March 17, 2014
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- The 12th-ranked Penn State men's lacrosse team looks to snap a two-game skid as Dartmouth visits Happy Valley for a Tuesday evening contest at 5 p.m. The two teams will be meeting for the first time since 2006.
| #12 PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS (3-3, 0-1 CAA) vs. DARTMOUTH BIG GREEN (1-2, 0-0 Ivy) | |
| Game 7: March 18, 2014 • 5 p.m. • Penn State Lacrosse Field • University Park, Pa. | |
| VENUE | Penn State Lacrosse Field (Turf; 1,000) |
| COVERAGE | |
| SERIES RECORD | Penn State leads 3-0 |
| LAST MEETING | 3/8/2006, PSU 11-10 (Baltimore, Md.) | RECAP |
| NEXT TIME OUT | Saturday, March 22 vs. Albany, 1 p.m. |
| Penn State Game Notes | |
LIMITED BAG POLICY
Fans attending Saturday's game and sitting in the bleachers next to the Multi-Sport Complex will need to comply with Penn State's Limited Bag Policy. Contents in a clear, gallon-sized bag will be permitted in addition to coats and blankets. All bags and items will not be allowed. For exact permitted items: LIMITED BAG POLICY.
GAME NOTES
• Penn State hosts its second straight home game when Dartmouth visits Happy Valley
• The Nittany Lions and Big Green face off for the fourth time in series history
• Penn State holds a 3-0 all-time record over Dartmouth; First meeting since 2006
• Nittany Lions coming off tough 8-6 loss vs. UMass in CAA opener
• TJ Sanders tallied game-high three goals vs. UMass, his 11th hat trick
• Dartmouth is coming off a 17-day break since beating Sacred Heart in Texas
• Shane Sturgis is in the top 3 nationally for goals and points per game
• Sturgis is 10th all-time at Penn State with 140 points, needing 5 points for 7th
• Austin Kaut is second in school history in saves (604), 90 behind Drew Adams (694)
• Penn State's four-game home stand continues Saturday against Albany at 1 p.m.
SCOUTING THE BIG GREEN
Dartmouth (1-2, 0-0 Ivy League) will be playing its first game in 17 days when the Big Green visits Penn State. Last time out, Dartmouth won its first game of the season against Saced Heart, 14-10, down in Dallas, Texas. Prior to that, Dartmouth dropped 18-5 and 13-8 decisions at North Carolina and Vermont, respectively.
Dartmouth is averaging nine goals per game on 24.5 percent shooting, while allowing nearly 14 goals per game. Mike Olentine (6 points), Donald Stephan (5) and KC Beard (5) are the early team leaders offensively. Dartmouth entered 2014 without its five leading scorers from 2013 with Beard (11 points) and Olentine (9) and Cam Lee (9) as the leading returning scorers. As for faceoffs, Phil Hession returns and has a 51.9 win percentage in the early going following a 2013 season where he won 47.3 percent of the draws. In net, Blair Friedensohn has earned all three starts with 24 saves, 29 goals conceded (.453 save percentage) and goals-against average of 12.53.
ALL-TIME SERIES VS. DARTMOUTH
All-Time Series: Penn State leads 3-0
PSU Streak: 3 wins
First Meeting: 4/25/1929, PSU 7-5
Last Meeting: 3/8/2006, PSU 11-10
Last PSU Win: 3/8/2006, 11-10
Last DART Win: n/a
Largest PSU Win: 7-5 (1929); 6-4 (1956)
Largest DART Win: n/a
PSU Goals vs. DART: 24-19
Jeff Tambroni vs. DART: 9-1
LAST THREE MEETINGS VS. DARTMOUTH
3/8/2006: W, 11-10 - N
3/30/1956: W, 6-4
4/25/1929: W, 7-5 - H
LIONS DROP CAA OPENER TO UMASS
An extended 7-2 run by No. 14 Massachusetts over a 29-minute span was too much for the fifth-ranked Nittany Lions in an 8-6 loss Saturday afternoon at Penn State Lacrosse Field.
