STATE COLLEGE, Pa; March 7, 2009 - The Penn State Nittany Lion lacrosse team closed out a three-game home stand, all against ranked opponents, with a convincing 11-5 win over No. 15 Ohio State on Saturday. Brothers Jack and Rob Forster (Jenkintown, Pa.) combined for five goals and two assists to lead the Nittany Lions to their first victory of the year.
Mike Toner (Geneva, N.Y.) got Penn State off on the right foot with an early goal with just under 6:00 left, only to have the Buckeyes score the game's next two goals to take a 2-1 lead. But freshman Jack Forster answered with 2:56 left in the opening period, taking an assist from Charley Henneghan (Royal Oak, Mich.) with 2:56 left to tie the score at 2-2.
Penn State scored the only two goals of the second quarter, both coming from the Forster brothers. Jack scored off an assist from brother Rob at the 8:05 mark and then notched an unassisted man-up goal with 3:11 left in the half to give Penn State a 4-2 lead heading into intermission.
The Nittany Lions continued to pour on the offense in the third period, outscoring OSU 4-1 to lead 8-3 heading into the final period. Matt Warner (Geneva, N.Y.) scored off a Rob Forster assist at the 13:44 mark and Chris Hogan (Wycoff, N.J.) scored unassisted four minutes later before OSU answered with a solo goal. Jack Forster scored again and then Andrew Mackrides (Newtown Square, Pa.) took a Conrad Ridgway (Audobon, Pa.) pass and closed out the third period scoring with a goal at the 1:24 mark.
The fourth period was more of the same for Penn State as the Nittany Lions outscored OSU 3-2, getting unassisted goals from Rob Forster, Hogan and Mackrides.
Penn State was out-shot by Ohio State 4-136, but Nittany Lion goalie Drew Adams (Springfield, Pa.) was stellar in goal, collecting 17 saves to lead a stingy Penn State defense. Each team grabbed 42 ground balls, but Penn State was able to connect on three of seven man-up chances while holding the Buckeyes to no goals in five chances. Jack Forster ended the game with four goals while brother Rob had a goal and two assists.
Penn State is 1-3 overall while Ohio State is now 3-2. The Nittany Lions will play two road games next week, visiting Villanova on Tuesday for a 4 p.m. contest before heading to Vermont for a 1 p.m. game on Sunday, March 15.
GAME SUMMARY: Penn State 11, # 15 Ohio State 5
SCORING (Goal-Assist):
1st: PSU 5:37 (Toner), OSU 4:06 (Dalgarno, David), OSU 3:02 (Pires), PSU 2:56 (J. Forster, Henneghan)
2nd: PSU 8:05 (J. Forster, R. Forster), PSU 3:11 (J. Forster)
3rd: PSU 13:44 (Warner, R. Forster), PSU 9:32 (Hogan), OSU 7:34 (Ryan, Dalgarno), PSU 3:33 (J. Forster), PSU 1:24 (Mackrides, Ridgway)
4th: PSU 11:02 (R. Forster), OSU 10:11 (Ryan, Dalgarno), PSU 9:27 (Hogan), PSU 3:56 (Mackrides), OSU 2:09 (Ventiquattro, Ruhnke)
GROUNDBALLS: PSU 42, OSU 42 MAN-UP OPPS: PSU 3-7, OSU 0-5
SHOTS (SH-SOG): PSU 36-21, OSU 41-22 -- FACE-OFFS: PSU 8-18, OSU 10-18
GOALIE SUMMARY: PSU Drew Adams (60:00, 17 SV, 5 GA); OSU Brandon Freeman (60:00, 10 SV, 11 GA)
| SCORE BY QUARTERS: | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
| PENN STATE | 2 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 11 |
| OHIO STATE | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
RECORDS: Penn State 1-3, Ohio State 3-2
ATTENDANCE: 346