April 23, 2015
| MICHIGAN VS. PENN STATE | |
4-8, 1-3 Big Ten | 5-7, 1-3 Big Ten |
| Saturday, April 25 (6 p.m.) | |
| Michigan Stadium | Ann Arbor, Mich. | |
| GAME DAY LINKS |
| Big Ten Network / BTN2Go |
| Men's Lacrosse Blog |
| Follow Us: @PennStateMLAX | Facebook | Instagram |
| Season Statistics: Penn State | Michigan |
| Game Notes: Penn State | Michigan |
| INSIDE THE NUMBERS | ||
| PSU | MICH | |
| 9.17 | Goals per Game | 9.92 |
| 55 | Assists | 55 |
| 32.2 | Shots per Game | 36.8 |
| .284 | Shot Percentage | .270 |
| 9.92 | Goals Against Average | 11.67 |
| 339 | Ground Balls | 337 |
| 60 | Caused Turnovers | 110 |
| .286 | Man-Up % | .357 |
| .718 | Man-Down % | .658 |
| .876 | Clearing % | .845 |
| .528 | Faceoff % | .434 |
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; April 23, 2015 - The Nittany Lions close out the inaugural regular season of Big Ten Lacrosse with a 6 p.m. game at Michigan on Sat., April 25, broadcasted on the Big Ten Network. Mike Wolf and Greg Bice will be calling the contest.
Penn State (4-8. 1-3 Big Ten) faces a must-win situation to extend its inaugural Big Ten season, needing a win over Michigan to earn the conference's No. 4 seed and advance to the Big Ten Tournament next weekend.
SCOUTING THE WOLVERINES
Michigan (5-7, 1-3 Big Ten) is coming off of a 16-9 loss to Johns Hopkins, getting out-scored 11-4 in the final 33 minutes of play. The Wolverines possess an identical Big Ten record to the Nittany Lions at 1-3, with their lone win coming against Rutgers, a 10-8 margin at home. During the season, Michigan's most consistent attackman has been Ian King, who is in the midst of a 20-game point streak and leads the 2015 team with 28 points (17 goals, 11 assists). Gerald Logan has been outstanding in the cage for the Wolverines, commanding a strong defensive corps. Starting every contest, he ranks seventh nationally and tops the Big Ten with 12.75 saves per game, maintains an 11.74 goals against average and turns away 53 percent of his shots. His solid play radiates to the defenders, as Michigan causes 9.17 turnovers per game, the third-most in Division I. The Nittany Lions are a perfect 3-0 against the Wolverines, out-scoring Michigan 49-22 in the three contests.
LOOKING BACK
An all-around exceptional effort by Penn State, including a five-point effort by Pat Manley on Senior Day, propelled the Nittany Lions to the first Big Ten win in program history with an 11-6 victory over Rutgers.
PLAYING BOTH ENDS OF THE FIELD
Mike Sutton captured Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honors after notching a hat trick in the first quarter and causing two turnovers in Penn State's 11-6 win over Rutgers. Sutton is the first attackman to win Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week, and the second Nittany Lion this season to pick up the accolade after Connor Darcey took home the first Defensive Player of the Week honor in conference history. The sophomore was a bulldog on the attack, scoring three goals and forcing two Rutgers turnovers on attempted clears in the third quarter of the Nittany Lions' first Big Ten win in program history.
MANNING THE ATTACK
As his final season nears its conclusion, Pat Manley has taken it upon himself to guide the Nittany Lions' attack. He has 17 points in his last three games, including career-best performances against Johns Hopkins (four goals) and Rutgers (four assists, five points). He ranks sixth in the conference with two goals and 1.33 assists per Big ten game, and his 3.33 points per conference game ranks seventh. Against Johns Hopkins, Manley's four-goal game, all scored in a 12-minute span, was the first outing in his four Penn State seasons with three-or-more goals. This year, he has surpassed career totals in all offensive categories, totaling 11 goals and six assists for 17 points.
