March 6, 2010
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Penn State Nittany Lion lacrosse team looked to improve their luck as of late with a win over the rival Buckeyes of Ohio State Saturday at 1 pm in Columbus. Penn State hoped history would repeat itself, as they looked for the match up with the Buckeyes to provide the Lions with their first win of the season, just as it did last year. The Buckeyes had other plans however; as an early 1-0 advantage by the Lions would be the only lead they saw all game.
Penn State opened the game in style with a Charlie Henneghan (Beverly Hills, Mich) faceoff win that lead to a Nick Dolik (Bloomfield Hills, Mich) goal just 31 seconds into the contest at 14:29. After a few alternating possessions, Ohio State responded with two goals from Mario Ventiquattro at 11:34 and 10:42. The Buckeyes struck again a little over a minute later, as James Green beat Penn State goalie Dave Baker (Havertown, PA) with an unassisted rocket. The teams proceeded to trade chances for much of the quarter, until sophomore Matt Mackrides (Newtown Square, PA) made a great individual effort for the Lions, retrieving a ground ball and beating Buckeye goalie Brandon Freeman with 1:59 left in the quarter.
Penn State was quick to strike again in the second quarter, with a Joe Britt (Fairfax, VA) faceoff win leading to a flurry of Nittany Lion shots. Finally, freshman Billy Gribbin (Rockville, MD) found the twine less than a minute in, getting all three of Penn State's young attack on the board early. The carbon copy of the first quarter continued however as Ohio State went on to score two straight goals, until Mackrides got the Lions within one with his second goal of the contest at 3:31. But it was the Buckeyes answering back a minute later, with Paul Beery getting on the board at 2:33. The Lions refused to go into halftime trailing and notched two straight goals after a strategic timeout at 2:14. The freshman Dolik scored for the Lions with 1:02 on the clock, and after a Danny Henneghan (Beverly Hills, Mich) win on the ensuing faceoff, it was Mackrides notching his third of the game six seconds later to tie the game at six. That is where the score would stand going into halftime, with the Lions looking to build off the late quarter momentum in the second half.
The play remained even in the opening minutes of the third quarter, as both teams searched for an opening in the opposition's defense. It was Ohio State finally breaking the tie on a goal by Mike Pires at 9:14. The Lions were quick to respond again however, as Colton Vosburgh (Kennet Square, PA) notched his first goal of the game unassisted to tie the score back up at 7:36. The Buckeyes scored the only other goal of the very evenly-contested quarter, as Jeff Tundo broke the tie with 00:40 on the clock in the third.
The final quarter did not open well for the Lions, as senior Kevin Etter (Severna Park, MD) took a push-with-possession penalty just :22 seconds in to put Penn State down a man. Ohio State took advantage, with Ventiquattro beating Baker just 17 seconds into the penalty to push the lead to 9-7. Penn State dominated play for the next four minutes however, registering a flurry of shots that just couldn't find the twine. After a Penn State timeout and several more Nittany Lion chances, the Buckeye goalie Freeman was finally able to get the ball downfield, leading to a James Green tally for the Buckeyes, pushing their lead to three with 8:28 remaining. The Lions refused to go quietly however, and after two near misses by Mackrides, Gribbin scored on a tremendous individual effort at 7:22, cutting the Buckeye lead to two. Ohio State looked to put the nail in the Lions' coffin for the next several minutes, but Baker shut the door, registering three saves in a three-minute flurry of offense by the Buckeyes. After a successful Penn State clear, Mackrides scored unassisted to bring the Lions with one at 2:03. Danny Henneghan won the ensuing faceoff for Penn State, and brought the ball downfield on the break for a quick shot. The Lions retained possession as the shot sailed wide, and again it was Mackrides coming through with an unassisted tally for the Lions, tying the game with just 1:49 on the clock. Penn State had two shots in the final minute, but couldn't get the ball past Freeman, as the regulation came to a close with the two rivals deadlocked at 10.
Charley Henneghan won the faceoff for Penn State to begin overtime, and Penn State called timeout after getting the ball down into the Buckeye zone. The Lions never had a chance to execute a play however, as Buckeye Joe Bonanni forced a Penn State turnover, and Ohio State's Logan Schuss beat Baker on the ensuing possession, winning the game for the Buckeyes with 2:50 left on the clock.
Mackrides led the Lions' scoring effort, registering five goals for the second time in three games. Dolik and Gribbin continued their stellar freshman campaigns, scoring two goals apiece, with Gribbin chipping in an assist as well. Vosburgh rounded out the scoring for the Lions with a goal, his third of the season. Kyle VanThof (Penfield, NY) and Danny Henneghan chipped in an assist apiece, the first point for each of them as Nittany Lions. Mackrides and Danny Henneghan led the Lions in ground balls with five apiece, and the Henneghan brothers took 19 of the 25 faceoffs for the Lions, combining to win 15 of them. The Lions seem to have settled their goalie situation, at least for the time being, as Baker played all 61:10 of the game for Penn State, recording eight saves and 11 goals against.
Penn State is now 0-3 on the year while Ohio State moves to 3-1. The Nittany Lions continue non-conference action Tuesday, March 9, welcoming the Wildcats of Villanova to Happy Valley for a 7pm face-off.
Game Summary: Penn State 10, Ohio State 11
Scoring (Goal-Assist): 1st: PSU 14:29 (Dolik), OSU 11:34 (Ventiquattro, Bowman), OSU 10:42 (Ventiquattro, Schuss), OSU 8:40 (Green), PSU 1:59 (Mackrides)
2nd: PSU 14:06 (Gribbin), OSU 12:25 (Tundo, Schuss), OSU 5:52 (Ventiquattro, Schuss), PSU 3:31, (Mackrides, VanThof), OSU 2:33 (Beery), PSU 1:02 (Dolik, Gribbin), PSU 0:56 (Mackrides, Henneghan)
3rd: OSU 9:14 (Pires, Bowman), PSU 7:36 (Vosburgh), OSU 0:40 (Tundo)
4th: OSU 14:21 (Ventiquattro, Tundo), OSU 8:28 (Green, Schuss), PSU 7:22 (Gribbin), PSU 2:03 (Mackrides), PSU 1:49 (Mackrides)
OT: OSU 2:50 (Schuss, Alexander)
Groundballs: PSU 37, OSU 28 MAN-UP OPPS: PSU 0-1, OSU 2-2
Shots (SH-SOG): PSU 55-22, OSU 31-19 -- FACE-OFFS: PSU 17-25, OSU 8-25
Goalie Summary: PSU Baker (61:10, 11ga, 8s) OSU Freeman (61:10, 10ga, 12s)