tag:blogs.trb.com,2008:/sports/highschool/lacrosse/264 2008-11-13T01:39:41Z Get your lax fix with Newsday’s extended coverage of Long Island high school and college lacrosse Movable Type 3.36 tag:blogs.trb.com,2008:/sports/highschool/lacrosse//264.142384 2008-11-10T20:16:56Z 2008-11-13T01:39:41Z

No, not in football. On Saturday, April 4, the Hofstra men’s lacrosse team will play Delaware at the Meadowlands as part of a three-game event called the Big City Classic. The Pride will face the Fightin’ Blue Hens at 5...

Admin Big City Classic. The Pride will face the Fightin’ Blue Hens at 5 p.m., closing out a tripleheader that features Virginia-North Carolina at noon and Syracuse-Princeton at 2:30 p.m. This is the first lacrosse event, to my knowledge, that will attempt to draw people from the New York metropolitan area to such a high-profile venue. It will be interesting to see how many fans from around the area show up. Similar doubleheader events have been held with success at the Baltimore Ravens’ stadium in Baltimore during the past two years. The teams competing in this one are no slouches and, of course, include multiple players from Long Island. Syracuse is the defending national champion. Virginia made the final four last year. North Carolina is an ACC program on the up-and-up, and Princeton is always solid. Delaware reached the national semis in 2007, and Hofstra made the NCAAs last year, getting bounced by Johns Hopkins in the first round. All six programs have agreed to a two-year commitment to the event, according to its organizer, Inside Lacrosse. UPDATE (11/12): Here's the rest of the Hofstra schedule... 2/21 UMass – 1 p.m. 2/28 @ Brown – Noon 3/7 @ Johns Hopkins – Noon 3/14 Princeton – 1 p.m. 3/21 @ Sacred Heart – 1 p.m. 3/24 @ U.S. Military Academy – 7 p.m. 3/28 Robert Morris – Noon 4/4 Delaware (at Giants Stadium) – 5 p.m. 4/8 Drexel – 7 p.m. 4/11 @ Towson – 1 p.m. 4/18 North Carolina – 7 p.m. 4/21 Stony Brook – 7 p.m. 4/25 Villanova – 7 p.m. -- COREY McLAUGHLIN ]]> tag:blogs.trb.com,2008:/sports/highschool/lacrosse//264.138762 2008-10-28T00:53:27Z 2008-10-28T01:01:59Z

BY COREY McLAUGHLIN West Islip junior attackman Nick Galasso has verbally committed to play for the University of North Carolina, becoming the latest member of a highly touted recruiting class for new Tar Heels coach Joe Breschi. Galasso committed to...

Admin BY COREY McLAUGHLIN West Islip junior attackman Nick Galasso has verbally committed to play for the University of North Carolina, becoming the latest member of a highly touted recruiting class for new Tar Heels coach Joe Breschi. Galasso committed to UNC on Friday, West Islip head coach Scott Craig said today. Galasso made visits to North Carolina, Maryland, Rutgers and Hofstra and had a visit scheduled to Syracuse but cancelled the trip to the home of the defending national champions after settling on the Tar Heels. Galasso is a tremendous offensive talent and the No.1-ranked junior recruit in the nation according to Inside Lacrosse Magazine. He scored 60 goals and had 57 assists last season as a sophomore and had 57 goals and 50 assists as a freshman. He's also played on two Long Island Empire teams. “He loved it as soon as he got off the plane. They really treated him great,” Craig said of Galasso’s trip to North Carolina. “Also, we have a couple guys down there already. Nicky liked the idea that if he were going to go away, it would be easier for him to go to a place where there were already people he knew and was friendly with.” Ian Braddish, a West Islip senior midfielder, is headed to North Carolina after this season. Two other WI products, Kevin Federico and Ryan Flanagan, are already in Chapel Hill. Breschi, a former UNC defenseman and assistant coach, was hired as head coach in July after 11 seasons as head coach at Ohio State. He's made a quick impact on the recruiting scene in the new surroundings. Along with Galasso’s commitment, Inside Lacrosse has reported that UNC recently received verbals from junior midfielders Will Campbell (Worthington Kilbourne, Ohio), Mark McNeill (St. Mary’s, Md.), and Duncan Hutchins (Gilman School, Md.), IL’s No. 6, 7 and 15th-ranked juniors, respectively. ]]> tag:blogs.trb.com,2008:/sports/highschool/lacrosse//264.117121 2008-07-29T22:13:52Z 2008-08-04T01:46:14Z

Long Island wins Empire State Games lacrosse title, first half Long Island wins Empire State Games lacrosse title, second half...

