March 1, 2015
By Maria Canales, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - After a hard fought game, the Nittany Lions were able to hold back Penn's relentless offense, earning a much-needed 14-11 victory inside Holuba Hall on Saturday.
Penn State (2-2), once again found itself in an early hole trailing its in-state rival by two goals to start the game. After their early struggles, a strong performance from both the offense and defense kept the game close. The Nittany Lions never trailed by more than two goals. At the start of the fourth period, the Nittany Lion's offense found its stride, and launched into a final offensive flurry to finish off their opponent.
After two tough road losses to Loyola and Villanova, a win was just what the Nittany Lions needed to boost morale and give the team momentum going into their upcoming games over spring break.
"That was much needed," said head coach Jeff Tambroni. "You could see the relief on our guys' faces when the game ended. I think the key was that it was such a hard fought game and they had to work for everything. If we didn't come out with this kind of effort today it certainly wasn't going to work out."
Coach Tambroni was pleased with his players' performance, and effort, to control possession, win face-offs, and score goals. Tambroni noted the heart was back in the game for his players.
"I just felt like our guys played with a whole lot more heart today than they have in the last two weeks, I thought it showed on the scoreboard today," said Tambroni.
The Nittany Lions' gained momentum with every goal; kick-started by a rocket shot by sophomore Matt Florence in the first period. Florence would find the back of the net a total of four times against Penn, all of which were unassisted.
"After these past two weeks I think the team's a little stressed out. We really just wanted to come out off to a good start today and just play as a team," said Florence.
During halftime, the crowd welcomed the Royer family to the center of the field to be honored as official members of the Penn State lacrosse family with a rousing standing ovation. Gavin Royer was diagnosed with a brain tumor just ten days after his fifth birthday last March and has since become a symbol of hope and determination for the Nittany Lions. Gavin and his family were matched with Penn State lacrosse through the Friends of Jaclyn Foundation.
At the start of the second half Penn State led Penn 8-7. The game remained close, with each Penn State goal being answered by the Quakers. The momentum and team unity that fueled the Nittany Lions overflowed as the Penn State sidelines got more vocal toward the end of the second half.
"I just feel like a lot of momentum built up throughout the game," said Florence. "Everyone just wanted to cross the finish line and honestly we were all giving it everything we had until the last whistle."
With a boisterous team on the sidelines cheering fellow teammates on during the final minutes of the game, Penn State opened up a three-goal lead.
While Saturday's win was much needed for the Nittany Lions, the team already has their sights set on the next matchup. The Nittany Lions will go into spring break matchups against Harvard, Marist, and UMass with a heightened level of confidence brought about after their victory over Penn.
"It's great now but I think we're all ready for next week, we're already wanting to compete a little more. I think that this will just help us carry that momentum," said Florence.