Feb. 11, 2017
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VICTOR, N.Y. - Another spectacular offensive performance propelled No. 15/14 Penn State men's lacrosse to 2-0 in 2017, as the Nittany Lions defeated the Hobart Statesmen, 21-15, at the Pinnacle Athletic Campus on Saturday afternoon. Penn State's 21 goals were five shy of the program record for single-game scoring.
Four Penn State players scored four goals in Saturday's shootout, with three of the four having career days. Sophomores Nick Spillane, Kevin Hill and Grant Ament along with freshman Mac O'Keefe all logged four goals to pace Penn State's scorers. All three sophomores had career outings.
O'Keefe and Spillane each tallied three assists as well, co-leading the Nittany Lions with seven points apiece.
With the win, head coach Jeff Tambroni logged his 50th victory with the Nittany Lions. Tambroni's 90-game span marks the quickest period of time in which any Penn State coach has achieved the 50-win milestone. Additionally, with the win against his alma mater, Tambroni is one of just five active Division I coaches to have earned 50 or more wins at two different Division I programs.
Sophomore midfielder Ryan Keenan posted a pair of goals and a career-best three assists against the Statesmen, while senior midfielder Dan Craig posted his first score of the 2017 season. Freshman midfielder Nick McEvoy earned his first career goal. Senior midfielder Tyler Chambers found his way into the scoring column for the second time in his career.
Three Nittany Lions made an impact on offense despite not scoring. Senior midfielder Mike Sutton logged a pair of assists, while senior attackman Nick Aponte and sophomore defenseman Tommy Wright each recorded one as well. With the assist, Aponte has now registered at least one point in each of his last 35 games.
Penn State was dominant at the faceoff "x", with freshman Gerard Arceri and senior Billy Lombardi combining for 27 total faceoff wins on 38 attempts. Arceri led the team with 10 groundballs. Craig and senior defenseman Peter Triolo each caused a Hobart turnover.
Penn State is now 2-0 in 2017, while Hobart moves to 0-1 on the season. The Nittany Lions return to the field on Saturday, Feb. 18, at noon to face Cornell in University Park, Pa.
The Turning Point
With 13 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Hobart nearly erased a nine-goal deficit, as Justin Scott scored his fourth goal of the day to pull within two, 15-13. Penn State won the faceoff, but couldn't convert the initial shot. The Nittany Lions were resilient, riding the Hobart defense and forcing a Hobart turnover during the clear attempt. O'Keefe scooped up the groundball and found Hill for the score to push the Penn State lead to three.
Difference Makers
Penn State
- Nick Spillane - Spillane had a career day, logging new career bests in goals (4), assists (3) and points (7). His seven points tied for the team's best.
- Mac O'Keefe - O'Keefe matched his point production from his collegiate debut, as the lefty attackman posted four goals and three assists to co-lead the Penn State offense.
- Kevin Hill - Hill took advantage of the extra-man opportunities, finding the holes in the defense with a pair of EMO goals. He added two even strength scores in a career outing.
Hobart
- Justin Scott - Scott led the Statesmen's attack, posting a team-high four goals while gathering a pair of groundballs.
- Brian Hancock - Hancock logged a hat trick while finishing second on the team in groundballs (4).
- Chris Aslanian Â- Aslanian led Hobart's attacking unit, scoring on three of his five shots during the game.
By Quarters
First Quarter
Penn State opened the game's scoring, as a fast-paced clear led to Chambers' second career goal to put the Nittany Lions up, 1-0. Hobart responded before Hill scored his first goal of the game. Spillane found the back of the net with 4:11 left to go in the first, with Aponte finding the sophomore midfielder. 14 seconds later, Ament scored his first goal of the day before a Hobart timeout. Hill scored a man-up goal with 32 seconds left in the quarter, but Hobart logged one of its own 10 seconds later before the first frame finished.
Penn State 5, Hobart 2
Second Quarter
Just under two minutes into the second Keenan found O'Keefe in space to give Penn State a six-goal advantage. Hobart answered the call roughly two minutes later. A man-up goal from Hill with 10:28 to go in the second sparked a 4-1 Penn State run through the remained of the quarter. O'Keefe found paydirt on back-to-back scores before Keenan logged his first of the season. Sutton and Keenan made passes to lead to the O'Keefe goals, while Spillane earned one of his three assists on the pass to Keenan.
Penn State 10, Hobart 4
Third Quarter
The two sides scored a combined 12 goals in the third frame of the game. It was the lone period in which Hobart out-scored Penn State, with the Statesmen holding a 7-5 advantage. Ament scored the first two goals of the quarter, both coming unassisted. A lone Hobart score broke up what would be a 4-1 run, as Keenan logged his second goal of the game with 7:51 left on the clock. 11 second later McEvoy made his collegiate scoring debut, giving Penn State a 15-4 lead. Hobart refused to break down, mounting an impressive 6-1 run to close out the quarter. The lone remaining Penn State score came courtesy of Craig off a pass from O'Keefe with 34 seconds left in the period.
Penn State 15, Hobart 11
Fourth Quarter
Hobart continued to strike, opening the final frame with a pair of scores. With 11:22 on the clock, Hill's fourth score made the lead 16-13. Spillane scored his second goal on the feed from O'Keefe to spark back-and-forth scoring between the two sides. Hobart scored before Spillane responded with his third goalÂÂ less than a minute later. Hobart's Hancock registered Hobart's 15th goal, before O'Keefe, Ament and Spillane took the game out of question with three final goals over the last 2:53 of regulation.
Penn State 21, Hobart 15
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