Admin Long Island wins Empire State Games lacrosse title, first half Long Island wins Empire State Games lacrosse title, second half ]]> tag:blogs.trb.com,2008:/sports/highschool/lacrosse//264.116078 2008-07-24T18:47:14Z 2008-07-29T14:13:57Z

The N-Zone and Sportswebnet.com will broadcast Long Island's final boys lacrosse game from the Empire State Games. To watch the game in its entirety, visit newsday.com/nzone after 12 noon on Tuesday, July 29....

Admin The N-Zone and Sportswebnet.com will broadcast Long Island's final boys lacrosse game from the Empire State Games. To watch the game in its entirety, visit newsday.com/nzone after 12 noon on Tuesday, July 29.]]> tag:blogs.trb.com,2008:/sports/highschool/lacrosse//264.114726 2008-07-17T23:09:48Z 2008-07-17T23:26:19Z

BY JOSEPH STASZEWSKI Brennan and Smith Shine in North Victory Garden City's Erin Brennan scored four times, including the winner with 1:15 left, and added an assist as the North Girls team beat the South 13-12 in the Under-Armour All-America...

Joseph Staszewski BY JOSEPH STASZEWSKI Brennan and Smith Shine in North Victory Garden City's Erin Brennan scored four times, including the winner with 1:15 left, and added an assist as the North Girls team beat the South 13-12 in the Under-Armour All-America girls lacrosse game at Towson University on July 12. West Babylon's Shannon Smith scored her four goal to tie the score at 12 with 2:14 remaining. St. Anthony's Jessica Russo added two goals. Chanenchuk Leads North in Tight Win St. Anthony's Mike Chanenchuk scored three goals to help the North team top the South 13-12 on in the Under-Armour All-America boys lacrosse game. Garden City's Francis McDonough had a goal and an assist. Syosset's Jeff Cohen added a goal and Rocky Point's Tom Palasek had an assist. ]]> tag:blogs.trb.com,2008:/sports/highschool/lacrosse//264.113919 2008-07-14T22:18:53Z 2008-07-14T22:34:06Z

COQUITLAM, B.C -- Craig Dowd (East Northport, N.Y./Northport/Georgetown) scored three goals and added two assists, goalkeeper Adam Ghitelman (Syosset, N.Y./Cold Spring Harbor/Virginia) made 19 saves to lead the U.S. under-19 men's lacrosse team to a 19-12 victory over Canada in...

Joseph Staszewski Craig Dowd (East Northport, N.Y./Northport/Georgetown) scored three goals and added two assists, goalkeeper Adam Ghitelman (Syosset, N.Y./Cold Spring Harbor/Virginia) made 19 saves to lead the U.S. under-19 men's lacrosse team to a 19-12 victory over Canada in the gold medal match of the 2008 International Lacrosse Federation (ILF) World Championships at Percy Perry Stadium on July 12. Nick Elsmo (Edgewater, Md./Severn/Virginia) and Dean Gibbons (Garden City, N.Y./Garden City/Harvard) added three goals apiece. The U.S., a six-time gold medalist, is now 36-0 all-time in ILF U-19 play dating back to the championships' inception in 1988. Canada closed within 10-8 at the 16:57 mark in the second half, but the the U.S. responded with three straight goals in the next three minutes by Ryan Young (Manhasset, N.Y./Manhasset/Maryland), Elsmo and Gibbons to take a 13-8 lead. Rhamel Bratton (Huntington, N.Y./Huntington/Virginia) scored to put Team USA up 14-10 U.S. Goals Dean Gibbons 3, Nick Elsmo 3, Craig Dowd 3, Anthony Mendes 2, Tim Donovan 2, Rhamel Bratton 2, Ryan Young 1, Matthew Dolente 1, Andrew Feinberg 1, Josh Amidon 1 U.S. Assists Dowd 2, Young 2, Mendes 1, Donovan 1 ]]> tag:blogs.trb.com,2008:/sports/highschool/lacrosse//264.113249 2008-07-10T20:28:08Z 2008-07-10T20:37:57Z

These 20 players will travel and compete at the Empire State Game from July 23-27 in Binghamton. The team is dominated by players from West Islip and Manhasset. How much does this tell you about both team's chances next season?...

