March 23, 2011
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -
Complete Release in PDF Format
THIS WEEK
Penn State (3-3, 1-0 CAA) host the St. Joseph's Hawks (0-6, 0-1 CAA) in its first home conference game of the year. The game is set for Saturday, March 26, at 1p.m. on Bigler Field.
UP NEXT
The Nittany Lions visit No. 17 Bucknell on Tuesday, March 29 at 7:30 p.m. and Lehigh on Saturday, April 2, at 1 p.m.
LAST TIME OUT
The Penn State men's lacrosse team notched a signature victory over No. 10 Massachusetts in an 8-7 victory to open CAA conference play in Amherst, Mass. last Saturday.
HEAD COACH JEFF TAMBRONI
Veteran head coach Jeff Tambroni is in his first year as head coach of the Nittany Lion men's lacrosse team after ten outstanding seasons as head coach at Cornell University. Entering the season, Tambroni ranked fifth among active Division I coaches in winning percentage. In his last year with the Big Red, he picked up his eighth-straight Ivy League title and led the Big Red to a second-straight national semifinal appearance. Tambroni led Cornell to three NCAA semifinal appearances in the past four seasons (2007, 2009 and 2010), including the NCAA Final in 2009. He currently sports a 112-43 overall record as he enters his 11th season as a head coach. Tambroni is 3-3 (1-0 CAA) at Penn State and in his first year.
GAME NOTES
THIS WEEK'S GAMES
Penn State takes on St. Josephs in another CAA contest on Saturday, March 26 at 1 p.m. The game will be played at Bigler Field.
Penn State is coming off an 8-7 upset win over No. 10 Massachusetts last Saturday in Amherst. The Lions never trailed in the match up against the Minutemen, with a game-leading four goals from Kyle VanThof (Penfield, N.Y.), two goals from Tom LaCrosse (Canandaigua, N.Y.), and a goal each from Shane Sturgis (Downingtown, Pa.) and Colton Vosburgh (Kennett Square, Pa.). Freshman goalie Austin Kaut (Morton, PA.) had another stand-out game with 25 stops against the Minutemen, which stands as the most saves registered in a game by any player in NCAA play this season. Kaut was named both CAA Rookie and Co-Player of the Week for his efforts.
Leading Penn State's offense thus far this season are Sturgis (nine goals, six assists), Matthew Mackrides (six goals, three assists), Nick Dolik (two goals, two assists) and Billy Gribbin (three goals, one assist). Penn State's midfield is led by VanThof (five goals, four assists), Vosburgh (six goals, two assists) and LaCrosse (four goals). The Lion defense is led by senior Matt Bernier and freshman keeper Kaut.
St. Joseph's is coming off an 11-4 loss to No. 5 Maryland on Capital One Field at Byrd Stadium in College Park, Md. on Sunday. The Hawk's offense is lead by sophomore attackman Kyle Williams (nine goals, three assists), senior attackman Scott Cullinan (five goals, one assist), sophomore attackman Kyle Mahoney (three goals, one assist) and sophomore midfielder Steve Dunn (two goals, one assist). St. Joseph's defense is anchored by goalie Chris Moffa.
KAUT EARNS CAA PLAYER OF THE WEEK AND THIRD ROOKIE OF THE WEEK HONOR
Kaut, a first-time CAA Player of the Week winner and now three-time rookie of the week, tallied a current national-best 25 saves in Penn State's 8-7 upset win at No. 10 Massachusetts Saturday. Kaut's .781 single-game save percentage is a career-best, while his .669 (99/148) season save percentage ranks among the league's best among mainstay keepers.
VANTHOF NOTCHES 4 GOALS; KAUT SETS RECORD AGAINST #10 UMASS
Sophomore Kyle VanThof (Penfield, N.Y.) had a game-high four goals in the Nittany Lions upset of No. 10 Massachusetts. Freshman goalie Austin Kaut (Morton, Pa.) had a game-high 25 saves against 32 shots. Kaut's 25 stops stand as the most saves registered in a game by any player in NCAA play this season as of 3/21.
STURGIS EARNS CAA ROOKIE OF THE WEEK HONOR FOR VILLANOVA, RUTGERS
Sturgis tallied eight points in the Nittany Lions' split of two games on the week. The frosh tallied a goal and three assists during PSU's loss at Villanova, then scored four of Penn State's final five goals to break a tie and top No. 19 Rutgers Saturday. Sturgis leads the Nittany Lions, and is among the league leaders, with eight goals and a total of 14 points on the season.
STURGIS LEADS LION CHARGE OVER #19 RUTGERS
Freshman Shane Sturgis scored four goals and added an assist to lead Penn State to an 11-6 win over No. 19 Rutgers on 3/12. Sturgis scored his goals in the final 15:05, helping Penn State turn a close 7-6 game into an 11-6 win over the ranked Scarlet Knights.
STURGIS NOTCHES FOUR POINTS IN LOSS AT #20 VILLANOVA
Shane Sturgis scored a goal and had three assists to lead Penn State with four points in a tough 17-5 road loss at #20 Villanova on 3/8.
STURGIS AND GRIBBIN LEAD LION OFFENSE IN 3-0T LOSS TO #12 OHIO STATE
Shane Sturgis and Billy Gribbin each scored two goals in Penn State's hard-fought 6-5 triple overtime loss to #12 Ohio State on 3/5. The duo's efforts fell just short as the Buckeyes scored two goals in the fourth period to send the game into overtime.
KAUT EARNS SECOND CAA ROOKIE OF THE WEEK HONOR FOR OSU GAME
Penn State Nittany Lion men's lacrosse player Austin Kaut (Morton, Pa.) has been named the Colonial Athletic Association Rookie of the Week for the week ending March 6. The award is the second this year for the freshman goalie Kaut tallied 16 saves in Penn State's 6-5 triple-overtime loss to No. 12 Ohio State on Saturday.
KAUT SUPERB IN HARD FOUGHT LOSS TO NO. 3 NOTRE DAME
Freshman goalie Austin Kaut was superb in Penn State's tough 6-2 loss to No. 3 Notre Dame on 2/27. Kaut kept Penn State close (trailing only 3-2 in the fourth period), facing a flurry of Irish shots and collecting 15 saves and posting a gaudy .714 save percentage.
KAUT NAMED CAA MEN'S LACROSSE ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Penn State Nittany Lion men's lacrosse player Austin Kaut (Morton, Pa.) has been named the Colonial Athletic Association Rookie of the Week for the week ending February 20. Kaut earned the honor after earning a victory in his first game as Penn State's goalkeeper. Kaut, in his first collegiate game and head coach Jeff Tambroni's first contest as head coach at Penn State, tallied 10 saves against 17 shots in the Nittany Lions' 9-7 win over Binghamton. He also picked up two ground balls in the victory. The frosh now ranks fourth in the league with a save percentage of .588.