Feb. 20, 2010
STATE COLLEGE, Pa; February 20, 2010 - The Penn State Nittany Lion lacrosse team opened their 2010 campaign with a heartbreaking 24-17 loss to Robert Morris in Holuba Hall. Robert Morris solved the Lion defense early, exploding for 12 goals in the first quarter. From there the Colonials never looked back. Penn State outscored the Colonials 12-9 in the second half, and registered 40 second-half shots, for a total of 75 shots in the game. The second half offensive surge wasn't enough however, as Robert Morris hung on to take the season-opener from the Nittany Lions for the second consecutive season.
Colton Vosburgh (Kennett Square, PA) started off the scoring for Penn State, registering the season's first tally at 13:49 of the first quarter. Robert Morris was quick to respond however, as they scored off the ensuing faceoff to knot things up at 13:41. Penn State continued the fast-paced scoring as sophomore Matt Mackrides (Newtown Square, PA) tickled the twine for the Lions ten seconds later. From there, the Colonials took control of the ball for three straight minutes, tallying three goals to put them up 4-2. Mackrides struck again at 9:48, bringing the Lions within two, but Robert Morris came right back a minute later, beating freshman Dave Baker (Havertown, PA) to reclaim the three-goal lead at 5-2. Mackrides made the Colonials pay at 6:55, tallying an extra-man goal for the Lions after a cross-checking penalty to the Colonials' Kyle Klein. That tally would be Penn State's last of the quarter, however, as Robert Morris scored off the ensuing faceoff and never looked back. The Colonials scored the quarter's final seven goals to take a 12-4 lead going into the second.
Robert Morris picked up right where they left off as the second quarter began, scoring a quick goal at 14:28. The Colonials would add two more tallies in a quarter that they dominated, until junior captain Chris Hogan (Wycoff, NJ) struck for the Lions with :50 remaining in the half. Penn State looked like they might get another with a late extra-man opportunity, but they could not solve Robert Morris goalie Sal Barcia, and entered halftime trailing 15-5.
The third quarter breathed some new life into the Lions, as Hogan struck again just 24 seconds into the period with an extra-man goal. A little over two minutes later it was Hogan again, bringing Penn State to within eight at 11:59 of the third. However, the ensuing faceoff would hurt the Nittany Lions as Charley Henneghan (Beverly Hills, Mich) took an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty to put the Colonials on the man-up. Robert Morris made the most of their opportunity, scoring at 11:27 to increase the lead to 16-7. Penn State refused to go quietly however, as freshman Billy Gribbin (Rockville, MD) scored two straight unassisted goals, and Colton Vosburgh scored off a Nick Dolik (Bloomfield Hills, Mich)feed to get the Lions within six. Three straight unassisted goals moved Robert Morris back out to a nine goal lead, but once again Penn State responded as the freshman Dolik scored with 3:36 remaining. A Hogan slashing penalty put Robert Morris on the man-up with 2:15 left, and once again they made the Lions pay, tallying at 1:41 to close out the third quarter.
Hogan made up for his penalty in the opening seconds of the fourth quarter, scoring an unassisted goal at 14:27. Mackrides kept the momentum going for the Lions, scoring seven seconds later on an assist from Matt Shankoff (Flemington, NJ). After another Robert Morris tally, Mackrides struck again for the lions, burying a shot unassisted at 13:45. The Colonials and Lions traded goals once again, as Dolik scored unassisted after a Robert Morris goal to make the score 22-15. A Billy Lloyd (West Chester, PA) holding penalty at 7:49 put the Lions on the man-down once again, and once again the Colonials made them pay, hitting the back of the net with an unassisted tally at 7:27. Gribbin attempted to take things into his own hands down the stretch, scoring two straight goals for the Lions. The Robert Morris offense proved too much however, scoring the game's final goal at :57 to close out the game 24-17.
The Lions' quick-strike offense was on display, registering 75 shots on the game as Hogan paced the team with 25 individually. Hogan also tallied four goals to start off the season. Mackrides led the Lion offense with five goals and one assist, and Gribbin shone in his Penn State debut, tallying four goals and one assist. Also scoring for the Nittany Lions were Dolik (2) and Vosburgh (2). Juniors Matt Shankoff and Billy Lloyd each registered two assists. . Penn State's goalie situation is still very up-in-the-air, as freshman Dave Baker and junior John Nichols (Myersville, MD) split time for the Lions, registering 0 and six saves, respectively. Senior captain Joe Britt (Fairfax, VA) and Henneghan took the majority of the faceoffs for Penn State, helping the team to win 25 of 45 draws. The Lions were 9-11 on clears, and 2-6 on the extra-man.
Penn State is now 0-1 on the year while Robert Morris moves to 1-0. The Nittany Lions continue non-conference action next Sunday, visiting No. 9 Notre Dame on February 28 for a 1 p.m. game.
GAME SUMMARY: Penn State 17, Robert Morris 24 SCORING (Goal-Assist):
1st: PSU 13:49 (Vosburgh), RMU 13:41 (Lee), PSU 13:31 (Mackrides, Shankoff), RMU 13:22 (Lee), RMU 12:28 (Matisz), RMU 10:52 (Matisz, Buchanan), PSU 9:48 (Mackrides, Vosburgh), RMU 8:23 (Smith), PSU 6:55 (Mackrides), RMU 6:46 (Buchanan), RMU 6:31 (Meagher), RMU 5:19 (Smith), RMU 5:06 (Buchanan), RMU 3:49 (Abbott), RMU 2:52 (Tao-Brambleby), RMU 1:35 (Moore)
2nd: RMU 14:28 (Moore), RMU 13:52 (Brownell, Matisz), RMU 11:06 (Lee, Caparosa), PSU :50 (Hogan, Lloyd)
3rd: PSU 14:36 (Hogan, Gribbin), PSU 11:59 (Hogan), RMU 11:27 (Smith, Brownell), PSU 10:23 (Gribbin), PSU 9:59 (Gribbin), PSU 7:47 (Vosburgh, Dolik), RMU 7:26 (Tao-Brambleby), RMU 6:22 (Matisz), RMU 5:02 (Smith), PSU 3:36 (Dolik), RMU 1:47 (Brownell, Hayes) 4th: PSU 14:27 (Hogan), PSU 14:20 (Mackrides, Shankoff), RMU 14:04 (Lee), PSU 13:45 (Mackrides), RMU 11:23 (Moore, Tao-Brambleby), PSU 9:26 (Dolik), RMU 7:27 (Matisz), PSU 5:20 (Gribbin, Lloyd), PSU 2:13 (Gribbin, Mackrides), RMU :57 (Matisz, Smith)
GROUNDBALLS: PSU 47, RMU 46 MAN-UP OPPS: PSU 2-6, RMU 3-5
SHOTS (SH-SOG): PSU 75, RMU 40 -- FACE-OFFS: PSU 25-45, RMU 20-45
GOALIE SUMMARY: PSU Baker (13:35, 11, 0), Nichols (46:25, 13, 6) RMU Barcia (54:47, 16, 26), Pope (5:13, 1, 3)
| SCORE BY QUARTERS: | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
| PENN STATE | 4 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 17 |
| ROBERT MORRIS | 12 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 24 |
RECORDS: Penn State 0-1, Robert Morris 1-0
ATTENDANCE: 548