Feb. 18, 2017
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The No. 11 Penn State men's lacrosse team showed balanced effort at the Penn State Lacrosse Field Saturday afternoon, moving to 3-0 for the second straight season with a 20-10 victory over the Cornell Big Red.
The Nittany Lions were firing on all cylinders, scoring 20 goals with 13 assists for its second straight game scoring 20 or more goals. The feat had not been done in nearly 34 years, with Penn State's last time scoring 20-plus in consecutive games coming in 1983 (Montclair State, Apr. 30, 25 goals; Bucknell, May 2, 20 goals).
Sophomore attackman Grant Ament had a stellar showing with a career-best nine points. He scored six goals in the outing, also a career best, while adding three assists on the day. Fellow attackman Mac O'Keefe continued on a stellar rookie campaign, logging five goals in his third career appearance.
Senior attackman Nick Aponte also added a strong performance, pouring in a pair of goals while matching Ament's game-best three assists. Freshman attackman Conor Smith scored a hat trick in his second collegiate appearance.
Senior midfielders Matt Florence, Mike Sutton and Matt Sexton each registered goals, while Sutton added an assist. Fellow midfielders Robby Black, Dan Craig, Tanner Peck and Tommy Wright were all credited for assists as well.
"I thought we got off to a sluggish start offensively, but I think our defense really played well," seventh year head coach Jeff Tambroni said following the game. "Just really sound. There was a lot of stuff that coach [Peter] Toner talked about following the Hobart game - we really reflected on the way we practiced this week. I was happy for Coach Toner, for the way our defense played and I thought Colby Kneese really bounced back. I think our defense gave our offense enough of an opportunity in the second and third quarters."
Penn State's defense limited Cornell to just five goals in the opening three quarters, as the unit locked in on the Big Red.
Kneese made his second career start and logged his third win of the season, playing 52:02 while making nine saves. Junior Will Schreiner and sophomore Trevor Scollins logged time in goal as well.
The Turning Point
After going back and forth through the first quarter and a half, Penn State led 4-3 before O'Keefe scored at 2:55 on a feed from Ament to give the Nittany Lions a 5-3 lead. From there, Penn State felt a swing in momentum, scoring twice more courtesy of Hill and Ament before the end of the half for a strong 7-3 advantage headed into the break.
Difference Makers
Penn State
- Grant Ament - Ament paved the way for the Nittany Lions offense, posting six goals and three assists for a career-best nine points. Ament scored a pair of goals late in the second quarter to help Penn State break open the lead.
- Peter Triolo- Triolo anchored the defensive unit, helping Penn State to hold Cornell to just five goals in the opening three quarters before subbing out.
- Gerard Arceri - Arceri went 15-of-21 at the faceoff "x" to help control play. After going 0-for-3 in the opening quarter he rebounded in the second, going 8-of-9 for the Nittany Lions.
Cornell
- Jake McCulloch - McCulloch scored to open the second quarter, pulling Cornell within one early.
- Connor Fletcher - Fletcher helped the Big Red knot up the game with his score at the 10:24 mark in the second quarter.
By Quarters
First Quarter
The first quarter was defensive battle. While Cornell won all three faceoff attempts, the Penn State defense held tall, allowing for opportunities on the offensive end. Sutton opened the game's scoring, pump faking once before ripping it into the back of the net at 11:56. Penn State was scoreless for the next 10 minutes before Ament went high-to-low on a feed from Hill for the second goal of the game and his first man-up goal of the season.
Penn State 2, Cornell 0
Second Quarter
Not to be outdone, Cornell responded with a pair of goals to open the second in the first four and a half minutes of action. O'Keefe's first goal of the day came on a pass from Aponte for a brief 3-2 lead. Cornell tied the game before O'Keefe second and third goals of the game on assists from Craig and Ament respectively. 43 seconds later Hill scored off a dodge. With just over a minute left, Aponte passed from behind the net finding Ament in stride for a 7-3 advantage.
Penn State 7, Cornell 3
Third Quarter
Penn State outscored Cornell 7-2 in the third quarter in what would prove to be the most lopsided 15 minutes of the game. Ament opened the scoring with a quick fake before dumping the ball into the opposite side of the net. Less than three minutes later, Tommy Wright kicked the ball out to O'Keefe on a fast break for the score. Cornell responded before Penn State scored three straight, with each starting attackman netting one over the four-minute period. Cornell's Sam Duggan scored to break up the Penn State run, before the Nittany Lions scored five straight through the end of the third and into the fourth. Ament and Aponte both logged one more goal each before the end of the third.
Penn State 14, Cornell 5
Fourth Quarter
Matt Florence scored 34 seconds into the fourth, driving in from the right side. Smith scored 16 seconds later, logging his first career goal on a low shot. Ament followed up Smith's goal with one of his own, as Sutton found him with the pass. Penn State and Cornell swapped goals, with Smith and Sexton finding the back of the net. Cornell scored a pair of goals before Smith put away his third goal of the day. The Big Red put up one last goal with 33 seconds left on the clock before Penn State walked away with its third goal of the season.
Penn State 20, Cornell 10
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