SOPHOMORE SENSATIONS
The Nittany Lions' sophomore class has been one of the team's high points this season. Redshirt-sophomores Connor Darcey, Drake Kreinz and Matt Florence have led Penn State respectively in the cage, at the `X' and in the attacking midfield. Joining Florence's offensive prowess are true sophomores Mike Sutton and Nick Aponte, each maintaining 16-game point streaks. Alongside Florence, Sutton and Aponte, classmate Dan Craig rounds out the team's top-5 point-getters. Brian Prestreau has played nearly every game in the midfield, while Tyler Chambers' and Peter Triolo's defensive efforts have proved invaluable and Billy Lombardi has provided support at the `X'.
ONE OF THE DAY'S FINEST
Penn State's win over Rutgers had a bit of everything: great defense, solid goaltending and ridiculous goals, one of which garnered national attention by earning the No. 6 spot on SportsCenter's Top 10 that night. With the Nittany Lions down 3-1 midway through the first quarter, Pat Manley raced to the side of the cage and flipped the ball to TJ Sanders just outside of the crease, who threw it behind his back and into the goal to spark a five-goal run. This is Penn State's second appearance on SportsCenter's Top 10 this year. After the Ohio State game, Dan Craig earned the No. 7 spot by scooping up the ball behind his back and whipping a horizontal shot behind him into the top right corner of the net.
SANDERS THE STALWART
Since joining the Nittany Lions as a freshman in 2013, a Colonial Athletic Association Rookie of the Year campaign, TJ Sanders has been one of Penn State's most reliable attackmen. The Orillia, Ontario native is just the third junior Nittany Lion since 2009 to score 100-or-more points (110) with current Major Lacrosse League players Shane Sturgis (108) and Matt Mackrides (102). Sanders has scored in all but seven games since his debut in the Blue and White, scoring multiple goals in 25 contests, and has netted 20-or-more goals each collegiate season. He is currently fifth in the Big Ten with two goals per game, eighth with 2.92 points per game and 10th with 0.92 assists per game.
SUTTS IN THE BUCKET
After an abbreviated freshman season, Mike Sutton has returned for his sophomore campaign with a vengeance. The Sewell, N.J. native is in the midst of a 16-game point streak and this season, he is second on the team with 23 goals and 26 points. In the conference rankings, Sutton currently ranks third with 7.75 shots per game, eighth with 1.92 goals per game and 10th with 2.17 points per game. He has six multi-goal games, including two hat tricks, on the year.
SAVED!
Connor Darcey has been a stalwart in the cage this season, his first as a starter. The redshirt sophomore has made double-digit saves in nine of the Nittany Lions' 12 contests. In Penn State's game at Harvard, Darcey made 18 saves, the most for a Nittany Lion since 2012 and the highest number on the day for a Big Ten goalie. In his first collegiate start, against Vermont, Darcey made 15 saves en route to his first collegiate win. His efforts earned him the first-ever Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week award. Currently, Darcey ranks second in the Big Ten with 12.17 saves per game, which is eighth nationally.
GOING WITH THE FLO
Matt Florence has made an immediate impact since transferring to Penn State this year. He has recorded a point in eight games this season, amassing 20 points in 10 games played. He notched his second hat trick of the year against Rutgers, had a four-goal outing against Penn and scored three goals and added two assists in the season opener against Vermont, the first three-goal performance in a Penn State debut since 2002.
NATIONAL PRIDE
Associate head coach Peter Toner was tabbed as an assistant coach for the 2016 U.S. Men's National Under-19 team. Toner will work under the head coach Nick Myers, who currently serves at the helm of Ohio State's men's lacrosse program. With the announcement, Penn State's three coaches have all served on the coaching staffs of a national team. Head coach Jeff Tambroni was an assistant for the 2014 U.S. men's senior team, and assistant coach Chris Doctor served in the same capacity for the Iroquois Nationals at the 2014 FIL World Championship.
FAMILY TIES
Penn State Lacrosse's expansive 101-year alumni base is bound to produce a few connections among current Nittany Lions, and this year's team is no exception. Matt Florence's father Tom was a goalie at Penn State from 1982-85. J.J. Pearl, who ranks fifth in career saves (557 from 1989-92), is freshman goalie Hunter Pearl's father.
TAMBRONI IN HIS FIFTH SEASON
Guiding the Nittany Lions through the inaugural season of Big Ten Lacrosse, Jeff Tambroni is in his fifth season as Penn State's head coach in 2015. With a 35-24 record, Tambroni has guided his Nittany Lion teams to .500-or-better records in each of his four seasons at the helm.