1-1-0 | 1-1-0 |
| 8 | 6 |
| Ridley Athletic Complex | Baltimore, Md. | |
| POST GAME LINKS |
| Box Score (HTML) | Box Score (PDF) |
| FINAL STATISTICS |
BALTIMORE, Md; Feb. 14, 2015 - The Penn State men's lacrosse team scored four unanswered goals in the fourth quarter but was unable to overcome an early Loyola advantage and fell to the Greyhounds, 8-6, on Saturday.
Six different Nittany Lions (1-1) got on the board, with Matt Florence (Greenwood Village, Colo.), Pat Manley (Arnold, Md.), Brian Prestreau (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.), Mike Sutton (Sewell, N.J.), TJ Sanders (Orillia, Ontario) and Nick Aponte (West Islip, N.Y.) recording the goals. Florence, Sanders and Manley also added an assist, and Dan Craig (Shelburne, Ontario) had one helper.
Drake Kreinz (Delafield, Wisc.) went 9-for-17 from the X. Penn State was narrowly edged in the ground ball battle, 35-32. Kreinz picked up a team-best five ground balls, and James Burke (Duxbury, Mass.) and JP Burnside (Garden City, N.Y.) each had four. The Nittany Lions were out-shot by the Greyhounds, 22-14, with Sanders recording four to lead Penn State. Connor Darcey (Wellesley, Mass.) fell to 1-1 with the loss and notched 14 saves to Pat McEnerney's eight.
Florence netted the game's first goal 1:38 into the game. It was a solid individual effort by the redshirt sophomore as he dodged a group of defenders and ripped it from the arc.
Loyola (1-1) scored a trio of goals for a 3-1 lead early in the second quarter before Manley cut the lead to one. Just under seven minutes into the quarter, he drove to the net and pushed through three Greyhound defenders to slice in the 3-2 score.
Loyola responded with four unanswered markers, holding a 7-2 lead late in the third quarter.
But Penn State found its offensive rhythm as time wound down in the frame to bring the score within one.
With just over two minutes left in the third, Craig passed the ball over to Prestreau, whose sidearm shot made the score 7-3.
The Blue and White carried its momentum into the fourth quarter. Twenty-one seconds into the quarter, Zach Herreweyers was called for slashing and while on the man-up, Florence ran behind the net, serving the ball to Sutton for the 7-4 tally.
The Nittany Lions found the back of the net 3:38 later. A Loyola blocked shot allowed Penn State to travel coast-to-coast. Manley moved behind the cage and passed it up to Sanders who fired in the quick shot for the 7-5 score.
Less than three minutes later, Penn State was able to cut the Greyhounds' lead to one. Aponte sent a low shot into the net off of a Sanders dish, giving the Nittany Lions its fourth unanswered goal and the 7-6 score.
However, a turnover in Loyola's third allowed the Greyhounds to move into Penn State's third and with just 1:36 left in regulation, Loyola sealed the Nittany Lions' fate as Romar Dennis netted the final 8-6 goal.
Penn State is on the road again next week, visiting in-state rivals Villanova on Sat., Feb. 21. Opening faceoff is at 1 p.m.