Joseph Staszewski These 20 players will travel and compete at the Empire State Game from July 23-27 in Binghamton. The team is dominated by players from West Islip and Manhasset. How much does this tell you about both team's chances next season? Alexander, Dominique Baldwin Bellairs, Rob Plainedge Braddish, Ian West islip Cappellini, Bradley Manhasset Duvnjak, John Manhasset English, Connor Manhasset Froccaro, Jeff Port Washington Galasso, Nicky West Islip Hodgson, Andrew West Islip Manny, William St. Anthony's McCormack, Michael West Islip Meyer, Maxx Half Hollow Hills East Molinari, Jeff Manhasset Murphy, Steven Ward Melville O'Reilly, Nick South Side Ostrander, Anthony Farmingdale O'Toole, Brian Long Beach Palasek, Matthew Rocky Point Schreiber, Thomas East Meadow Zaremba, Ryan West Islip tag:blogs.trb.com,2008:/sports/highschool/lacrosse//264.112943 2008-07-09T17:26:14Z 2008-07-09T17:31:29Z

Four Long Island girls teams made the ranks: 1 - John Carroll School 2 - Sts. Stephen's & Agnes 3 - Severa Park 4 - West Genesee 5 - Moorestown 6 - McDonogu School 7 - Garden City 8 -...

Laura Albanese 7 - Garden City 8 - Radnor 9 - Farmingdale 10 - Shawnee 11 - Brighton, NY 12 - Northport 13 - Severn School 14 - Shoreham Wading River 15 - Westwood, MA 16 - Notre Dame Prep, MD 17 - New Trier 18 - Broadneck 19 - Springfield (DelCo) 20 - Archbishop Spalding]]> tag:blogs.trb.com,2008:/sports/highschool/lacrosse//264.112941 2008-07-09T17:18:59Z 2008-07-09T17:26:04Z

The 2008 squad: Attack: Danielle Etrasco - Massapequa Nicole Moran - Lindenhurst Janine Hillier - Farmingdale Erin Fitzgerald - Mt. Sinai Caroline McTiernan - Garden City Gabi Wiegand - Bay Shore Devon Rhodes - Northport Alyssa Murray - West Babylon...

Laura Albanese Attack: Danielle Etrasco - Massapequa Nicole Moran - Lindenhurst Janine Hillier - Farmingdale Erin Fitzgerald - Mt. Sinai Caroline McTiernan - Garden City Gabi Wiegand - Bay Shore Devon Rhodes - Northport Alyssa Murray - West Babylon Jackie Ardolino - Floyd Midfield: Monica DeMairo - Massapequa Kara Mugo - Rocky Point Jenny Granger - Ward Melville Shannon Gilroy - Northport Amanda Macaluso - Hauppauge Morgan O'Reilly - Sayville Staphanie Anderson - Shoreham Wading River Kaitlin Brosco - Shoreham Wading River Shannon Mangini - Garden City Jenna Davis - Division Defense: Rackel Weiderkehr - Shoreham Wading River Brittany Delea - Shoreham Wading River Shannon Difliese - Garden City Katie Ciaci - Northport Chelsea Intrabartola - Commack Adrianna Amendola - Eastport-South Manor Becky Hanley - Northport Aimee Capps - Rocky Point Tara Coyle - Farmingdale Goalies: Lauren Maksym - Farmingdale Sallie Beth Finnegan - West Islip Lily Kalata - Smithtown East ]]> tag:blogs.trb.com,2008:/sports/highschool/lacrosse//264.112936 2008-07-09T17:03:28Z 2008-07-09T17:18:29Z

Here are your Long Island All-Americans (Girls) first team Senior Erin Brennan, Midfield, Garden City - attending U-Penn Junior Katie Ciaci, Defense, Northport Senior Dayna Defliese, Midfield/Defense, Garden City - attending U-Mass Junior Monica Demairo, Midfield, Massapequa Senior Caitlin Fifiled,...

