March 15, 2008
STATE COLLEGE, Pa; - The Penn State Nittany Lion lacrosse team downed visiting Vermont 7-4 in a non-conference contest at Penn State's Bigler Field. Junior goalie Drew Adams was superb in the goal for Penn State as the Nittany Lion defense held the visiting Catamounts scoreless in the first half.
Penn State's all-conference goalkeeper took control of the visiting Catamounts, shutting down the visitors while a banged-up Penn State offense worked its way to an early first half lead. Adams held UV scoreless over the first 30:00 while the Lions scored four goals to lead 4-0 at the break.
Adams kept Vermont off the board until the 12:17 mark of the third period when Vermont knocked in a man-up goal and proceeded to cut Penn State's lead to 6-3. The Nittany Lion defense then stiffened, giving Adams room to maneuver in the net and Penn State went on to post a 7-4 victory.
It took Penn State less than three minutes to dent the scoreboard. Sophomore Brian Shea (Gaithersburg, Md.) took a nice pass from rookie Billy Lloyd (West Chester, Pa.) and tossed in a quick goal from just right of the net. The goal, at the 12:26 mark, gave the Nittany Lions an early 1-0 lead. Andrew Mackrides (Newtown Square, Pa.) scored Penn State's second goal at the 7:10 mark off a pass from freshman Will Donley (Pittsburg, Pa.). Vermont's defense then stiffened and while the Catamounts could not score on Penn State goalie Drew Adams (Springfield, Pa.), the visitors held Penn State to a 2-0 lead after 15:00 of play.
It took Penn State almost half the second quarter to get that elusive third goal. Junior Max VanArsdale (Rochester, N.Y.) took a pass from sophomore Anthony Basciano (Holtsville, N.Y.) and put Penn State up 3-0 at the 8:42 mark of the second period. Five minutes later, Bubba Scott (Rockville, Md.) scored the Nittany Lions' fourth goal, dodging in for an unassisted goal at the 3:05 mark. Vermont's offense continued to pressure Penn State, but Adams' outstanding play in goal kept the Catamounts scoreless for the entire first half.
The Nittany Lion offense got off to a hot start in the third period; with junior Ryan McAleenan (Grand Rapids, Mich.) scoring unassisted less than two minutes into the quarter to give Penn State a 5-0 lead. But right after McAleenan's goal, the Nittany Lions got hit with two penalties, giving Vermont a two man-up advantage. The Nittany Lions effectively killed the first penalty, a minor, but Vermont finally scored as the major penalty was served. Andrew Kelleher took a pass from Brandon Goodwyn to give UV its first goal with 12:17 to play in the third period. Vermont then scored a second man-up goal less than a minute later when Trevor Wagar scored from right in front of the goal, cutting Penn State's lead to 5-2 with 11:43 to play. But Penn State's Scott helped stop the Vermont rally, scoring unassisted with 9:21 left to push Penn State back out to a 6-2 lead. The Catamounts got closer, however, when Shay Cunningham took a Geoff Worley pass from behind the net to cut the Lion lead to 6-3 with 7:12 left in a furious third quarter. VanArsdale picked up a loose ball in front of the Vermont net to score an unassisted goal at the 5:01 mark to give the Nittany Lions a 7-3 lead with 5:01 to play. Vermont kept things close as the third period ended, killing a two man-up situation for Penn State in with just over a minute left in the stanza.
The Nittany Lions had another two man-up opportunity five minutes into the final period but Vermont effectively killed and another regular man-up situation shortly thereafter. Wagar then took a Cunningham pass from behind the net, cutting Penn State's lead to 7-4 with a man-up goal at the 5:00 mark.
Adams ended the game with 16 saves against 38 Vermont shots. Scott and VanArsdale each had two goals for the Nittany Lions, who were out shot by Vermont 38-26. The visitors also had a 47-28 ground ball advantage on Penn State and converted three of nine extra man opportunities while Penn State went 0-8. Trevor Wagar led Vermont with two goals while Vermont goalie Justin Lubas had seven saves.
Penn State moves to 3-3 with the win, 0-1 in the ECAC. Vermont falls to 0-6. The Nittany Lions will visit Fairfield next Friday night, March 21, for a 7 p.m. ECAC Lacrosse League game.
GAME SUMMARY: Penn State 7, Vermont 4
SCORING (Goal-Assist):
1st: PSU 12:26 (Shea, Lloyd); PSU 7:10 (Mackrides, Donley)
2nd: PSU 8:42 (VanArsdale, Basciano)
3rd: PSU 13:26 (McAleenan); UV 12:17 (Kelleher, Goodwyn); UV 11:43 (Wagar); PSU 9:21 (Scott); UV 7:12 (Cunningham, Worley)
4th: UV 5:00 (Wagar, Cunningham)
GROUNDBALLS: PSU 28, UV 47 -- EMO: PSU 3-9, UV 0-8
SHOTS (SH-SOG): PSU 26-14; UV 38-20 -- FACE-OFFS: PSU 5-14; UV 9-14
GOALIE SUMMARY: PSU Drew Adams (60:00, 4 GA, 16 SV); UV Justin Lubas (60:00, 7 GA, 7 SV)
| SCORE BY QUARTERS: | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
| PENN STATE | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| VERMONT | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
RECORDS: Penn State 3-3, 0-1 ECAC; Vermont 0-6
ATTENDANCE: 202