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03-04-2005, 02:21 PM
By DAVE CURTIS
Inside Lacrosse Magazine Senior Writer
St. John’s coach Rick Sowell has read the e-mails from former players and chatted with hundreds of St. John’s alums. He’s seen the group ticket sales forms that show youth groups from nearby Nassau County bringing dozens of kids to Queens on Saturday to see lacrosse merge with local history.
The Red Storm welcome eighth-ranked Georgetown to DaSilva Field on Saturday for their first home game since re-starting a program disbanded in 1994. The occasion should mean big-game energy in the stands, even if big-game talent still doesn’t occupy the home sideline.
“There’s a nice little buzz around here,” Sowell said. “Georgetown’s a big draw. They’re a great team, and they’re probably ticked off, coming up here with a little frustration. That won’t help us.”
Last weekend, on the same day Maryland whipped the Hoyas 13-6, the Red Storm beat Robert Morris 8-7 to start the season with a victory. A 17-5 loss at Fairfield followed, but the results don’t seem to damper the enthusiasm.
Sowell said several ex-St. John’s players plan to check out their alma mater’s progress. A contingent of Hoya alums will show, ready to watch the man who served as Georgetown assistant from 1991-98 duel his old program.
And the kids, including 50 from one youth league, will be there too, adding to a crowd that may creep near 1,000 fans even with the Red Storm men’s basketball team hosting Villanova at the same time (more on this later).
Sowell seems split on the community reaction—he loves the support but wants to temper the optimism of a quick surge to the top of the polls.
“The people who think I’m going to come up here and wave a wand, they’re nuts,” he said. “This is the first step on a four- or five-year journey. I realize that, and I think other people do too. But the support has still been great.”
Georgetown, meanwhile, needs a win to bolster its record and a decisive one to boost its confidence. The Hoyas will play without star face-off man Andy Corno, suspended after his ejection from last week’s game against the Terps.
**
Tough call for Syracuse fans Saturday afternoon. Virginia comes to the Carrier Dome for a 3 p.m. showdown of Top 10 lacrosse teams and the second half of a doubleheader with the women’s teams that starts at noon.
At 4 p.m., SU’s men’s basketball team visits Connecticut, two Top 20 teams playing for a possible share of the Big East regular-season crown.
Syracuse associate athletic director Janet Kittell said Orange officials couldn’t consider moving or flip-flopping the lacrosse game times but refused to reveal the specific reasons.
“You’re dealing with a lot of issues with the facility,” Kittell said. “This was set up long before basketball was set. I wish I could say there was an out, but at this point, there isn’t.”
Shame on Syracuse for not adjusting to the “issues” and coordinating the schedules better for the fans’ sake. There’s no television conflict, and the next day’s track meet in the Dome doesn’t prevent the men playing at noon, with the women to follow.
Then again, history shows it may not have mattered anyway.
Two years ago this weekend, the basketball team tipped off a 1 p.m. at Georgetown and won in overtime. Still, 10,536 fans came to the Dome for a 3 p.m. Syracuse-Virginia face-off, a game the Cavs won 16-15. Both winners that day went on to win a national championship.
**
Figure on free lacrosse Saturday in Annapolis, where Navy and North Carolina continue a burgeoning rivalry built on overtime, usually more than one.
The last three matchups all went more than 60 minutes, including the Midshipmen’s 9-8 win in Chapel Hill a year ago. The 2002 meeting lasted six OTs before Carolina scored an 11-10 victory, and Navy returned the favor the next year, needing only four extra periods before prevailing 9-8.
The focus will flow toward North Carolina’s attack, with four-year starters Jed Prossner and Mike McCall going against Navy’s defense, led by reigning NCAA Goalie of the Year Matt Russell. But don’t forget about the other end of the field.
Big Ian Dingman’s dismissal from the Naval Academy leaves midfielder Graham Gill as the team’s most proficient returning scorer. That’s not a formula for a return to the Final Four, though junior middie Steve Looney has stepped up with five goals in Navy’s 2-0 start.
Carolina boasts preseason second-team All-American defenseman Stephen McElduff. He’ll need help to help replace the graduated Ronnie Staines and protect goalie Paul Spellman, another four-year starter.
The game means a little more for Navy, which owns less chances to knock off a team of UNC’s caliber. If the Midshipmen win, they should head to Georgetown on April 2 at 8-0.
**
Dartmouth’s season starts this weekend with two home games in 26 hours, a scenario second-year coach Bill Wilson created without hesitation late last year.
“I know it’s a decision not a lot of coaches at this level make,” he said. “But I don’t know the effect on the players, physically, is that great. And in my experience, the guys have always tended to play better the second game.”
This weekend, the Green host Quinnipiac at noon on Saturday, then Siena at 2 p.m. Sunday. The Saints’ game was originally planned for Tuesday or Wednesday, but a conflict on Siena’s end, combined with university rules preventing Dartmouth from playing while the school is in second trimester finals (March 9-16), made Sunday the lone possibility.
Wilson said his players embraced the idea, and the added depth on his roster should keep fresh legs on the field for all eight quarters.
“I think we’ll be a little more up-tempo,” Wilson said. “It’s a fun way to play. And we’re running three midfield lines, where in the past Dartmouth has run one and a half. So we’ve got more kids involved.”