Laura Albanese Long Island All-Americans (Girls) first team Senior Erin Brennan, Midfield, Garden City - attending U-Penn Junior Katie Ciaci, Defense, Northport Senior Dayna Defliese, Midfield/Defense, Garden City - attending U-Mass Junior Monica Demairo, Midfield, Massapequa Senior Caitlin Fifiled, Midfield/Attack, North Babylon - attending Richmond Junior Erin Fitzgerald, Attack, Mt. Sinai Junior Jenny Granger, Midfield, Ward Melville Senior Alysa Kildare, Midfield/Defense, Farmingdale - attending Johns Hopkins Senior Becky Lynch, Midfield, Garden City - attending UNC Junior Lauren Maksum, Goalkeeper, Farmingdale Junior Devon Rhodes, Midfield/Attack, Northport Senior Candace Rossi, Attack, Farmingdale - attending Johns Hopkins Senior Jessica Russo, Midfield/Attack, St. Anthonys - attending Northwestern Senior Shannon Smith, Attack, West Babylon - attending Northwestern Senior Lacy Vigmostad, Midfield/Defense, Northport - attending Northwestern Senior Brittany Wilton, Midfield, Garden City - attending Boston College Honorable Mention Senior Stephanie Anderson, Midfield, Shoreham Wading River Sophomore Caitlin Brosco, Midfield, Shoreham Wading River Senior Lauren Connors, Defense, Manhasset - attending Denver Junior Jenna Davis, Midfield, Levittown-Division Junior Danielle Etrasco, Attack, Massapequa Senior Lori Fillipone, Goalkeeper, Northport - attending Penn State Senior Catherine Furman, Defense, Garden City - attending Holy Cross Junior Becky Hanley, Defense, Northport Junior Janine Hillier, Attack, Farmingdale Senior Colleen McCaffrey, Midfield, Mt. Sinai - attending Johns Hopkins Senior Kaela McGilloway, Midfield, North Shore - attending Brown Junior Caroline McTiernan, Attack, Garden City Sophomore Cara Mupo, Attack, Rocky Point Senior Nina Sarcona, Attack, Northport - attending U-Mass Senior Whitney Quackenbush, Goalkeeper, Manhasset - attending Yale Junior Gabbi Wiegand, Midfield, Bay Shore ]]> tag:blogs.trb.com,2008:/sports/highschool/lacrosse//264.109950 2008-06-24T05:59:36Z 2008-06-24T06:27:56Z

Laxpower.com just came out with its National Coaches/Computer Ratings -- thanks to the site's George Baldassare for the heads up. A friend of mine down at the Baltimore Sun covered Gilman this year, says they were sick. Not surprised they...

Darren Sands 3. West Islip NY 19- 2- 0 199.20 99.40 99.80 4. LaSalle College HS PA 31- 2- 0 199.02 99.32 99.70 5. Loyola-Blakefield MD 13- 4- 0 198.73 99.28 99.45 6. Ward Melville NY 19- 1- 0 198.61 98.94 99.67 7. Darien CT 22- 1- 0 198.55 99.20 99.35 8. Rocky Point NY 21- 1- 0 198.38 98.72 99.66 9. Calvert Hall MD 15- 3- 0 198.23 98.73 99.50 10. Mountain Lakes NJ 22- 1- 0 198.12 98.78 99.34 11. Malvern Prep PA 21- 3- 0 197.60 98.26 99.34 12. Syosset NY 17- 5- 0 197.56 98.11 99.45 13. Kent Denver CO 15- 0- 0 197.35 98.05 99.30 14. Lawrenceville NJ 17- 2- 0 197.35 97.80 99.55 15. Brother Rice MI 23- 0- 0 196.92 97.82 99.10 16. Chaminade NY 14- 4- 0 196.65 97.40 99.25 17. Garden City NY 15- 5- 0 196.47 97.16 99.32 18. Canandaigua NY 23- 1- 0 196.28 97.23 99.05 19. Georgetown Prep MD 18- 3- 0 196.27 97.21 99.05 20. Mount Sinai NY 18- 3- 0 196.27 97.00 99.27 21. Deerfield MA 15- 1- 0 196.14 96.99 99.15 22. Saint Andrews FL 22- 1- 0 195.88 96.93 98.95 23. John Jay-Cross River NY 18- 6- 0 195.70 96.50 99.20 24. Yorktown NY 20- 4- 0 195.67 96.59 99.08 25. McDonogh MD 16- 6- 0 195.66 96.63 99.03]]> tag:blogs.trb.com,2008:/sports/highschool/lacrosse//264.109933 2008-06-24T02:13:37Z 2008-06-24T02:23:11Z

GOAL Rob Bellaris (Plainedge) Bobby Whitmarsh (Smithtown East) Conor Ferguson (Carey) Ryan Zaremba (West Islip) ATTACK Nick O'Rielly (South Side) Connor English (Manhasset) Eddie Loftus (Syosset) Will Manny (St. Anthony's) Nick Galasso (West Islip) Michael Chapman (Mount Sinai) Matt Palasek...

