March 18, 2013
Game Notes | Live Stats | Live Video | 2013 Yearbook
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The No. 17 Penn State men's lacrosse team returns to non-conference play on Tuesday afternoon for a meeting with Binghamton at the Bearcats Sports Complex. Both teams enter the game at 3-3 with the opening faceoff slated for 4 p.m.
#18 PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS (3-3, 1-0 CAA) at BINGHAMTON BEARCATS (3-3, 0-0 America East)
Game 7: March 19, 2013 // 4:00 p.m. // Bearcats Sports Complex // Vestal, N.Y.
GAME DAY
VENUE: Bearcats Sports Complex (turf; 2,534)
STREAMING COVERAGE: BUBearcats.com Live Stream
SERIES RECORD: 1-0
LAST MEETING: Feb. 19, 2011; PSU 9-7 (University Park, Pa.)
NEXT GAME: March 23 vs. Saint Joseph's, 1 p.m.
GAME NOTES
• Penn State travels to Binghamton for non-conference matchup
• PSU last met BU in 2011, a 9-7 win in Jeff Tambroni's Penn State debut
• Penn State won its CAA opener, 7-5, at No. 19 UMass on Saturday
• Jack Forster scored four goals and Austin Kaut made 16 saves in win over UM
• Kyle VanThof netted game winner, Nick Dolik scored first goal of the year at UM
• Forster now has 10 career hat tricks, seven in the past two years
• Forster is riding an 18-game point streak dating back to Mar. 3, 2012
• Binghamton has won the three of its last four games; beat Manhattan 13-6 on Sat.
• Penn State looks to win its eighth straight true road game on Tuesday
• Nittany Lions have won 9 of their past 10 true road games since Apr. 2011
• PSU returns to Happy Valley when it hosts Saint Joseph's on Saturday at 1 p.m.
SCOUTING THE BEARCATS
Winners of three games in the last four outings, Binghamton (3-3) comes into Tuesday's game following a 13-6 win over Manhattan this past Saturday. Junior attackman Matt Springer tallied a game-high five goals for the Bearcats and took over the BU lead in season goals with 11. Michael Antinozzi is one behind with 10 tallies, while Tucker Nelson leads the Bearcats in points with 17 thanks to four markers and 13 helpers.
The Bearcats have a staunch defense, allowing just eight goals a game, but scoring only a tick below that at 7.83 goals per game.
Faceoff specialist Alex Doerflein has won 58-of-104 attempts (.558) this season. In net, Max Schefler has started every contest, boasting a superb 7.91 goals-against average and .630 save percentage.
ALL-TIME SERIES VS. BINGHAMTON
All-Time Series: 1-0
PSU Streak: 1 win
First Meeting: 2/19/11, PSU 9-7
Last Meeting: 2/19/11, PSU 9-7
Last PSU Win: 2/19/11, PSU 9-7
Last BING Win: n/a
Largest PSU Win: 9-7, 2/19/11
Largest BING Win: n/a
PSU at BING: n/a
PSU Goals vs. BING: 9-7
LAST TIME VS. BU (Feb. 19, 2011)
Penn State, playing its first game under new head coach Jeff Tambroni, scored four fourth period goals and held off visiting Binghamton 9-7 in the 2011 season opener for both teams. Matthew Mackrides scored four points to lead Penn State. Kyle VanThof, Shane Sturgis and Colton Vosburgh tallied two points apiece for PSU, while Danny Henneghan won a career-best 16-of-19 faceoffs.
PENN STATE WINS CAA OPENER AT UMASS
Behind a four-goal performance from Jack Forster and 16 saves from Austin Kaut, Penn State defeated Massachusetts, 7-5, in comeback fashion. Down 5-4, Forster tied the game in the third, Kyle VanThof put the Nittany Lions ahead in the fourth and Forster sealed the game with an insurance goal a few minutes later. Joining VanThof and Forster on the scoring ledger was Nick Dolik and Kyle Zittel. Midfielder Tom LaCrosse added two assists and Gavin Ahern assisted on VanThof's game-winner. The win was Penn State's second straight at UMass.
ROAD WINNING STREAK
With Saturday's win at Massachusetts, Penn State has ticked off seven straight true road wins. This season Penn State is 2-0 on the road after going 5-0 in 2012. The Lions' last road loss was Apr. 30, 2011 at Hofstra. Penn State has won nine of its last 10 true road games.
Of the 14 regular-season contests, Penn State will be home for just five of them, making the Nittany Lions one of the most road tested teams in the country. In total, seven games are true road contests along with two neutral site games. Penn State looks to improve to 4-1 away from Happy Valley on Tuesday vs. Binghamton. In the past two seasons, Penn State is 7-0 in true road games and 8-2 away from Happy Valley.
DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES
Penn State's offense has improved mightily in 2013 with the attacking trio of Jack Forster (22 points) TJ Sanders (21), and Shane Sturgis (14). Penn State is averaging nearly 11 goals per game this season with a shooting percentage of .280. Last season, the Nittany Lions scored just 8.73 goals per game and post a percentage of .258. Also, assists, points, shots and ground balls per game are up from 2012.
HAT TRICK HEROS
TJ Sanders scored five goals in March 9th's loss to Lehigh, giving him his fourth hat trick in his first five games. Jack Forster leads the way with 10 career high tricks, while Shane Sturgis has five.
Jack Forster 10
Shane Sturgis 5
TJ Sanders 4
Gavin Ahern 2
Nick Dolik 2
Tom LaCrosse 2
Kyle VanThof 1
GOING STREAKING
Penn State's attack has Jack Forster with an 18-game streak started on March 3, 2012 against Ohio State, while Shane Sturgis's 11-game streak ended Saturday at UMass. TJ Sanders had scored in every game to start his collegiate career, but was stopped by UMass as well.
RUNNING THE GAUNTLET
Penn State just finished a stretch of five games against USILA ranked opponents as PSU went 2-3. Three other Penn State opponents, No. 15 Bucknell (March 26), No. 19 Drexel (Apr. 6) and No. 7 Hofstra (Apr. 27) are also ranked.
NEXT TIME OUT
The Nittany Lions return to Happy Valley for a 1 p.m. contest on March 23 against Saint Joseph's in CAA play.
--NITTANY LIONS--