the game, the Red Storm went on a run in the second half to come from behind and finally take the lead with 6:11 left in the fourth period.

Lehigh took a four-goal lead in the first period before Kutner scored a minute and a half into the second quarter to put the Red Storm on the board.

After Cornetta put one back for the Mountain Hawks, senior Trevor Michaelsen cut the Lehigh lead to three, 5-2, scoring his fourth man-up goal of the season at 11:47. His goal was assisted by fellow senior Drew Schanen.

Kutner scored once more, connecting with senior Jamal Jones, who marked his first assist of the season, with 31 seconds left in the half to tighten the score to 5-3. Coming in from the break, the rookie sunk his third goal of the game, and his first career-hat trick, to bring the Red Storm within one at 13:54 in the third. Lehigh’s Kyle Gentile came back three minutes later to extend the Mountain Hawk lead to 6-4 as neither team would score again in the third quarter.

Getting a shot off as he fell to the ground in front of the net, Kutner scored his fourth goal of the game to bring St. John’s back within one again, 6-5, with 13:29 left in the game.

Lehigh answered back with a man-up goal from Cameron Lao-Gosney at 12:55, before St. John’s went on a three-goal scoring streak led off by senior attackman Bobby Fitton. Assisted by Schanen, Fitton got a quick one past Lehigh goaltender Morgan Haller at 10:29. Freshman Carl Iacona kept the momentum going as he tied the game, 7-7, at 9:58 with a goal that just trickled in past Haller. Positioned about five feet off the crease, senior midfielder Malcolm Miles netted the Red Storm go-ahead goal with just over six minutes left to play.

Cornetta came back for the Mountain Hawks at 5:10 to tie the game at eight each.

Scoreless for the next four minutes of play, as the pressure continued to build, Kutner and Miles teamed up to give St. John’s a one-goal lead with 1:13 left on the game clock.

In the final minute of play, senior Dom DeNapoli secured possession for the Red Storm with a face-off win. St. John’s called a time out with 50 second left and Lehigh swapped goaltenders for the fourth time. St. John’s turned the ball over giving way for a Lehigh clear. Setting up a play after a called time out, Lehigh’s Adam Johnston shot the ball which was saved by junior goaltender Gavin Buckley but bounced to Cornetta who sunk the tying goal, forcing the game into overtime.

After the face-off by DeNapoli and the ground ball pick up by junior Reggie Davis, St. John’s turned the ball over to give Lehigh the final possession in the extra period. One shot would do it for Brian Bienemann, who sank the winning goal at 3:36 in overtime.

Lehigh won the battle on the turf, winning ground balls (33-28), clears, shots, face-offs and saves. St. John’s only got one shot off in the first period of play.

After the two-game week, St. John’s will have a full week of rest before returning to conference play with a home game against Rutgers on March 28. The game will be played as part of the Lacrosse Day of Champions, hosted by the Indians Rock Community Foundation at Manhasset High School in Manhasset, N.Y. Face-off is slated for noon.

– Red Storm –