Feb. 19, 2008
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -
THIS WEEK The Penn State Nittany Lion men's lacrosse team (1-0, 0-0 ECAC) will trek to South Bend, Ind., to battle No. 8 Notre Dame (1-0) on Sunday, Feb. 24, at 1 p.m. The contest is the first of three straight road games for Penn State.
UP NEXT The Nittany Lions will open up the ECAC Lacrosse League schedule by visiting No. 19 Loyola for a 2 p.m. contest on Saturday, March 1. The game will be televised live on MASN-TV throughout the Mid-Atlantic region.
TODAY'S GAME: The Penn State Nittany Lion men's lacrosse team will trek to South Bend, Ind., to battle No. 8 Notre Dame in its first road game of the season. The game is set for Sunday, Feb. 24, at 1 p.m. It is the first of three straight road games for the Nittany Lions.
Penn State is coming off an outstanding outing in its season opener. The Nittany Lions downed visiting Robert Morris 18-2 indoors at Holuba Hall. Junior Max Van Arsdale led Penn State with three early goals to spark the Nittany Lions. Classmate Rob Forster had five points in the game to lead all players as Penn State coasted to the win. Sophomore Matt Loy added three goals as well. Goalie Drew Adams was a strong as normal, giving up only two goals in nearly 50:00 minutes. He also collected six saves. As a team, the Nittany Lions outshot RMU 48-18 (31-12 SOG). Penn State also had 56 ground balls to 22 for the Colonials.
Notre Dame is coming off a 7-6 win in its season opener, getting a road win at ECAC foe Loyola on Saturday. Senior Alex Wharton scored the game-winning goal with just 3:33 left to provide the difference. Wharton had a goal and an assist to lead ND, as did three other Irish players. Goalie Joey Kemp had 13 saves and gave up only six goals in 60:00 of play.
The Nittany Lions open up ECAC Lacrosse League play on the road next Saturday, March 1. Penn State visits Loyola for a 2 p.m. game that will be televised live on MASN throughout the Mid-Atlantic region.
PENN STATE VS. NOTRE DAME: THE SERIES Notre Dame holds a 10-4 lead over Penn State in the all-time series, including the last five straight. Penn State's last win was a 10-9 overtime victory in South Bend on Feb. 24, 2002. Notre Dame won last year's battle in Holuba Hall by an 11-8 margin.
VanARSDALE AND LOY NOTCH HAT TRICKS Junior Max VanArsdale and sophomore Matt Loy scored three goals each to lead Penn State in goals during PSU's 18-2 season opening win over Robert Morris on 2/16. VanArsdale added an assist for four total points in the contest. Loy took only four shots in the game, finding the net on three of them.
FORSTER'S FIVE POINTS LEAD NITTANY LIONS OVER ROBERT MORRIS Junior Rob Forster had two goals and a game-high three assists to lead Penn State to an 18-2 win over visiting Robert Morris on 2/16. Forster was one of four Nittany Lions with more than one goal and one of three with more than one assist.
16-POINT MARGIN OF VICTORY MOST SINCE `95 Penn State's 16-point margin of victory over Robert Morris on 2/16 (an 18-2 win) was the largest Penn State margin of victory since the Nittany Lions downed Stony Brook by 16, 20-4, on April 8, 1995.
FIRST SEASON OPENING WIN SINCE `05 Penn State snapped a short two year losing skid in season opening games by downing Robert Morris 18-2 on 2/16. The Nittany Lions had last won a season opener in 2005, when Penn State beat No. 14 Ohio State 9-7 on Feb. 19, 2005. 2005 was also Penn State's last trip to the NCAA tournament.
ZICHELLI AND ADAMS NAMED TO 2008 PRE-SEASON ALL-ECAC LACROSSE TEAM Two members of Penn State's men's lacrosse team have been selected to the 2008 Preseason All-ECAC Team as chosen by the conference's eight head coaches. Senior Tommy Zichelli ( Severna Park, Md.) and junior Drew Adams (Springfield, Pa.) represent Penn State on the squad. Zichelli, a defender, has played in 38 games during his Penn State career. He heads into his senior season as one of Penn State's captains and is coming off a solid 2007 that saw him collect 25 ground balls. He has six points off four goals and two assists with 64 ground balls during his Nittany Lion career. Adams, the lone goalie on the preseason squad, is a two-time All-ECAC Lacrosse League first team pick and league Goalie of the Year. In 2006, he was also voted ECAC Lacrosse League Rookie of the Year and was an honorable mention All-American. Adams has started all 26 games of his prior two seasons and has an 8.01 goals against average with 317 saves and a .603 save percentage.
ADAMS EARNS PRE-SEASON HONORS FROM INSIDE LACROSSE MAGAZINE Penn State Nittany Lion men's lacrosse goalie Drew Adams (Springfield, Pa.) has been named to the Inside Lacrosse Magazine Pre-Season All-ECAC Team, helping Penn State to earn the No. 2 spot in the magazine's pre-season team poll. Adams, the two-time ECAC Goalie of the Year, has started all 26 games of his collegiate career. He has a superb 8.01 goals against average in over 1500 minutes played. Adams has 317 saves and only 209 goals against and sports a .603 save percentage. As a freshman, he was ECAC Rookie of the Year as well and is a two-time first team All-ECAC pick. In addition, the Nittany Lions were picked to finish second by Inside Lacrosse in the pre-season team poll. National power Georgetown was predicted to win the team crown, followed by Penn State, UMass, Loyola, Rutgers, Fairfield, St. John's and Hobart.
MACKRIDES AND ZICHELLI NAMED CAPTAINS Penn State Nittany Lion lacrosse coach Glenn Thiel has announced that seniors Andrew Mackrides (Newtown Square, Pa.) and Tommy Zichelli (Severna Park, Md.) have been named team captains for the 2008 season. The seniors are two of only four seniors on a very young Penn State roster. Mackrides is a 5-8 middie who is coming off a solid 2007 that saw him play in all 13 games for Penn State, scoring two goals. He has played in 40 games during his first three seasons at Penn State and has nine goals and one assist for ten points. Zichelli is a 6-3 defender who also played in all 13 games for the Nittany Lions in 2007. He had 25 ground balls, which was fourth on the team. Zichelli has played in 38 games over three years, has four goals and two assists for six points as well as 64 ground balls.
NITTANY LIONS HAVE TWO TV DATES The Penn State Nittany Lion lacrosse team, under the guidance of veteran head coach Glenn Thiel, will have two of its games televised during the 2008 season. Penn State's contest at Loyola on March 1 has been moved to a 2 p.m. start and will air on the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network. MASN is the first Regional Sports Network in the mid-Atlantic area owned by two Major League Baseball franchises -- the Washington Nationals and Baltimore Orioles. It can be seen regionally all throughout the Mid-Atlantic region. The Nittany Lions' contest at St. John's on April 12 will begin at 1 p.m. and air on CN8. CN8 provides more than 9 million Comcast cable viewers with a unique brand of live, interactive television delivered over its own fiber-optic network to 12 states and 20 television markets stretching from Maine to Virginia and Washington, D.C.
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