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Hot Second Half Leads Nittany Lion Lacrosse Team to 10-6 Win at St. Joseph's

April 26, 2008

Final Stats

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -

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STATE COLLEGE, Pa; April 26, 2008 - Rebounding from a 3-2 halftime deficit, the Penn State Nittany Lion lacrosse team scored six unanswered goals in the third period and rolled to a 10-6 win at St. Joseph's. The second half surge helped Penn State post a victory in its final non-conference game of the season.

Senior Bubba Scott (Rockville, Md.) led Penn State with three goals, all of which came in the second half. Junior Max VanArsdale (Rochester, N.Y.) added two and an assist while goalie Drew Adams (Springfield, Pa.) had 13 saves, including five in the crucial fourth quarter.

St. Joe's scored the game's first goal just five minutes into the contest when Steve O'Brien found the net. But the Nittany Lions bounced back with two straight goals, the first unassisted from Chris Mulqueen (Downingtown, Pa.) and the last a Matt Warner (Geneva, N.Y.) assisted goal from VanArsdale.

Leading 2-1 after one, Penn State then saw St. Joe's score the only two goals of the second quarter, getting two goals from Scott Cullinan. While Penn State out-shot SJU 12-4 in the first period, the Hawk offense came to life in the second quarter and out-shot Penn State 10-6.

The Penn State coaching staff used the halftime break to its full advantage and the Nittany Lions came out and blazed the Hawks for six unanswered goals in the third period. Rob Forster (Jenkintown, Pa.) scored unassisted at 13:58, Scott scored his first at 13:03, Matt Shankoff (Flemington, N.J.) took a Brian Shea (Gaithersburg, Md.) assist and notched a goal at the 8:49 mark, Scott scored again with 7:38 left in the period, Anthony Basciano (Holtsville, N.Y.) scored with 4:12 left and VanArsdale got his second goal with just :43 left in the period. The six goal burst put Penn State up 8-3 heading into the final period.

St. Joe's outscored Penn State 3-2 in the fourth period, but PSU goalie Adams was solid in the net and the Lions rolled to the win. St. Joe's got goals from Alex Lopes, Chris O'Neill and Steve Varga. Penn State got goals from Forster (assisted by VanArsdale) and Scott.

Penn State outshot St. Joseph's 43-32, including a 25-19 edge in shots on goal. The Nittany Lions and Hawks each had 19 ground balls and the two teams split the 20 face-offs 10-10. Penn State's defense forced St. Joseph's into six failed clears while the Nittany Lions were successful in all but three of their clear attempts. Adams ended the game with 13 saves and only six goals allowed while SJU keeper Erik Hotaling had 15 saves.

Penn State is now 67 overall, 1-5 in the ECAC. St. Joseph's falls to 4-11. The Nittany Lions will host Georgetown on Saturday, May 3, in the 2008 season finale. The game will serve as Senior Day for Penn State and will begin at 1 p.m. at Jeffrey Field.

GAME SUMMARY: Penn State 10, St. Joseph's 6

SCORING (Goal-Assist): 1st: : SJU 10:21 (O'Brien, Mandela); PSU 0:58 (Mulqueen); PSU 0:46 (VanArsdale, Warner) 2nd: SJU 7:25 (Cullinan, Varga); SJU 4:42 (Cullinan, Sean Cullinan) 3rd: PSU 13:58 (Forster); PSU 13:03 (Scott); PSU 8:49 (Shankoff, Shea); 7:38 (Scott); PSU 4:12 (Basciano); PSU 0:43 (VanArsdale) 4th: SJU 13:55 (Lopes, Evans); PSU 13:00 (Forster, VanArsdale); SJU 3:15 (O'Neill, Bellos); PSU 2:43 (Scott); SJU 1:33 (Varga)

GROUNDBALLS: PSU 19, SJU 19 MAN-UP OPPS: PSU 0-2, SJU 1-2 SHOTS (SH-SOG): PSU 43-25, SJU 32-19 -- FACE-OFFS: PSU 10-20, SJU 10-20 GOALIE SUMMARY: PSU Drew Adams (60:00, 13 SV, 6 GA), SJU Erik Hotaling (58:50, 15 SV, 10 GA; Chase Stewart (1:10, 0 SV, 0 GA)

SCORE BY QUARTERS: 1 2 3 4 F PENN STATE 2 0 6 2 10 ST. JOSEPH'S 1 2 0 3 6

RECORDS: Penn State 6-7, 1-5 ECAC; St. Joseph's 4-11 -- ATTENDANCE: 781