GAME INFORMATION:
Date: Saturday, Feb. 22, 2020 | 1:00 p.m.
Location: Bethpage Federal Credit Union Stadium (Brookville, N.Y.)
Live Stats: www.LIUAthletics.com
Live Video: NEC Front Row
THE OPENING FACE-OFF:
- An old-time rivalry is restored on Saturday as the Sharks and Red Storm meet on the turf for the first time since the 1995 season when LIU defeated St. John's 15-7.
- The Blue and Gold lead the all-time series against St. John's, 13-2, and have won the last three meetings.
- LIU is searching for its first win of the season after dropping two narrow decisions to Siena and Wagner in its first two contests. The Sharks' two losses have come by a combined three goals, falling 14-12 to Siena and 9-8 to Wagner in overtime.
- St. John's is looking to get back to .500 on the year after dropping its first two games to No. 17 Rutgers and Stony Brook.
ST. JOHN'S NOTES:
- Brody Agres, a sophomore from Farmingdale, N.Y., featured as the Red Storm's netminder for 817 minutes of action last year. Agres set a program record last year for most saves by a goalie in a freshman season as he blocked 166 shot attempts in his first collegiate campaign. The Farmingdale, N.Y., native's 166 saves was fouth-best in the BIG EAST last season. After a shaky season opener against No. 17 Rutgers, the sophomore goalkeeper responded with 22 saves over his last two starts.
- The Red Storms' Mike Madsen earned Big East Midfielder of the Week honors after leading St. John's to a 13-11 win in its home-opener against Hartford. Madsen scored five goals againts both Stony Brook and Hartford.
- Through three games, the Red Storm have amassed a conference-leading 35 goals, 57 faceoff wins, 111 groundballs, 137 shots, five man-up goals, .625 man-up scoring percentage.
- The Johnnies have been a dominant force at the X, securing 57 of the team's 88 faceoff attempts. The squad's .648 faceoff percentage sits in second place in the BIG EAST. Jonathan Dugenio's 56 faceoff wins through his first three collegiate games leads the conference.
- Freshman attackman Connor Kalmus has yet to score his first goal of his collegiate career but his four assists lead the Red Storm and ranks tied for sixth in the conference.
- St. John's was picked sixth in the BIG EAST Preseason Coaches Poll released in January. Five-time defending regular season champion, Denver was the preseason conference favorite, while Villanova also garnered two first-place tallies and was predicted to finish second
SHARK BITES:
- Four different players scored two goals the last time out against Wagner, including Alex Russell, Dylan Villari, Richie Lacalandra, and Jake Gillis. The two goals matched the career-high for Villari and were an early career-high for Lacalandra.
- Through the first three weeks of the season, freshman goalie Will Mark ranks sixth in the nation with 15.0 saves per game.
- Defender Ryan Blume and attackman Will Sneders also finds themselves inside the top-10 in the national rankings, with Blume ranking ninth with 2.5 caused turnovers per game and Snelders sitting 10th with 3.5 assists per game.
- Snelders has recorded a point in all 34 career games, a mark that stands as the 12th-longest mark among Division I players. During his sophomore campaign, Snelders tallied at least three points in every contest and ranked 15th in the nation with 4.69 points per game.
- The Sharks return over 90-percent of their scoring from 2019 to this season's squad. Seven point scorers left the program after 2019, with the highest point scorer coming in the form of Connor Farrell who tallied 14 points as a senior. The Sharks' top eight goal scorers return to the lineup (Snelders, Jake Gillis, Mike Kadnar, Alex Russell, Thomas Liantonio, Nick Grassa, Dan Foley, Dylan Villari) in 2020. That group combined for 204 goals and 301 total points last season, giving LIU one of the deepest attacks in the NEC this season.
- A win on Saturday would be the 22nd of head coach Eric Wolf's career and first at the Division I level. Wolf has compiled a 21-12 (.636) record, including two-consecutive seasons with 10 or more wins.
