April 6, 2012
Live Stats | Game Notes | Vote for Lowe's Senior CLASS Award
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The No. 15/16 Penn State men's lacrosse team will return to conference action on Saturday (April 7) when it faces Drexel at Vidas Field at 2 p.m.
The Nittany Lions (5-5, 1-1 CAA), who wrapped up their non-conference slate with a 13-8 victory against then-No. 12/13 Villanova, will begin a stretch of four straight league games to close out the regular season.
The game will also serve as a homecoming for several players from the Philadelphia area, including senior attackman Jack Forster (Jenkintown), whose father, Ron, played for Drexel from 1977-80. The elder Forster ranks fifth on the Dragons' all-time points list while Jack paces the 2012 Nittany Lions in goals (19), assists (8) and points (27).
In addition to Forster, Penn State is led offensively by Newtown Square, Pa., native Matthew Mackrides(Newtown Square), whose 16 goals and seven assists rank second on the team. On Wednesday, the senior was tabbed a finalist for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award, which is presented to an outstanding senior student-athlete who excels in community, classroom, character and competition.
The Nittany Lions will also head to Vidas Field with the nation's 11th-ranked defense, allowing 8.00 goals per game. Freshman defenseman Jack Donnelly (Toronto, Ont.) has excelled in his starting role, gathering double-digit ground ball (10) and caused turnover totals (10). Senior midfielder Ryan Link (Englewood, Colo.) paces the squad with 11 caused turnovers, while defenseman Ryan McGarvey (Lower Gwynedd) has collected 14 ground balls.
In net, sophomore Austin Kaut (Morton) has been the goalie of record for each game and ranks sixth in the nation in save percentage (.601) and seventh in saves per game (11.60).
Drexel (5-5, 3-0 CAA) will enter the contest following an 11-8 victory against Delaware on March 31. The Dragons are led by junior attackman Robert Church, who is tied for fifth in the nation with a 38-game point-scoring streak. The Dragons have five players with at least 15 points and are led by Church, who has totaled 115 points during the 38-game span.
The Nittany Lions are 25-4 all-time against Drexel but have dropped the last two matchups. The teams played every year from 1973-96 before restarting the series in 2010. In last year's matchup, Penn State fell to Drexel by a 14-13 margin at Jeffrey Field.