April 26, 2011
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -
Complete Release in PDF Format
GAME NOTES
THIS WEEK'S GAMES
No. 20 Penn State (7-5, 4-1 CAA) will travel to conference foe No. 8 Hofstra (12-1, 4-1 CAA) on Saturday, April 30 for a 7 p.m. game, its last regular season game of the year.
The Nittany Lions are coming off a crucial 13-3 road win over No. 19 Delaware last Saturday. Junior captain Matthew Mackrides led the Penn State offense with four goals. If Penn State wins the game, the Nittany Lions clinch the top seed in the upcoming CAA play-offs while a loss could mean a road game (but not for sure as tie-breakers vary depending on the results of other games).
Leading Penn State's offense thus far this season are Shane Sturgis (16 goals, 16 assists), Mackrides (20 goals, nine assists), Jack Forster (12 goals, one assist), and Nick Dolik (10 goals, two assists). Penn State's midfield is led by Colton Vosburgh (nine goals, two assists), Kyle VanThof (six goals, six assists), and Tom LaCrosse (six goals, three assists). The Lion defense is led by senior Matt Bernier and freshman goalie Austin Kaut.
The No. 8-ranked Hofstra Pride are coming off a 14-5 CAA win over No. 15 Massachusetts in the first game of the ESPNU Warrior Classic at Rentschler Field Saturday evening. The Pride are lead in scoring by senior attackmen Jay Card (27 goals, 13 assists), Jamie Lincoln (27 goals, eight assists) and Stephen Bentz (21 goals, 12 assists).
MACKRIDES, BOGERT EARN CAA PLAYER AND ROOKIE OF THE WEEK HONORS
Junior captain Matt Mackrides earned his first CAA Player of the Week Honor of the year, and freshman defenseman Stephen Bogert earned his first CAA Rookie of the Week Honor after the Nittany Lions' win over No. 19 Delaware last Saturday. Mackrides scored on four of his five shots on goal and added an assist in the win. Bogert logged a team-high seven groundballs and helped limit Delaware to just three goals on a total of 39 shots (15 on goal).
LIONS CLINCH CAA PLAYOFF SPOT WITH KEY WIN OVER #19 DELAWARE
With the victory over No. 19 Delaware last Saturday, Penn State improved to 4-1 in Colonial Athletic Association play, clinching a conference play-off spot for the first time in Penn State's two years in the league.
STURGIS EARNS SECOND CAA ROOKIE OF THE WEEK HONOR
Freshman Shane Sturgis earned his second CAA Rookie of the Week Honor after the Nittany Lions' loss to Drexel last Saturday. Sturgis helped pace Penn State this weekend with a goal and three assists in a narrow one-goal loss. Sturgis has passed out 15 assists this season, which rank him third in the league. Sturgis' 30 total points on the year is tied for fifth-best among conference leaders.
HENNEGHAN CLINCHES WIN OVER LEHIGH
Sophomore face-off man Danny Henneghan scored the game-winner in overtime to secure Penn State's 8-7 victory over Lehigh. Henneghan also had five ground balls in the Lions' match-up against the Mountain Hawks and won nine of 19 face-offs. Henneghan now has three goals on the year.
HENNEGHAN TALLIES FIRST MULTI-POINT GAME AGAINST ST. JOSEPH'S
Sophomore face-off man Danny Henneghan (Beverly Hills, Mich.) registered his first two goals of the season in the Lion's match-up against the St. Joseph's Hawks last Saturday, earning the first multi-point game of his Nittany Lion career. Henneghan also won 14 of 21 face-offs for the Nittany Lions and led the team with seven ground balls.
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.
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.