April 30, 2013
Game Notes | Live Video | | CAA Championship Central
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The ninth-ranked Penn State men's lacrosse team hosts the fourth-seeded UMass Minutemen on Wednesday afternoon in the Colonial Athletic Association Championship Semifinals at 3 p.m. The Nittany Lions are on a nine-game winning streak and in search of their first postseason win. No. 2-seed Drexel and third-seeded Towson square off in the nightcap. Both games can be seen free of charge on CAA.tv.
TICKETS & PARKING
Tickets for each session will be $8 for adults and $5 for students. Students from participating schools will receive free admission with a valid ID. Groups of 15 or more will be charged $4 if purchased in advance at the Bryce Jordan Center Ticket Office. Otherwise, groups are $5 the day of the event. The BJC Ticket Office is open 9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. Monday-Friday. Fans can call the box office Monday-Friday 10:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. as well at 1-800-NITTANY (648-8269). Parking for the event will be free in Lot 44. Fans can access Lot 44 by using Dauer Drive off University Drive or Porter Road.
#9 PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS (11-3, 6-0 CAA) vs. MASSACHUSETTS MINUTEMEN (7-7, 2-4 CAA)
Game 15: May 1, 2013 // 3:00 p.m. // Penn State Lacrosse Field // University Park, Pa.
GAME DAY
VENUE: Penn State Lacrosse Field (turf; 1,000)
STREAMING COVERAGE: CAAsports.tv
SERIES RECORD: 5-10
LAST MEETING: March 16, 2013 PSU 7-5 (at Amherst, Mass.)
NEXT GAME: Possibly May 3, CAA Final at Penn State
GAME NOTES
• Penn State looks for its first postseason win & 10th straight win vs. UMass
• PSU can set a new single-season wins mark (11 in 1995) against the Minutemen
• UMass had to win its last two games of the year & get help to qualify for CAAs
• The Nittany Lions defeated UMass, 7-5, in CAA opener at Amherst
• The road team has won the past five meetings in the series since 2009
• PSU is a CAA Championship tournament game for the third consecutive year
• Lions defeated Hofstra, 16-7, behind five Jack Forster goals on Saturday
• Jack Forster was named CAA Co-Player of the Week for his efforts at Hofstra
• Forster is riding a 26-game point streak dating back to Mar. 3, 2012
• TJ Sanders, Steve Aitken and Forster tallied hat tricks at Hofstra
• Austin Kaut made 10 saves vs. HU and has .714 save percentage in last 9 games
• Kaut is one of 25 nominees for the prestigious Tewaaraton Award
• If Penn State beats UMass, the Nittany Lions will host Drexel or Towson on Friday
SCOUTING THE MINUTEMEN
Needing to win its final two CAA games and losses by Hofstra, Saint Joseph's and Delaware, UMass (7-7, 2-4 CAA) qualified for its fourth straight CAA Championship. A preseason top 10 team, Massachusetts started 3-0, but lost seven of its next nine games amid injuries and offensive difficulties. Those problems have been solved, however, and the Minutemen earned a tough 9-8 win at Hofstra on April 20 and a resounding 16-8 victory over Delaware on Friday.
The UMass offense scores 9.36 goals per game, while allowing nine goals a game. The Minutemen passing game is efficient as 64.9 percent of all goals come off an assist. On special teams, the man-down defense is excellent, allowing a goal just 23.3 percent of the time, while scoring 37.5 percent on the man-up.
The Minutemen lead the CAA in faceoff winning percentage (57.3) with Joe Calvello winning 58 percent of the time. From there, the offense is centered on reigning CAA Player of the Year Will Manny, who missed five games due to a broken thumb. Manny averages two assists a game and has 31 points in just nine games. His main targets are Kyle Smith (29 goals, 18 assists), Grant Whiteway (23 goals) and Connor Mooney (20 goals). In goal, freshman Zach Oliveri has an 8.53 goals-against average while saving 56.3 percent of the shots on goal.
