May 2, 2009
STATE COLLEGE, Pa.; May 2, 2009 - The Penn State Nittany Lion lacrosse team closed out the 2009 regular season with a 12-11 double-overtime victory at No. 16 Georgetown. Senior Rob Forster (Jenkintown, Pa.) scored four goals, including the game-winner, to spark Penn State to its sixth straight win.
Forster, playing in his last regular season game as a Nittany Lion, ended the game with five points off four goals and one assist. Brian Shea (Gaithersburg, Md.) had two goals and Matthew Mackrides (Newtown Square, Pa.) had a goal and two assists as well. Senior goalie Drew Adams (Springfield, Pa.) continued to make a case for All-America honors with 19 saves, including four in the overtime periods. Adams faced 54 Hoya shots and allowed only 11 goals in the game.
Georgetown outscored Penn State 3-2 in the opening period. The Hoyas got an early goal from Jake Samperton less than a minute into the contest before Shea took a Vosburgh assist to tie the game at the 11:59 mark. Forster got his first goal with an assist from Matt Loy (Somerset, N.J.) less than a minute later but GU scored the period's final two goals. One from Scott Kocis at the 10:45 mark and another from Dan D'Agnes with 7:15 left.
Penn State turned the tables on the Hoyas in the second period, outscoring the hosts 2-1. Mackrides tied the game at 3-3 just :18 into the second period. Samperton scored again at the 12:06 mark to put GU up 4-3, a lead they would hold until Forster scored off a Will Donley (Pittsburgh, Pa.) assist with 2:47 left in the half to send the teams into intermission tied 4-4.
The home standing Hoyas scored the first two goals of a furious third period. Andrew Brancaccio and David Shriver each scored in the first three minutes to put GU up 6-4. Vosburgh scored off a Forster assist with 10:47 left to briefly cut the lead to one, 6-5. But Georgetown answered less than a minute later with a Ricky Marabito man-up goal. Chris Hogan (Wyckoff, N.J.) scored for the Nittany Lions to cut the lead to one again, 7-6. Kocis put GU up by two again with a goal at the 6:33 mark and Penn State's Ryan Link (Englewood, Colo.) scored unassisted with 0:57 remaining in the third period to keep the Lions close heading into the fourth period, trailing 8-7.
Link's late third period goal was the first of three straight for the Nittany Lions. Shea scored off a Vosburgh assist and Forster scored off a Mackrides assist all within the first three minutes and the Nittany Lions had grabbed a 9-8 lead. But Georgetown answered with two goals of its own to retake a 10-9 lead as Samperton and Zach Angel scored at the 11:14 and 6:53 marks respectively. Loy got his first goal of the game, tying the score at 10-10 off a Hogan assist with 6:43 left. Earl Ross (Shoreham, Vt.) then gave Penn State an 11-10 lead just eight seconds later, scoring off the ensuing face-off with 5:35 to play. Adams and the Penn State defense then held firm and the Lions nearly got the win in regulation. But Georgetown's Ricky Mirabito scored with a half second to play to send the game into overtime tied at 11-11.
The first extra session outstanding play from Adams and the Nittany Lion defense as Penn State killed off two GU man-up chances. The Nittany Lions then sealed the win with just :58 left in the second overtime when Mackrides fed Forster for the game winner (a shot that GU goalie Jack Davis nearly saved). But Forster's shot was powerful enough to pop out of the Hoya goalie's stick and give the Nittany Lions the hard-fought 12-11 win.
Georgetown outshot Penn State 54-46 and had a 42-36 edge in ground balls. The teams nearly split 28 face-offs with Penn State winning 15 and GU winning 13. Each team connected on two of five man-up chances. Adams' 19-11 edge in saves was the decisive factor for Penn State as the Nittany Lions won their sixth straight game to close out the regular season. The win was also Penn State's second straight over Georgetown.
Penn State ends the 2009 regular season with a 9-5 record, 4-3 in its final year in the ECAC Lacrosse League, good enough for third place. Georgetown ends its season at 7-7, 3-4. The 16-team 2009 NCAA Lacrosse Championship bracket will be announced late Sunday night (9 p.m.) on ESPNU.
GAME SUMMARY: Penn State 12, #16 Georgetown 11
SCORING (Goal-Assist):
1st: GU 14:15 (Samperton, Angel), PSU 11:59 (Shea, Vosburgh), PSU 11:22 (Forster, Loy), GU 10:45 (Kocis), GU 7:15 (D'Agnes, Dowd)
2nd: PSU 14:42 (Mackrides), GU 12:06 (Samperton), PSU 2:47 (Forster, Donley)
3rd: GU 13:01 (Brancaccio, Angel), GU 12;03 (Shriver, Kocis), PSU 10:47 (Vosburgh, Forster), GU 10:10 (Mirabito, Kocis), PSU 8:20 (Hogan), GU 6:33 (Kocis), PSU 0:57 (Link)
4th: PSU 13:34 (Shea, Vosburgh), PSU 12:38 (Forster, Mackrides), GU 11:14PSU 8:20 (Hogan), GU 6:33 (Kocis), PSU 0:57 (Link)
4th: PSU 13:34 (Shea, Vosburgh), PSU 12:38 (Forster, Mackrides), GU 11:14 (Samperton), GU 6:53 (Angel, Dowd), PSU 5:43 (Loy, Hogan), PSU 5:35 (Ross), GU 0:01 (Mirabito).
1st OT: None
2nd OT: PSU 0:58 (Forster, Mackrides)
GROUNDBALLS: PSU 36, GU 42 MAN-UP OPPS: PSU 2-5, GU 2-5
SHOTS (SH-SOG): PSU 42-23, GU 53- -- FACE-OFFS: PSU 15-28, GU 13-28
GOALIE SUMMARY: PSU Drew Adams (67:02, 19 SV, 11 GA), GU Jack Davis (67:02, 11 SV, 12 GA)
RECORDS: Penn State 9-5, 4-3 ECAC; Georgetown 7-7, 3-4 ECAC
ATTENDANCE: 1,465
| SCORE BY QUARTERS: | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 1OT | 2OT | F |
| PENN STATE | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 12 |
| GEORGETOWN | 3 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 11 |