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Nittany Lion Lacrosse Team Hosts Bucknell and UMass in Busy Week

March 29, 2010

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -

Complete Release in PDF Format

GAME NOTES


THIS WEEK'S GAMES
Penn State (1-6, 0-0 CAA) will play two games this week, including its debut contest in the Colonial Athletic Association. Penn State hosts Bucknell (4-4) on Tuesday, March 30, at 7:30 p.m. in its final non-conference contest. The Nittany Lions then welcome UMass (6-2, 1-0CAA) for their CAA debut on Saturday, April 3, at 12 p.m. Both games will be played at Jeffrey Field.

Penn State used a furious fourth quarter rally to roll to a 13-11 win over visiting St. John's in non-conference lacrosse action. Penn State scored three straight man-up goals in a six goal final stanza to pick up its first win of the year. Billy Gribbin led Penn State with four points off three goals and an assist while Mackrides had four off a goal and three assists. Classmate Nick Dolik also had four points off three goals and an assist, giving the Nittany Lions four players with four points each. The Nittany Lions won 15 of 26 face-offs, led by Charley Henneghan (Beverly Hills, Mich.), who won seven of 11. The game was even statistically, with Penn State having a slight 33-31 edge in ground balls and St. John's posting a 39-35 lead in shots. Nittany Lion goalie Dave Baker (Havertown, Pa.) had nine saves in picking up first win of the year. Penn State took advantage of five of seven man-up chances while holding SJU to only one man-up goal in five tries.

Matthew Mackrides leads Penn State with 26 points off 21 goals and five assists, with a .636 shot on goal percentage. Gribbin has 20 off 15 and five while Nick Dolik has 15 off 11 and four. Charley Henneghan sports a .655 face-off percentage, winning 57 of 87. Keeper Dave Baker has 53 saves, a .442 save percentage and a 12.28 goals against average.

Bucknell, 4-4 overall, is coming off a tough 7-6 loss to Albany last Saturday. The Bison are being led by Austin Winter, who has 30 points off 11 goals and 19 assists with a .724 shot on goal percentage. Ryan Klipstein checks in with 24 off 20 and four while Charlie Streep has 23 off 15 and eight. Jake Clarke has a .541 face-off percentage, winning 59 of 109. Keeper Kyle Feeney has an 8.59 goals against average with 68 saves.

UMass will head into this week's games sitting atop the CAA standings with a 1-0 conference mark, 6-2 overall. The Minutemen opened up the conference season last weekend with an 11-9 win over Hofstra. The Minutemen are being led by Art Kell, who has 33 points off 21 goals and 12 assists. Will Manny has 25 off 14 and 11 and Bobby Hayes has 22 off 14 and eight. Greg Rushing has a .592 face-off mark, winning 84 of 142 and keeper Tim McCormack has a 9.64 GAA with 78 saves.

Penn State continues CAA action next weekend, visiting Drexel for a 4 p.m. game on Saturday, April 10.

GRIBBIN AND DOLICK LEAD LIONS OVER RED STORM
Freshmen Billy Gribbin and Nick Dolick sparked Penn State to its first win of the season on 3/27, with each scoring three goals and dishing off an assist in the Nittany Lions' 13-11 victory over visiting St. John's last weekend. Matthew Mackrides also chipped in for four points off a goal and a team-best three assists in the victory. Freshman keeper Dave Baker had nine saves in the game, picking up his first win of the year.

MACKRIDES LEADS PENN STATE IN LOSS AT #8 DUKE
Sophomore Matthew Mackrides had four goals in Penn State's tough 20-11 loss at No. 8 Duke on 3/20. Mackrides four-goal burst could not overcome an 11-goal first half on the part of the homestanding Blue Devils.

GRIBBIN SOLID IN 0-2 WEEK FOR NITTANY LIONS
Freshman Billy Gribbin was solid in Penn State's losses to Villanova and at Rutgers on 3/9 and 3/13. Gribbin scored four goals and an assist in the week. He had two goals in Penn State's 11-7 home loss to Villanova on Tuesday and followed that up with two goals and an assist in the teams' 7-4 loss at Rutgers on Saturday. Gribbin's solid week keeps him second on the team in scoring with 11 goals and three assists for 14 points.

MACKRIDES NETS FIVE IN OVERTIME LOSS AT OHIO STATE
Sophomore Matthew Mackrides scored five goals to lead Penn State in a tough 11-10 overtime loss at Ohio State on 2/6. Mackrides took 15 shots, ten on goal, and connected on five of them. The burst improved the sophomore's team-leading point total to 13 off 12 goals and an assist.

BAKER AND Danny Henneghan EMERGE
Freshmen Dave Baker and Danny Henneghan had solid outings for Penn State in the overtime loss at Ohio State. Baker played the entire game in goal, getting eight saves in over 61:00 of minutes of play. Henneghan won 10 of 11 face-offs in the game.

HOGAN NOTCHES THREE POINTS IN CLOSE LOSS AT #3 NOTRE DAME
Junior Chris Hogan led Penn State with two goals and an assist in the Nittany Lions 12-8 loss at No. 3 Notre Dame on 2/28. Hogan's effort helped spark the Lions on a late comeback that fell short as the homestanding Irish held on late for the win.

FRESHMAN BAKER SOLID IN NOTRE DAME GAME
Freshman goalie Dave Baker played the final 40:00 minutes of Penn State's game at No. 3 Notre Dame and had his best outing of the early season. Baker allowed only four goals over the final two thirds of the game and collected seven saves.

MACKRIDES, GRIBBIN AND HOGAN LEAD LIONS IN HOME OPENING LOSS TO ROBERT MORRIS
Matthew Mackrides led Penn State with five goals and an assist for six points in Penn State's 24-17 home opening loss to Robert Morris on 2/20. Freshman Billy Gribbin had six points off four goals and two assists while Chris Hogan had four goals. The Nittany Lions out-shot RMU 75-40 but were thwarted by 26 saves from Robert Morris goalie Sal Barcia (RMU had 29 as a team).

FOLLOW PENN STATE LACROSSE ON FACEBOOK
The Penn State Nittany Lion lacrosse team's coaching staff has a great way for fans to follow the team via the squad's facebook page. The staff will update the page regularly, offering fans with Facebook accounts an inside look at the team from the coach's perspective! Just go here:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Penn-State-Lacrosse/261058956645