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Rob Gannon has tallied eight points in the last four games for the Red Storm.
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St. John's Faces Top-Ranked Blue Devils In Season Closer
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Red Storm lacrosse closes season against ACC-Champions.
May 3, 2008
Game Notes (PDF) 
Cumulative Stats (PDF)
DURHAM, N.C. - The Red Storm travels to Durham, N.C., to face the No. 1 Duke Blue Devils on Sunday, May 4 in the 2008 season finale.
Sunday's contest is the sixth in the series between the schools. The Blue Devils (15-1) lead the series 4-1, but the Red Storm (2-10) won the last meeting, 9-8, in overtime on March 14, 1989.
St. John's is looking to close out the season with two-straight vicotires after defeating Farifield, 10-7, last weekend on Senior Day. With the win, the Red Storm tied its all-time conference win record. St. JOhn's has won two of its last three games, also defeating Penn State, 11-7, at home on April 12.
Duke is currently ranked No. 1 in both the Nike/Inside Lacrosse Media Poll and the USILA Coaches Poll. The Blue Devils are fresh off their second-straight ACC Championship win and are riding a seven-game winning streak. In the ACC Championship final, Duke defeated Virginia, 11-9 on April 27.
Fans can follow the non-conference action live on www.ACCSelect.com or via live stats on Duke's web site: www.GoDuke.com.
Sunday's game is the first time the Red Storm will play in the month of May since 1993. Last time the Red Storm played in May, the team defeated Providence, 13-5 at home.
The Series Against The Blue Devils
The contest is the sixth between the two non-conference opponents in a series dating back to 1983. Duke won the first four meetings in 1983, `86, `87 and `88, but St. John's took the last one, 9-8, in overtime on March 14, 1989. Duke is 2-0 against the Red Storm in Durham. The last two meetings between the teams have been decided by one goal.
Last Time Out
St. John's closed out its conference-season with a 10-7 victory over Fairfield on April 26. The team held on to a seven-goal lead, its largest lead over any team this season, to secure its second ECAC victory and its first conference win over the Stags since Fairfield joined the league in 2006.
Senior Tom Michaelsen led the team in scoring with a season high of five points on one goal and four assists. His twin brother Trevor Michaelsen, a junior, was second in scoring with two goals and one assist. Senior Justin O'Donnell and juniors Malcolm Miles and Tom Manes also scored two goals each.
The Red Storm led 8-1 at the half.
Lucky Number Seven
In both Red Storm victories this season, the opponent has scored seven goals. In the Red Storm's 11-7 victory over Penn State on April 12, seven different St. John's athletes netted a goal.
Against Fairfield on April 26, the Red Storm jumped to a seven-goal lead which lasted well into the second half. The lead was too much for the Stags to over come and was the largest margin of goals the Red Storm has led by this season.
Against Ranked Opponents
The game against Duke is the fourth game against a ranked opponent this season. In March, St. John's faced three-straight top 20 opponents. Two of the three games were decided by just a three goal gap.
St. John's faced then-No. 11 Georgetown on the road on March 1, then-No. 14 Siena on March 8 and then-No. 17 Loyola on March 15.
Sunday's game is the second time in two seasons the Red Storm will collide with a No. 1 team. Last season, St. John's hosted then-No. 1 Georgetown on March 3. Georgetown defeated the Red Storm 12-6.
Gannon Storming Through A Late Season Scoring Roll
Senior Rob Gannon has tallied eight points in the last four games. Against Penn State on April 12, he led the team in goals with his first hat trick of the season to lead the Red Storm to an 11-7 victory. He notched another three points on April 19 at Hobart and scored a goal against UMass on April 5 and against Fairfield on April 26. His late-season scoring-streak has him tied for third on the team in goals with 11.
Tom Michaelsen Earns ECAC Honors
Tom Michaelsen earned his second ECAC honor on April 28 for his five-point, season-best performance in the Red Storm's 10-7 victory over Fairfield on April 26. Michaelsen's honor roll mention was his second of the month of April. Michaelsen netted the Red Storm's second goal of the game breaking the 1-1 tie at 7:20 in the first period. After his goal, Michaelsen had a hand in four Red Storm goals, helping St. John's take a 9-2 lead into the third period.
Storm Tracker
Senior Justin O'Donnell leads the team in points with 23 (17 goals, 6 assists). Against Penn State on April 12, he tallied both a career high in points with six and assists with four. O'Donnell has earned ECAC weekly honors twice this season
Senior Tom Michaelsen is second in points with 18 (8 goals, 10 assists). Michaelsen's four assists against Fairfield on April 26 marked a career best for the senior, whose previous record was three against Hobart in his freshman season. .
Scouting The Duke Blue Devils
Last weekend, Duke won their second consecutive ACC Championship with impressive wins over North Carolina and Virginia.
Second-year head coach John Danowski marked his 250th career victory in the Blue Devils' semi-final win over UNC.
Leading Duke is senior Matt Danowski with 80 points (36 goals, 46 assists). Danowski is seven points away being No. 1 on the NCAA all-time scoring list with 336 career points.
Senior Zach Greer and sophomore Max Quinzani lead the Blue Devils in goals with 49 each. Greer is second in points with 71 and Quinzani follows with 56.
The Blue Devils have faced two other teams from the ECAC this season, Loyola and Georgetown. Duke defeated Loyola, 21-8 on March 8, but suffered its only loss of the season at the hands of then-No. 10 Georgetown, 11-7, on March 22.
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