Penn State (3-3, 0-1 CAA) dropped back-to-back games for the first time this season as a stodgy UMass (6-1, 1-0 CAA) defense overwhelmed the Nittany Lions. Penn State led 2-1 with 2:04 remaining in the first quarter, but the Minutemen allowed just two goals in the next 45 minutes to open an 8-4 lead. Saturday's game was Penn State's last CAA season opener.
Sophomore TJ Sanders scored a game-high three goals, registering his 11th career hat trick in the process. The player of the game was UMass goalie Zach Oliveri who saved 15 shots, including 11 in the second half as the Minutemen built their lead.
One of the featured matchups entering the contest was that of the faceoff men: Penn State's Drake Kreinz and UMass' Joe Calvello, who came in ranked 13th and 11th, respectively, in win percentage this year. Kreinz got the better of Calvello, winning 9-of-15 faceoffs. Calvello, who was a member of the 2013 All-CAA Second Team, was also flagged for an illegal stick late in the fourth quarter in addition to four faceoff violations.
Accompanying Sanders's offensive game was Penn State leading scorer Shane Sturgis, who scored his 22nd and 23rd goals of the season on Saturday. Sturgis finished the game with three points, the first time he was held to less than five points in a single game all year.
SURGING STURGIS
Shane Sturgis has vaulted to the top of the NCAA charts with his outstanding early season play. Through this past weekend, Sturgis ranks second in goals per game (3.83) and third in points per game (5.33) nationally. Moreover, Sturgis has been amazingly accurate with his shooting (.511), which ranks 11th in the country. He has produced five games with five or more points, registering a hat trick in all but one game en route to 23 goals, nine assists and 32 points. To put his fast start in perspective, Sturgis is just four goals off his career-high of 27 from last season as a junior, which came in 17 games. He as accounted for exactly one-third PSU's goals (23-of-69) and one point shy of one-third team's points (32-of-99). His five-goal, six-point performance against Notre Dame earned himself a second CAA Player of the Week honor on Monday, Feb. 24 as well as Inside Lacrosse's Brine National Player of the Week.
DRAKE RAKES FACEOFFS, GROUNDERS
Redshirt-freshman Drake Kreinz has been one of the strongest faceoff men in the country, winning 62.9 percent of his draws and leading the team in ground balls with 42. Through this past weekend, Kreinz ranks ninth nationally in faceoff percentage and 18th in ground balls per game (7.0). Kreinz had a career-high 21 faceoff wins in a career-best 28 attempts at No. 9 Denver last week. Twice Kreinz has collected double-digit ground balls with a carere-high 12 coming against Loyola.
CLIMBING UP THE LEADERBOARD
Austin Kaut has made his stamp in the Penn State record books with the majority of the 2014 season remaining. In net, Kaut ranks in second place all-time in saves with 604, needing 90 saves to catch Drew Adams (2006-09), who is the all-time saves leader with 694. Offensively, Shane Sturgis moved into sole possession of 10th all-time at Penn State in points scored with 140 following Saturday's three-point outing. Sturgis is one point back of Nate Whitaker (2002-06), three points behind Chris Lehman (1990-93) and four points back of former teammate Matthew Mackrides (2009-12). Last year's running mate Jack Forster (2008-13) is eight points ahead of Sturgis.
HAT TRICK HEROES
Shane Sturgis has registered a hat trick or more in five of six games this season, bringing his career total to 11 to momentarily pass previous team-leader TJ Sanders, who posted his 11th career hat trick in Saturday's loss to UMass. Joining Sturgis in the goal party two weeks ago in Columbus was Kyle VanThof, who earned his second hat trick in his career. His previous high was four against UMass in 2011. In all, Penn State features seven scorers who have tallied hat tricks in their careers: Sanders (11 times), Sturgis (11), Tom LaCrosse (3), VanThof (2), Gavin Ahern (2), Kyle Baier (1) and Steve Aitken (1).
Shane Sturgis 11 TJ Sanders 11 Tom LaCrosse 3 Gavin Ahern 2 Kyle VanThof 2 Kyle Baier 1 Steve Aitken 1
NEXT TIME OUT: ALBANY
Penn State's four-game home stand continues Saturday when the high-scoring Albany Great Danes visit Happy Valley. Penn State and Albany have never met in men's lacrosse. Game time is set for 1 p.m.