March 3, 2012
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The No. 13 Penn State men's lacrosse team captured the inaugural Creator's Trophy with a 5-2 win over No. 16/17 Ohio State at Ohio Stadium on Saturday afternoon. The Nittany Lions improved to 3-1 (0-0 CAA) with their third straight win and allowed their fewest goals since defeating Air Force by a 16-2 margin in 2002.
The Creator's Trophy was created by the three Big Ten schools that sponsor men's lacrosse - Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State - as a way to promote the rivalry between the programs. A 2-0 record is needed to capture the trophy, and Penn State defeated Michigan, 16-9, on Feb. 18.
Senior Matthew Mackrides (Newtown Square, Pa.), who has scored two goals in each game this season, tallied twice to lead the Nittany Lions. Sophomores Gavin Ahern (Rockville Centre, N.Y.), Tom LaCrosse (Canandaigua, N.Y.) and Shane Sturgis (Downingtown) also tallied for Penn State. One week after stopping 18 shots against then-No. 2/4 Notre Dame, classmate Austin Kaut (Morton) made 14 saves, and Ohio State netminder Greg Dutton stopped 12 shots as the Buckeyes fell to 3-2 (1-0 ECAC).
Penn State, which was 1-for-1 in extra-man opportunities, won the ground ball battle by a 30-28 margin. The Nittany Lions also captured 6-of-11 faceoffs.
LaCrosse gave the Nittany Lions a 1-0 lead just 37 seconds into the game. Following Danny Henneghan's (Beverly Hills, Mich.) faceoff win to start the contest, Penn State set up in its attacking area. The ball then made its way to LaCrosse, whose shot from the middle of the box found the back of the net.
In the second quarter, Ahern scored a man-up marker with 11:46 left to extend the Penn State lead, 2-0. Sturgis collected the ball behind the Ohio State net, made his way around the left of the cage and fed Ahern at the top of the crease. The Rockville Centre, N.Y., native then fired a shot for his fourth goal of the season.
The Buckeyes cut the Penn State lead to 2-1 4:29 later. Logan Schuss came around the right of the net and found Tyler Frederick in front for the tally.
In the third quarter, Mackrides added a pair of goals to give the Nittany Lions a 4-1 advantage. The Newtown Square, Pa., native tallied his first with 5:12 left in the frame when he dodged a defender before his shot hit the top-right corner. Just 1:14 later, the midfielder notched his team-leading seventh goal of the season with a shot that went to the right of Dutton.
Sturgis extended the Penn State lead to 5-1 with 12:09 left in the game. Senior Jack Forster (Jenkintown) passed to Sturgis right outside the crease, where he shot the ball between his own legs for the goal.
Logan Schuss tallied for the Buckeyes with 6:06 left in the game to account for the 5-2 final.
The Nittany Lions will return to action on Saturday, March 10 when they host No. 12/14 Denver at 1 p.m.