Joseph Staszewski GOAL Rob Bellaris (Plainedge) Bobby Whitmarsh (Smithtown East) Conor Ferguson (Carey) Ryan Zaremba (West Islip) ATTACK Nick O'Rielly (South Side) Connor English (Manhasset) Eddie Loftus (Syosset) Will Manny (St. Anthony's) Nick Galasso (West Islip) Michael Chapman (Mount Sinai) Matt Palasek (Rocky Point) DEFENSE Anthnony Ostrander (Farmingdale) Bradley Cappelini (Manhasset) Joe Ednie (Baldwin) Michael McCormack (West Islip) Thomas Keith (Syosset) Maxx Meyer (Half Hollow Hills East) Kyle Sheridan (Smithtown West) Brian Winterfelt (Calhoun) John Duvnjak (Manhasset) MIDFIELD Jeff Froccaro (Port Washington) Jeff Molinari (Manhasset) Brian O'Toole (Long Beach) Thomas Schrieber (St. Anthony's) Dominique Alexander (Baldwin) Christian Kennedy (Cold Spring Harbor) Ian Braddish (West Islip) Andrew Hodgson (West Islip) Steve Murphy (Floyd) James Ryan (Ward Melville) ]]> tag:blogs.trb.com,2008:/sports/highschool/lacrosse//264.109836 2008-06-23T18:28:28Z 2008-06-23T19:03:28Z

BY DARREN SANDS An athlete stood next to his college coach three days after playing the state championship game. He has already begun, he tells him, to work out for the next season, for his freshman year. For fall ball....

Darren Sands DARREN SANDS An athlete stood next to his college coach three days after playing the state championship game. He has already begun, he tells him, to work out for the next season, for his freshman year. For fall ball. In June. Sounds like something an athlete telling a college coach something he would want to hear, a plea for playing time. But coming from the kid standing on the sideline, talking to Harvard coach John Tillman, it sounds like the truth. What else might you expect from Jeff Cohen, this year’s Newsday 2008 Nassau County Boys Lacrosse Player of the Year? “To me that sent a very strong message,” said Harvard coach John Tillman, “about how important lacrosse is to him and how committed and driven he is to being successful at the next level.” Cohen made his mark at Syosset, with 260 career goals becoming the all-time goal-scorer in Long Island history and, as Cohen went, so went the Braves. One need look no further than Syosset’s first game against Garden City for the source of Cohen’s motivation. "I posted that story on my wall," he said earlier this spring, referring to a game which conspicuously noted that he did not score. Tillman, meanwhile was in town at the Nassau Empire tryouts at Syosset, which is when he got to visit with Cohen. "I told him, 'I’m going to challenge you.,'" Tillman said. "He knows he has to earn his spot, and I think he’s excited about that. "What he's done should give him some confidence. Now he's gotta go out and prove it again." Newsday spoke with Tillman about his visits to Long Island, and the buzz around here surrounding what many will believe his program's meteoric rise to the the apex of Division I lacrosse in the next few years. He mentioned that landing Cohen and players like Garden City product Dean Gibbons are paramount to their success, but that the growing popularity of the sport in Eastern Massachusetts along with the Final Four coming to Foxborough's Gillette Stadium, put Harvard in a prime position -- especially as the area's only Division I Men's lacrosse program. "We've proven we can recruit the top students who are also good lacrosse players, and I think kids realize that there is a lot to the Harvard experience." ]]> tag:blogs.trb.com,2008:/sports/highschool/lacrosse//264.109590 2008-06-21T20:51:29Z 2008-06-24T02:23:43Z

GOAL Bellaris, Rob (Plainedge) Collins, Eddie (Long Beach) DiGiacomo, Nick (Middle Country) Ferguson, Conor (Carey) Whitmarsh, Rob (Smithtown East) Zaremba, Ryan (West Islip) ATTACK Chapman, Mike (Mt. Sinai) Dellavecchia, Chris (North Shore) DiMaria, Dave (HHH West) English, Connor (Manhasset) Galasso,...