Inside Lacrosse Magazine Senior Writer
St. John’s coach Rick Sowell has read the e-mails from former players and chatted with hundreds of St. John’s alums. He’s seen the group ticket sales forms that show youth groups from nearby Nassau County bringing dozens of kids to Queens on Saturday to see lacrosse merge with local history.
The Red Storm welcome eighth-ranked Georgetown to DaSilva Field on Saturday for their first home game since re-starting a program disbanded in 1994. The occasion should mean big-game energy in the stands, even if big-game talent still doesn’t occupy the home sideline.
“There’s a nice little buzz around here,” Sowell said. “Georgetown’s a big draw. They’re a great team, and they’re probably ticked off, coming up here with a little frustration. That won’t help us.”
Last weekend, on the same day Maryland whipped the Hoyas 13-6, the Red Storm beat Robert Morris 8-7 to start the season with a victory. A 17-5 loss at Fairfield followed, but the results don’t seem to damper the enthusiasm.
Sowell said several ex-St. John’s players plan to check out their alma mater’s progress. A contingent of Hoya alums will show, ready to watch the man who served as Georgetown assistant from 1991-98 duel his old program.
And the kids, including 50 from one youth league, will be there too, adding to a crowd that may creep near 1,000 fans even with the Red Storm men’s basketball team hosting Villanova at the same time (more on this later).
Sowell seems split on the community reaction—he loves the support but wants to temper the optimism of a quick surge to the top of the polls.
“The people who think I’m going to come up here and wave a wand, they’re nuts,” he said. “This is the first step on a four- or five-year journey. I realize that, and I think other people do too. But the support has still been great.”
Georgetown, meanwhile, needs a win to bolster its record and a decisive one to boost its confidence. The Hoyas will play without star face-off man Andy Corno, suspended after his ejection from last week’s game against the Terps.
**
Tough call for Syracuse fans Saturday afternoon. Virginia comes to the Carrier Dome for a 3 p.m. showdown of Top 10 lacrosse teams and the second half of a doubleheader with the women’s teams that starts at noon.
At 4 p.m., SU’s men’s basketball team visits Connecticut, two Top 20 teams playing for a possible share of the Big East regular-season crown.
Syracuse associate athletic director Janet Kittell said Orange officials couldn’t consider moving or flip-flopping the lacrosse game times but refused to reveal the specific reasons.
“You’re dealing with a lot of issues with the facility,” Kittell said. “This was set up long before basketball was set. I wish I could say there was an out, but at this point, there isn’t.”
Shame on Syracuse for not adjusting to the “issues” and coordinating the schedules better for the fans’ sake. There’s no television conflict, and the next day’s track meet in the Dome doesn’t prevent the men playing at noon, with the women to follow.
Then again, history shows it may not have mattered anyway.
Two years ago this weekend, the basketball team tipped off a 1 p.m. at Georgetown and won in overtime. Still, 10,536 fans came to the Dome for a 3 p.m. Syracuse-Virginia face-off, a game the Cavs won 16-15. Both winners that day went on to win a national championship.
**
Figure on free lacrosse Saturday in Annapolis, where Navy and North Carolina continue a burgeoning rivalry built on overtime, usually more than one.
The last three matchups all went more than 60 minutes, including the Midshipmen’s 9-8 win in Chapel Hill a year ago. The 2002 meeting lasted six OTs before Carolina scored an 11-10 victory, and Navy returned the favor the next year, needing only four extra periods before prevailing 9-8.
The focus will flow toward North Carolina’s attack, with four-year starters Jed Prossner and Mike McCall going against Navy’s defense, led by reigning NCAA Goalie of the Year Matt Russell. But don’t forget about the other end of the field.
Big Ian Dingman’s dismissal from the Naval Academy leaves midfielder Graham Gill as the team’s most proficient returning scorer. That’s not a formula for a return to the Final Four, though junior middie Steve Looney has stepped up with five goals in Navy’s 2-0 start.
Carolina boasts preseason second-team All-American defenseman Stephen McElduff. He’ll need help to help replace the graduated Ronnie Staines and protect goalie Paul Spellman, another four-year starter.
The game means a little more for Navy, which owns less chances to knock off a team of UNC’s caliber. If the Midshipmen win, they should head to Georgetown on April 2 at 8-0.
**
Dartmouth’s season starts this weekend with two home games in 26 hours, a scenario second-year coach Bill Wilson created without hesitation late last year.
“I know it’s a decision not a lot of coaches at this level make,” he said. “But I don’t know the effect on the players, physically, is that great. And in my experience, the guys have always tended to play better the second game.”
This weekend, the Green host Quinnipiac at noon on Saturday, then Siena at 2 p.m. Sunday. The Saints’ game was originally planned for Tuesday or Wednesday, but a conflict on Siena’s end, combined with university rules preventing Dartmouth from playing while the school is in second trimester finals (March 9-16), made Sunday the lone possibility.
Wilson said his players embraced the idea, and the added depth on his roster should keep fresh legs on the field for all eight quarters.
“I think we’ll be a little more up-tempo,” Wilson said. “It’s a fun way to play. And we’re running three midfield lines, where in the past Dartmouth has run one and a half. So we’ve got more kids involved.”