COMMON ENEMIES
Penn State and UMass have faced each of their fellow CAA rivals once with a two non-conference matchups with Bucknell and Lehigh as part of their common schedule. Penn State is 6-1 against those opponents, while UMass is 3-4. PSU's lone loss was to Lehigh, which UMass defeated. PSU beat four teams UMass lost to: Bucknell, Drexel, Saint Joseph's and Towson.
ALL-TIME SERIES VS. UMASS
All-Time Series: 5-10
PSU Streak: 1 win
First Meeting: 4/1/00, PSU 11-8
Last Meeting: 3/16/13, PSU 7-5
Last PSU Win: 3/16/13, 7-5
Last MASS Win: 3/17/12, 9-8 (OT)
Largest PSU Win: 11-8, 4/1/00
Largest MASS Win: 18-8, 4/2/05
PSU Goals vs. MASS: 124-144
LAST FIVE MEETINGS VS. UMASS
3/16/13: W, 7-5 - A
3/17/12: L, 8-9 (OT) - H
5/4/11: L, 9-10 (OT) - H
3/19/11: W, 8-7 - A
4/3/10: L, 8-10 - H
LAST TIME VS. UMASS (March 16, 2013)
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.
FORSTER LEADS LIONS PAST HOFSTRA
A potent Nittany Lion attack clinched a perfect regular season in Colonial Athletic Association play at Hofstra in a 16-7 victory on Saturday night at Shuart Stadium in front of 3,625 fans. Jack Forster tallied five third-period goals to eclipse the 50-point mark for the first time in his career. Forster became the first Nittany Lion to tally 50 or more points since 2002 when Will Driscoll notched 55. Forster was named CAA Co-Player of the Week for his six-point game.''
In all, three Nittany Lions tallied at least three goals as TJ Sanders and Steve Aitken had a hat trick each, while Forster added his five. Forster had a six point night with an assist, both marks are season highs. Goalkeeper Austin Kaut, who was named as one of 25 nominees for the Tewaaraton Award on Friday night, saved 10 shots and allowed just four goals.
The Nittany Lion offense was relentless, scoring the most goals against Hofstra since a Feb. 27, 2010 loss to Princeton (17-14). Hofstra came into the game as the best team in the country in scoring defense, allowing a shade over seven goals per game. Also, Penn State scored its most goals of the 2013 campaign and matched a 16-goal Michigan on Feb. 18, 2012.
Tom LaCrosse (2), Nick Dolik, Travis Crane, and Tommy O'Neill rounded out the PSU scoring. Danny Henneghan won 14-of-21 faceoffs with six ground balls, while JP Burnside picked up five ground balsl of his own.
NATION'S LONGEST ACTIVE WIN STREAK
Penn State is enjoying a nine-game winning streak, which is the longest in the nation entering Wednesday. Duke's nine-game streak ended in the ACC Semifinals on Friday elevating Penn State to top of the list. The nine-game streak is the longest single-season win streak in PSU history and two off the all-time mark. The 1991-92 teams strung together an 11-game win streak from April 20, 1991-April 11, 1992.
CHAMPIONSHIP HUNTING
The Nittany Lions captured their first outright conference title on Saturday with a victory at Hofstra. Penn State's only conference title in the NCAA Championship era (since 1971) came in 2005 when the Lions shared the ECAC title with Massachusetts. This is the third straight season the Nittany Lions have qualified for the CAA Championship. Penn State has never won a postseason game in NCAA (0-2) or CAA (0-2) play.
TEAM HISTORY AT STAKE
The Nittany Lions are having one of the finest seasons in the storied history of the program. If the team manages a win over Massachusetts, its 12th, that would set a new school record for wins in a season. Currently, this has matched the mark set in 1995 when Penn State went 11-2 finishing with a season-ending ranking of 11th in the USILA poll. A win on Wednesday also would match the most wins in back-to-back seasons (21) at Penn State.
Moreover, Penn State is looking for its first berth in the NCAA Tournament since 2005. If Penn State wins a game in the CAA Championship or happens to play in the NCAA Tournament, the Nittany Lions will play 16 games in a season for the first time in school history.
