March 17, 2012
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Senior Matthew Mackrides (Newtown Square) tied the game with 5:30 left in the fourth quarter, but the No. 14/16 Penn State men's lacrosse team fell to No. 3/4 Massachusetts, 9-8, in overtime at the Penn State Lacrosse Field on Saturday afternoon. The Nittany Lions dropped to 3-3 overall (0-1 CAA) in their conference opener.
Mackrides, who also added an assist, netted a hat trick for the first time since a four-goal outing against Drexel in 2011. Sophomore midfielder Tom LaCrosse (Canandaigua, N.Y.) scored twice against the Minutemen for the third straight game, while classmate Gavin Ahern (Rockville Centre, N.Y.) recorded two points (1g, 1a). Senior attackman Jack Forster (Jenkintown), junior midfielder Nick Dolik (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) and sophomore attackman Shane Sturgis (Downingtown) tallied one goal each. Classmate Austin Kaut (Morton) made 10 saves.
In a back-and-forth contest, Penn State held a 4-3 first-quarter lead before Massachusetts, which improved to 7-0 (1-0 CAA), grabbed a 5-4 halftime advantage. The Nittany Lions stormed out of the half to take a 7-5 lead after three quarters before the Minutemen took an 8-7 advantage in the fourth. Following Mackrides' goal to even the game at 8-8, Massachusetts' Mike Fetterly scored with 2:52 left in the sudden-death overtime frame.
Both Penn State and Massachusetts recorded 35 shots, while the Minutemen collected 33 ground balls to Penn State's 29. The Nittany Lions were 15-for-18 on clears and 1-for-1 with the extra man, while Massachusetts was 15-for-16 and 0-for-5, respectively.
With the extra-man opportunity, Dolik opened the scoring with 11:21 left in the first when he redirected Mackrides' shot into the net. Massachusetts responded to take a 3-1 lead with three quick strikes in a 4:19 span. The Nittany Lions then closed the quarter on a 3-0 run to take a 4-3 advantage. LaCrosse scored with 3:15 remaining before Mackrides tallied 18 seconds later. Forster notched his eighth goal of the year with eight seconds left in the frame.
After nearly an entire quarter without a goal, the Minutemen struck twice in the final 34 seconds to take a 5-4 lead. Penn State dominated the third stanza, scoring the frame's only three markers to take a 7-5 advantage. LaCrosse tallied his second of the game just one minute into the period. With 12:44 left in the third, Sturgis gave the Nittany Lions a 6-5 lead when he scored off a feed from Ahern. Mackrides netted his second of the game with 4:03 left in the quarter.
The Minutemen outscored Penn State, 3-1, in the fourth as the game was tied at 8-8 after regulation. After Massachusetts third straight goal with 6:42 left in the fourth, Mackrides completed the hat trick with 5:30 remaining. In the overtime period, Fetterly's marker with 2:52 on the clock accounted for the 9-8 final.
The Nittany Lions will conclude their three-game homestand on Tuesday (March 20) when they face No. 11 Lehigh at 7 p.m. The game will mark Penn State's fifth straight against a ranked opponent.