April 27, 2010
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -
Complete Release in PDF Format
GAME NOTES
TODAY'S GAME
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. ; April 24, 2010 -- The Penn State Nittany Lion lacrosse team (2-10, 1-3 CAA) will look to keep its season alive when it hosts the Delaware Blue Hens (7-6, 2-2 CAA) in the regular season finale for both teams. Penn State needs a win against Delaware and some help in order to secure the No. 4 seed for the upcoming 2010 CAA Men's Lacrosse Championships Tournament. Delaware can still get in with a loss but can finish as the No. 2 seed and get a first round home game with a win. The game is set for Friday, April 30, at 7:30 p.m. at Penn State's Jeffrey Field and the contest will be proceeded by Senior Night activities for the Nittany Lions.
The Nittany Lions are coming off a hard-fought 10-9 loss at No. 14 Towson on Saturday. Freshman Billy Gribbin led Penn State with four points off three goals and an assist. Classmate Nick Dolik had three goals while Matthew Mackrides had two goals and an assist. Keeper Dave Baker had nine saves and eight ground balls in the loss while senior Charley Henneghan won nine of 14 face-offs and grabbed six ground balls. Defender Earl Ross was solid as well with three ground balls and an assist. Mackrides leads Penn State with 39 points off 33 goals and six assists. Gribbin checks in with 30 off 22 and eight while Dolik has 25 off 19 and six. Chris Hogan has 23 points off 14 goals and nine assists and freshman keeper Dave Baker sports an 11.46 GAA mark with 110 saves and a .478 save percentage.
Delaware is coming off a 10-6 win over No. 11 Drexel last weekend. The Blue Hens were led by CAA Player of the Week Curtis Dickson, who had three goals in the win. Dickson leads the CAA with a 3.69 goals per game mark with 48 in 13 contests. His 4.62 points per game is also tops in the league. Keeper Noah Fossner has a 9.61 goals against average with 133 saves and a .514 percentage.
If Penn State is able to grab a No. 4 seed, the team will play at No. 1 seed Towson on Wednesday, May 5. There are eight different scenarios available for finalizing the four seeds for the 2010 CAA tourney and two of them give Penn State a chance at the play-offs with a PSU win. Both scenarios require Penn State finishing in a four-way tie for third at 2-3 (in each case, Penn State gets the No. 4 seed). Any ties at 2-3 that are not four-way ties will eliminate Penn State from post-season play.
THE CAA TOURNAMENT: HOW DOES PSU GET IN?
For Penn State to get into the 2010 CAA Championships, the following must happen: Penn State beats Delaware and Hofstra beats Towson. If those two things happen, the Nittany Lions will get the No. 4 seed in the tourney. Hofstra is the only team in the CAA right now that has been officially eliminated from the CAA tournament. The only other game that has bearing on the seeds involve two teams that are already in the tourney, Drexel and UMass. The winner of that game could finish as high as No. 2 with the second place team getting a home game in the semifinals on Wednesday night. Delaware can clinch second place with a win regardless of what UMass and Drexel do.
MACKRIDES, HENNEGHAN IN TOP 10 NATIONALLY
A pair of Nittany Lions are currently ranked in the NCAA's Top 10. Penn State sophomore Matthew Mackrides was ranked in the NCAA's top 10 in goals per game heading into this week's action. The attackman is currently eighth with 2.75 goals per game average. Senior Charley Henneghan is ranked fifth nationally in face-off percentage, winning at at .606 clip.
DOLIK NAMED CAA PLAYER & ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
After netting the game-winner in overtime against No. 11 Hofstra on Saturday, freshman Nick Dolik has been named CAA Men's Lacrosse Player of the Week and Rookie of the Week. The honors are the first for Dolik, and mark Penn State's first CAA Player of the Week accolade since joining the conference.
All told, Dolik netted three goals including the gamewinner in Penn State's 11-10 upset of No. 11 Hofstra Saturday night. Dolik scored all three of his goals after halftime to help the Nittany Lions fight off a persistent Hofstra team that led by as many as five goals at one point. Dolik also had one assist on the night, which came on PSU's equalizing goal to tie the game at 10-10 and send the match-up into overtime.
Dolik's Rookie of the Week nod is Penn State's second such honor this year. Freshman Billy Gribbin also earned the honor the week of March 28 after helping the Nittany Lions to a victory over Saint John's.
Mackrides, Dolik PACE Lions vs. HOFSTRA
Sophomore Matthew Mackrides and freshman Nick Dolik combined for an incredible seven of the Nittany Lions' 11 goals in the 11-10 overtime upset of then-No. 11 Hofstra. Mackrides paced Penn State with four goals during the team's mid-game charge to close the gap on the Hofstra lead, with Dolik netting his three goals all after halftime.
PSU VICTORIOUS IN SECOND OT GAME OF THE YEAR
After a one-goal loss in overtime at Ohio State, Penn State went into overtime last Saturday against the Hofstra Pride looking for a different outcome and they got it. PSU won the face-off and freshman Nick Dolik took over from there, scoring the gamewinner 50 seconds into the overtime period to upset the Pride.
GRIBBIN NAMED CAA ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Penn State Nittany Lion freshman Billy Gribbin has been named the Colonial Athletic Association's Men's Lacrosse Rookie of the Week for the week ending on March 28, 2010. Gribbin's award is Penn State's first in the CAA. Gribbin earned the Nittany Lions' first weekly honor of the year, after helping Penn State to its first win of the season. The frosh logged three goals and an assist in his team's 13-11 win over St. John's Saturday.
GRIBBIN AND DOLIK LEAD LIONS OVER RED STORM
Freshmen Billy Gribbin and Nick Dolik 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.
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