Joseph Staszewski GOAL Bellaris, Rob (Plainedge) Collins, Eddie (Long Beach) DiGiacomo, Nick (Middle Country) Ferguson, Conor (Carey) Whitmarsh, Rob (Smithtown East) Zaremba, Ryan (West Islip) ATTACK Chapman, Mike (Mt. Sinai) Dellavecchia, Chris (North Shore) DiMaria, Dave (HHH West) English, Connor (Manhasset) Galasso, Nick (West Islip) Granata, Joe (Lindenhurst) Heenan, Kevin (Manhasset) Himler, William (Chaminade) Loftus, Eddie (Syosset) Lustgraten, Joe (SWR) Manny, William (St. Anthony's.) Mock, Stephen (Huntington) Palasek, Matt (Rocky Point) O’Reilly, Nick (South Side) Sweeney, Chris (Bay Shore) Tripp, Eric (Glen Cove) MIDFIELD Alexander, Dominique (Baldwin) Braddish, Ian (West Islip) Celano, Joe (Farmingdale) Dolan, Kevin (Wes Islip) Fiorvanti, Pat (St. Anthony's) Froccaro, Danny (Port Washington) Fumani, Ryan (St. Anthony's) Gilmartin, Will (St. Anthony's) Grabher, Robert (North Shore) Henry, Shane (Mt. Sinai) Hodgson, Andrew (West Islip) Isnardi, Nick (Massapequa) Kelly, Tom (Rocky Point) Kennedy, Christian (Cold Spring Harbor) Mancuso, Jesse (Northport) Metros, Andrew (Great Neck North) Molinari, Jeff (Manhasset) Murphy, Steve (William Floyd) O’Toole, Brian (Long Beach) Podgurski, Charlie (Sayville) Ryan, James (Ward Melville) Schreiber, Tom (St. Anthony's) Tesoriero, Douglas (Syosset) Zawadzki, Anthony (Kings Park) Worker K.C. (Farmingdale) DEFENSE Borruso, William (Eastport-South Manor) Cappellini, Bradley (Manhasset) Duvnjak, John (Manhasset) Ednie, Joe (Baldwin) Keith, Thomas (Syosset) Krzeminski, Dan (Lindenhurst) Kunkel, Matt (Ward Melville) Lang, James (Hicksville) Lovrich, Corey (Long Beach) McCormack, Mike (West Islip) Meyer, Maxx (HHH East) Muller, Mike (Rocky Point) Ostrander, Anthony (Farmingdale) Sheridan, Kyle (Smithtown East) Winterfeldt, Brian (Calhoun) ]]> tag:blogs.trb.com,2008:/sports/highschool/lacrosse//264.108656 2008-06-17T17:02:44Z 2008-06-17T17:27:57Z

BY RODERICK BOONE Yesterday, CAA commissioner Tom Yeager announced UMass and Penn State will join the conference beginning in 2010. The news comes on the heels of last week's revelation by the Big East that its forming a league. UMass...

Roderick Boone BY RODERICK BOONE Yesterday, CAA commissioner Tom Yeager announced UMass and Penn State will join the conference beginning in 2010. The news comes on the heels of last week's revelation by the Big East that its forming a league. UMass and Penn State will hook up with Delaware, Drexel, Hofstra and Towson to form a six-team conference. "Both schools have excellent programs along with outstanding coaches and players," Yeager said in a statement. "Their addition will keep CAA men's lacrosse among the top Division I conferences in the nation." The move is directly due to the Big East and NEC starting leagues. Sacred Heart and Robert Morris -- current members of the CAA -- will head to the NEC and Villanova moves to the Big East after next season. The CAA will continue to evaluate additional membership options. St. John's, meanwhile, is moving out of the ECAC and into the newly formed Big East beginning in 2010. The Red Storm will join Georgetown, Notre Dame, Providence, Rutgers, Syracuse and Villanova and they will play a six-game single round-robin regular season schedule. The conference has plans to apply for an automatic bid to the 16-team NCAA Championship field. "The creation of a Big East lacrosse conference is a huge step for St. John's lacrosse and the other members of the league," St. John's AD Chris Monasch said. "The combination of the Big East brand, its television influence and the quality of the member lacrosse programs will yield one of the best conferences in the country." ]]>