March 22, 2013
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The No. 17 Nittany Lion men's lacrosse team returns to Penn State Lacrosse Field on Saturday when it hosts Saint Joseph's in a Colonial Athletic Association game. Opening faceoff is set for 1 p.m. as Penn State tries to win its third straight game and begin conference play 2-0.
#17 PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS (4-3, 1-0 CAA) vs. SAINT JOSEPH'S HAWKS (4-4, 0-0 CAA)
Game 8: March 23, 2013 // 1:00 p.m. // Penn State Lacrosse Field // University Park, Pa.
GAME DAY
VENUE: Penn State Lacrosse Field (turf; 1,000)
SERIES RECORD 5-0
LAST MEETING March 24, 2012; PSU 7-3 (Philadelphia, Pa.)
NEXT GAME March 26 at #15 Bucknell, 7:30 p.m.
GAME NOTES
• Penn State hosts Saint Joseph's in CAA home opener • PSU defeated SJU 7-3 last season in Philadelphia • Saint Joseph's beat Marquette 12-7 last week • Penn State won downed Binghamton 11-7 in Vestal, N.Y. on Tuesday • Austin Kaut made 16 saves at BU, second straight game with 16 stops • Kaut is CAA Player of the Week, has 5.53 GAA, .744 save pct. last two games • Nick Dolik scored hat trick at Binghamton and has four goals in past two games • Lion midfield has scored 10 goals in past two games, had 10 in first five games • Jack Forster has 10 career hat tricks, seven in the past two years • Forster is riding a 19-game point streak dating back to Mar. 3, 2012 • Freshman TJ Sanders remains the nation's leading freshman goal scorer • Penn State looks to go 2-0 in CAA play for first time since 2011 • Nittany Lions travel to No. 15 Bucknell on Tuesday in top 20 matchup
SCOUTING THE HAWKS
Saint Joseph's (4-4, 0-0 CAA) is coming off a 12-7 win over first-year Marquette in Philadelphia on March 16. The Hawks are 0-3 on the road this season with a 1-0 record at a neutral site. SJU relies on a sturdy defense that allows just 8.25 goals per game, while its offense scores 8.00 goals per game. Fueling the attack is an efficient man-up unit that scores on 34.5 percent of its chances.
SJU's leading goal scorer is the reigning Co-CAA Rookie of the Week Pat Swanick with 13 tallies and 18 points. The freshman has scored on 50 percent of his shots this year. Other sources of scoring come from Michael Dougherty (14 points) and Matthew Sarcona (13).
In net, sophomore Dustin Keen has received every start with a solid 8.00 GAA and .560 save percentage. At the X, Will Abbott has seen most of the draws, winning 51.5 percent of his faceoffs.
ALL-TIME SERIES VS. SJU
All-Time Series: 5-0
PSU Streak: 5 wins
First Meeting: 4/28/07, PSU 12-9
Last Meeting: 3/24/12, PSU 7-3
Last PSU Win: 3/24/12, 7-3
Last SJU Win: n/a
Largest PSU Win: 17-6, 4/25/09
Largest SJU Win: n/a
At PSU: 3-0
PSU Goals vs. SJU: 60-30
LAST TIME VS. SJU (March 24, 2012)
Jack Forster recorded a hat trick as Penn State snapped its three-game losing streak with a 7-3 victory against Saint Joseph's at Finnesey Field on Saturday afternoon. Forster registered three goals in a game for the first time since netting four markers against Saint Joseph's in a 14-6 Nittany Lion victory on March 26, 2011. Midfielder Nick Dolik scored twice for Penn State, while Matthew Mackrides and midfielder Travis Crane tallied one goal each. Dolik also notched a game-high three caused turnovers. Danny Henneghan, who won 8-of-14 draws, collected a game-high four ground balls, and goalkeeper Austin Kaut made 10 saves.
NITTANY LIONS FEND OFF BEARCATS
A 6-0 second-period run gave No. 17 Penn State a seven-goal lead as the Nittany Lions downed host Binghamton, 11-7, at Bearcats Sports Complex on Tuesday (March 19). Junior goalie Austin Kaut, the reigning CAA Player of the Week, posted his second straight 16-save game, while Nick Dolik second-quarter hat trick paced the offense.
Penn State (4-3, 1-0 CAA) took a commanding 9-2 lead near the end of the second quarter only to see Binghamton (3-4, 0-0 America East) tally off five straight goals, setting up a nervous fourth quarter. The Nittany Lion defense, anchored by Kaut, buckled down the Bearcats momentum and outscored Binghamton 2-0 in the final quarter to emerge victorious. Kaut has made 32 saves and allowed just 11 goals in his past two games.
