March 14, 2015
2-5-0 | 3-4-0 |
| 12 | 8 |
| Saturday, March 14 (12 p.m.) | |
McGuirk Stadium | Amherst, Mass.
| POST GAME LINKS |
| Box Score (HTML) | Box Score (PDF) |
| FINAL STATISTICS |
AMHERST, Mass.; March 14, 2015 - Billy Lombardi (Rochester, N.Y.) had a career game for the Penn State men's lacrosse team going 14-22 at the face-off 'X' and scoring his first collegiate goal, but the Nittany Lions were unable to overcome a five-goal third quarter for UMass and fell to the Minutemen, 12-8.
TJ Sanders (Orillia, Ontario) scored a pair of goals, while Dan Craig (Shelburne, Ontario), Nick Aponte (West Islip, N.Y.), Mike Sutton (Sewell, N.J.), Tanner Peck (Lincoln University, Pa.),Lombardi and Drake Kreinz (Delafield, Wis.) each added tallies for the Nittany Lions (3-4).
UMass (2-5) out-shot Penn State, 31-28, taking 14 shots in the third quarter alone. The Nittany Lions were led by Sutton's five shots. In the cage, both Zach Oliveri and Connor Darcey (Wellesley, Mass.) made nine saves. Penn State dominated at the face-off 'X', posting a 15-8 mark. Penn State was 2-for-3 on the man-up, and UMass went 1-for-4.
Penn State got off to a hot start, taking a 4-0 lead just 7:02 into the first quarter.
Kreinz won the game's opening face-off on a UMass violation. He drove down the field and sent an overhand shot from 10 yards out into the cage to put Penn State up 1-0 three seconds into the contest. The tally was his second off of the face-off in as many games.
Two minutes later, the Nittany Lions were able to build on its lead. JP Burnside (Garden City, N.Y.) sent the ball to Sanders, whose overhand shot from five yards out made the score 2-0. Sanders added another goal 33 seconds later on the man-up to give Penn State a 3-0 cushion.
The Blue and White pulled away with a 4-0 lead four-and-a-half minutes later, thanks to Craig's highlight reel goal. With the extra man, he retrieved a pass from Sanders in front of the crease, spun around and got off the shot through traffic.
But the Minutemen scored four unanswered goals to tie the game five minutes into the second quarter.
Sutton was able to regain the Nittany Lions' lead as time was winding down in the first half. Sutton pushed through traffic and went high to give the Blue and White a 5-4 lead.
UMass opened the second half on a tear, however, and did not trail the Nittany Lions again in the game from 9:49 into the third quarter on.
Penn State was able to knot the score twice more in the quarter, with an Aponte low sidearm shot at 11:38 of the third and Lombardi's first career goal. The sophomore, seeing the most action of his collegiate career, won the face-off and ran down the field, taking a low backhand shot that bounced past Oliveri for the 7-7 score.
Peck would add his first collegiate goal, a low sidearm shot from the front of the cage, for the final 12-8 score.
Next up, the Nittany Lions face Denver at Hofstra University on Sat., March 21 at 2:30 p.m.