CLIMBING UP THE LEADERBOARD
Three Nittany LionsÂ--Jack Forster, Danny Henneghan and Austin Kaut--are heading into or already in the Penn State record books. Forster is sixth all-time in goals (99) and is on pace to finish second, needing 105 career goals. On the points list, Forster (143) is seventh, one point behind Matthew Mackrides (144). For Henneghan, he currently ranks sixth all-time in faceoff winning percentage (.533) and sits on 210 career ground balls, good for 10th all-time at PSU. In net, Kaut ranks seventh all-time in saves with 507. He is three saves behind Rich Caravella for sixth place. The
LIGHTS KAUT
A preseason All-American and one of just 25 Tewaaraton Award nominees, 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 up his game. In the past five outings, he has posted a 5.28 GAA and a .714 save percentage, allowing just 46 goals and saving 115 shots. Kaut has stopped at least nine shots in each game and has 13 or more saves in five of those contests. Penn State started the season 2-3, but is 9-0 since. Kaut opened the season with a 9.79 GAA and .490 save percentage behind 48 saves and 50 goals allowed.
KAUT NAMED TEWAARATON NOMINEE
Goalkeeper Austin Kaut was one of 25 nominees named on Friday, April 26, for the Tewaaraton Award. The award honors the best player in NCAA lacrosse across all divisions. Kaut was also a nominee for the prestigious award in 2012.
DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES
Penn State's offense has improved mightily in 2013 with the attacking trio of Jack Forster (52 points) TJ Sanders (42), and Shane Sturgis (36). Penn State is averaging 10.79 goals per game this season with a shooting percentage of .305. 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 HEROES
Jack Forster posted a five-goal game against Hofstra, his sixth hat trick of the season and 13th of his career. TJ Sanders notched three goals against the Pride for his eighth hat trick of the season, while Steve Aitken scored his first career goals at Hofstra to earn himself a spot on the hat trick leaderboard. Tom LaCrosse has two hat tricks this season, bringing his career total to four, while Shane Sturgis has five, his last coming against Denver on Feb. 19. Nick Dolik tallied his third career hat trick on Tuesday, March 19 at Binghamton.
Jack Forster: 13
TJ Sanders: 8
Shane Sturgis: 5
Tom LaCrosse: 4
Nick Dolik: 3
Gavin Ahern: 2
Steve Aitken: 1
Kyle VanThof: 1
FORSTER'S STREAKING
Penn State's attack has Jack Forster with a 26-game streak, which started on March 3, 2012 against Ohio State. Forster has 58 goals, 25 assists and 83 points during the streak.
RUNNING THE GAUNTLET
Penn State finished a stretch of five games from Feb. 9-March 16 against USILA ranked opponents as PSU went 2-3. After a March 26 win at Bucknell, Penn State's record improved to 3-3, including 2-1 against top 10 teams. Three weeks ago, Penn State downed 12th-ranked Drexel to improve to 4-3 in games against ranked foes. According to the NCAA RPI, Penn State has faced the fifth-toughest schedule when counting the top 10 opponents, facing an average opponent ranking of 14.4 in the NCAA RPI. That number will improve after Wednesday as Massachusetts is rated 21st and Towson is PSU's 10th opponent at No. 27.
ROAD WINNING STREAK
With the win at Delaware, Penn State has ticked off a school-record 12 straight true road wins. This season Penn State is 7-0 on the road after going 5-0 in 2012. The Lions' last road loss was Apr. 30, 2011 at Hofstra. Penn State has won 14 of its last 15 true road games.
Of the 14 regular-season contests, Penn State was home for just five of them, making the Nittany Lions one of the most road tested teams in the country. In total, seven games were true road contests along with two neutral site games. Penn State is 9-1 away from Happy Valley this season.
NEXT TIME OUT
Penn State hosts the CAA Championship this week. If the Nittany Lions are able to get past UMass, they'll face either Drexel or Towson in the CAA Final on Friday at 3 p.m.
Penn State men's lacrosse offers three exciting camps this summer. The boys' freshman/sophomore elite camp runs June 30-July 1, while the goalie and instructional camps run from July 1-4. For more information, CLICK HERE.
--NITTANY LIONS--