Aside from Dolik's three-goal performance, PSU received a three-point effort from Shane Sturgis on a pair of goals and an assist. Jack Forster had a goal and an assist and Tom LaCrosse notched a two-goal game as well.
MIDFIELD SCORING EMERGES
Through the first five games, Penn State's attack carried the offensive load scoring 42 of the team's 52 goals (77.7%). Meanwhile, in the last two games, PSU's midfield has shined, scoring 10 of the team's 18 goals (44.4%). Leading the midfield scoring is Tom LaCrosse with eight goals and Kyle Zittel with five. Nick Dolik registered a hat trick on Tuesday at Binghamton, accounting for three of his four goals this season, while Kyle VanThof has three tallies. Erik Myers, Gavin Ahern and Michael Richards round out the midfield scoring.
KAUT STANDING TALL
A preseason All-American and Tewaaraton Award Watch List candidate, junior Austin Kaut is considered one of the best goalkeepers in college lacrosse. Following an average start to year three in Happy Valley, Kaut has stepped his game up. Kaut opened the season with a 9.79 GAA and .490 save percentage behind 48 saves and 50 goals allowed. In the past two outings, he has posted a 5.53 GAA and a .744 save percentage, allowing just 11 goals and saving 32 shots. Penn State started the season 2-3, but is 2-0 since Saturday.
KAUT NAMED CAA PLAYER OF THE WEEK
For the sixth time in his career, goalie Austin Kaut earned a CAA weekly laurel on Monday, March 18. Kaut was named CAA Player of the Week for his 16-save performance against the Minutemen. Kaut thrice won CAA Rookie of the Week in 2011 en route to CAA Rookie of the Year and this is his third CAA Player of the Week award.
DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES
Penn State's offense has improved mightily in 2013 with the attacking trio of Jack Forster (24 points) TJ Sanders (22), and Shane Sturgis (17). Penn State is averaging nearly 11 goals per game this season with a shooting percentage of .281. 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. Nick Dolik tallied his third career hat trick on Tuesday at Binghamton.
Jack Forster 10
Shane Sturgis 5
TJ Sanders 4
Nick Dolik 3
Gavin Ahern 2
Tom LaCrosse 2
Kyle VanThof 1
GOING STREAKING
Penn State's attack has Jack Forster with a 19-game streak started on March 3, 2012 against Ohio State, while Shane Sturgis's 11-game streak ended Saturday, March 16 at UMass. TJ Sanders had scored in every game to start his collegiate career, but was stopped by UMass as well. Forster has scored 39 goals, 16 assists and 55 points during his streak.
NATION'S LEADING FRESHMAN SCORER
Entering the week, TJ Sanders had a team high 18 goals and 21 points, registering an average of 3.00 goals per game and 3.5 points per game. Sanders ranks tied for seventh in the nation for goals per game. Sanders leads the nation in freshman scoring.
Until going goalless against UMass, Sanders had been steady in each game, scoring at least two points in every contest and registering three or more goals in four of his first five contests. Sanders has scored at least four goals on three occasions.
NITTANY LIONS ON TV
On Thursday, it was announced that Penn State's regular season home finale vs. Towson would be aired live by Big Ten Network. The TV broadcast is Penn State's third this season.
Previously, Penn State lacrosse was televised on Feb. 17 against Denver at Jacksonville, Fla. by NBC Sports Network and March 9 vs. Lehigh in Chester, Pa. on ESPN3.com and the WatchESPN app for mobile devices.
Penn State's appearance on NBC Sports Network is believed to be the first nationally televised men's lacrosse game in program history. The BTN broadcast will be the second. The last time Penn State was on television before this season was in 2010 vs. Towson on WMAR in Baltimore.
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 Tuesday's win at Binghamton, Penn State has ticked off eight straight true road wins. This season Penn State is 3-0 on the road after going 5-0 in 2012. The Lions' last road loss was Apr. 30, 2011 at Hofstra. Penn State has won 10 of its last 111 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 will look to improve to 5-1 away from Happy Valley on Tuesday, March 23 at Bucknell.
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
Penn State returns to non-conference play with a short road trip to upstart No. 15 Bucknell on Tuesday. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m. in Lewisburg, Pa. against the Bison, who defeated No. 2 Cornell this past Tuesday in Ithaca, N.Y.
--NITTANY LIONS--