April 19, 2015
4-10, 0-4 Big Ten | 4-8, 1-3 Big Ten |
| 6 | 11 |
| Sunday, April 19 (6 p.m.) | |
Penn State Lacrosse Field | University Park, Pa.
| POST GAME LINKS |
| Box Score (HTML) | Box Score (PDF) |
| FINAL STATISTICS |
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; April 19, 2015 - An all-around exceptional effort by the Penn State men's lacrosse team, including a five-point effort by Pat Manley (Arnold, Md.) on Senior Day, propelled the Nittany Lions to the first Big Ten win in program history with an 11-6 victory over Rutgers on Sunday.
"To get our first Big Ten win on Senior Day is just awesome," Manley, a senior, said. "We've had a tough season and this was a great opportunity for us to make it to the Big Ten Tournament."
One of Penn State's nine seniors honored prior to the contest, Manley had a career game, dishing out four assists and scoring a late fourth-quarter goal. TJ Sanders (Orillia, Ontario) scored three goals and added an assist, and Mike Sutton (Sewell, N.J.) and Matt Florence (Greenwood Village, Colo.) each notched hat tricks. Dan Craig (Shelburne, Ontario) recorded a goal and an assist, while Matt Sexton (Niskayuna, N.Y.) and Nick Aponte (West Islip, N.Y.) posted one assist each.
Connor Darcey (Wellesley, Mass.) stopped 11 shots in the cage for the Nittany Lions (4-8, 1-3 Big Ten) and Kris Alleyne recorded 13 saves for Rutgers (4-10, 0-4 Big Ten). Joe Nardella out-performed Drake Kreinz (Delafield, Wis.) at the face-off `X', 12-8. Penn State went 2-for-5 on the man-up with both extra man goals scored by Sutton and coming in the first quarter. Rutgers was 1-for-3 on extra man opportunities. The Nittany Lions out-shot the Scarlet Knights, 39-33, led by Sutton's 11, and won the ground ball battle, 34-29.
Penn State went down 3-1 midway through the first quarter before Sanders got an outrageous behind-the-back tally to spark a five-goal run, putting Penn State up 6-3 early in the second quarter. The junior picked up a feed from Manley, tossing it behind his left shoulder for the 3-2 score with 4:08 remaining in the first quarter.
Sutton tied the game at 3-3 just 36 seconds later. Jules Heningburg was issued a holding penalty and with four seconds remaining on the man advantage, Sutton went low-to-high and the ball flew just below the crossbar for his second of the game.
With just under three minutes remaining in the first quarter, Sanders gave Penn State's its first lead of the game. Manley beat his defender behind the Rutgers cage and served it to Sanders, who put in the 4-3 score. Sutton got his second man-up goal of the game and the hat trick with 40 seconds left in the opening frame. He put in a strong overhand shot with just one tick remaining on the advantage for the 5-3 lead at the end of the opening 15 minutes.
Florence scored the Nittany Lions' fifth unanswered goal at 7:41 of the second quarter with his overhand left-handed shot, doubling Penn State's lead, 6-3. But Rutgers dimmed out Penn State's fire, taking advantage of its second man-up opportunity of the game 57 seconds later for the 6-4 score, and putting the game within one at 11:47 in the third quarter.
Florence thwarted the Scarlet Knights' attempted comeback, however, and gave the Nittany Lions a two-goal lead 46 seconds after the fifth Rutgers goal. He put in a sharp-angled shot over Alleyne's shoulder for the 7-5 score.
Sanders completed his hat trick with under a minute remaining in the third quarter. Sutton forced a turnover near the Rutgers restraining line and shoveled the ball to Aponte. The sophomore then served it to Sanders for the high-to-low 8-5 goal.
Craig's strong overhand release gave Penn State a 9-5 lead with 13:15 remaining in the game. Rutgers answered with a goal of its own but less than a minute later, Florence completed his own hat trick by ripping in a left-handed shot to put the Blue and White up 10-5. Manley closed the game with a score of his own in convincing fashion, beating his defender and sending a shot to the post and bouncing in for the final 11-6 score.
The Nittany Lions close out the inaugural season of Big Ten Lacrosse with a 6 p.m. game at Michigan on Sat., April 26, broadcasted on the Big Ten Network.
"We just want to keep playing," Manley said. "If we win this next game, it's just another chance for us to keep playing and I know everyone wants to keep playing after the season that we've had. We're just going to have to take it one day at a time next week. Michigan is a great team, an up-and-coming program so we're going to have our work cut out for us."