March 8, 2016
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GREENVILLE, S.C. - The Penn State men's lacrosse team snapped a two-game losing streak with a commanding 16-7 victory at Furman on Tuesday. After a competitive first half, the Nittany Lions found their offensive rhythm in the third quarter, scoring nine goals, and never looked back.
Six Nittany Lions logged at least two goals led by multi-goal outings from TJ Sanders, Nick Aponte, Mike Sutton, Matt Florence, Kevin Hill and Ryan Keenan. Grant Ament, Dan Craig, Robby Black and Brian Prestreau all posted one goal apiece. Aponte, Ament and Peck added two assists each to tie for first on the team.
Penn State (4-2) and Furman went back and forth in the first quarter until Hill broke open the scoring for the Nittany Lions with an extra-man goal with 7:32 remaining in the stanza.
After Furman (0-5) netted an equalizer, junior Craig burned his defender with a split dodge and ran to the crease and scored his first of the afternoon to give Penn State a 2-1 lead with 4:06 left in the first quarter.
The Nittany Lions continued the momentum as Sanders dished a pass across the middle to Aponte, who scored to send Penn State into the second quarter with a two-goal lead, 3-1.
Hill stretched the Nittany Lion scoring streak to three straight, as he converted on a pass from Aponte for his second goal of the game to bring PSU ahead 4-1 with 13:05 remaining in the half. Furman looked to get back on track with a goal to make it 4-2, but Sanders responded with his first goal of the afternoon to lift the Nittany Lions back up by three, 5-2, with 1:16 to play in the half.
After killing a minor penalty to start the second half, Aponte drew a double-team as he tried to drive through the defense, leaving Sutton wide open. Sutton launched a rocket to the top corner and gave Penn State a four-goal lead, 6-2, just 1:45 into the second half.
After a goal from Keenan, Furman scored to keep the Penn State advantage at four, 7-3, with 11:18 left in the third quarter. After that, the Nittany Lions went on a 7-0 run over the next 10 minutes. It started with Sanders cutting around the crease. Peck fed him the ball from the corner, and Sanders scored his second of the game giving Penn State a five-goal lead, 8-3. Penn State won the ensuing faceoff and Sutton fired from the top corner but his shot was blocked. Sutton picked up the ball and shot again, finding the back of the net for the second time for a 9-3 Penn State lead.
Goals from Florence, Aponte, Keenan, Ament, and Black gave Penn State an 11-goal lead, 14-3. Furman scored as time expired in the third quarter to cut the Nittany Lions' lead to 10, but Furman couldn't find the offensive attack necessary to overcome its deficit.
Penn State won the ground ball battle (24-21), the face-off battle (14-11), and turned the ball over less than Furman (Penn State committed 12 turnovers to Furman's 15). Sophomore goalkeeper Will Schreiner matched his career high with nine saves in just over 49 minutes of action.
Penn State returns home for back-to-back games on its own turf. The Nittany Lions are set to welcome Harvard Saturday, March 12 for a 10 a.m. matchup at the Penn State Lacrosse Field. The game will broadcast live on ESPNU with Mark Dixon and Matt Ward on the call.
NOTES: Penn State is now 1-0 all-time vs. Furman ... After registering three points, Nick Aponte has extended his point streak to 24 games dating back to April 5, 2014 ... A season-high six Nittany Lions finished with multiple goals (Aponte, Florence, Hill, Keenan, Sanders, Sutton) ... Penn State's 9 goals in the third quarter is tied for the most goals scored in a quarter this season (Feb. 13, 4th quarter vs. Hobart) ... The Nittany Lions scored a season-high two goals on the man advantage.