April 30, 2017
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Behind a monster performance from senior captain Nick Aponte, the 10th-ranked Penn State men's lacrosse team (12-2, 3-2 Big Ten) defeated Michigan (8-6, 0-5 Big Ten), 17-13, on Sunday inside Michigan Stadium.
With the victory, the 2017 team matched the program record for wins with 12 following the 17-13 win. Only the 2013 NCAA tournament team had recorded 12 wins before. The team also set a new mark for wins in a Big Ten conference season, notching its third of the year against Michigan.
Penn State's 17 goals were the most ever scored by a Penn State team in Big Ten conference game.
Aponte led Penn State with a record-setting nine-point performance. With five goals and four assists, the captain broke the Penn State records for goals and points in a Big Ten conference game.
Freshman Mac O'Keefe also recorded a historic performance against the Wolverines. The rookie scored four goals, logging a new freshman record for goals in a season with 46 to date. Sophomore attackman Grant Ament finished with three assists.
Senior midfielder Dan Craig added an impressive four-point performance, scoring his third career hat trick while tacking on an assist.
Midfielders Kevin Hill, Matt Florence, Mike Sutton and Ryan Keenan and attackman Dylan Foulds scored a goal each. Hill and classmate Nick Spillane both added assists. Senior midfielder Tyler Chambers logged a team-high four groundballs and added an assist.
Penn State enters the Big Ten Tournament as the fourth seed, facing top-seeded Maryland, with the two going toe-to-toe on Thursday, May 4, at 5 p.m. inside Jesse Owens Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. First faceoff is set for 5 p.m., with the game set to air live on the Big Ten Network.
The Turning Point
With 10:58 left in the game, Keenan bolted down the alley before firing a shot off into the bottom right corner of the goal. On the ensuing faceoff, Billy Lombrdi flung the ball out to Chambers who scooped it up. Chambers darted down field, finding Aponte on the crease, who buried the shot to go up four. The goals sparked Penn State's 4-0 run to put the game out of reach.
Difference Makers
Penn State
- Nick Aponte - The senior captain put on a show, scoring five goals and adding four assists for nine-point performance. The output broke records for points by an individual in a Big Ten game, goals by an individual in a Big Ten game and points in a Big Ten season (22).
- Mac O'Keefe - The rookie logged four goals en route to breaking Penn State's freshman scoring record. With 46 goals this season, O'Keefe needs just four more goals to earn the program record for single season goals.
- Dan Craig - The senior logged his first hat trick of the season and tacked on an assist for a season-best four point performance. The senior has now logged seven goals in the past three games.
Michigan
- Mikie Schlosser - Schlosser posted a team-best four goals to lead Michigan's scoring output.
- Mike McDonnell - McDonnell was dominant at the faceoff 'x', going 20-32 at the dot against the Nittany Lions.
By Quarters
First Quarter
The Nittany Lions opened scoring with just over 11 minutes left in the quarter. Aponte found Florence in the middle of the field, who ripped the shot into the bottom of the net. Just under two minutes later Ament passed from behind the net to find Aponte in motion, putting Penn State up, 2-0. Michigan scored before Aponte scored his second of the day, wrapping around from behind the goal for the score. Michigan scored once more before Craig ripped a bounce shot with 1:12 remaining, rounding out the first quarter of scoring.
Penn State 4, Michigan 2
Second Quarter
Michigan opened the quarter with a score before Aponte notched his ninth career hat trick with a dodge from behind the net. Michigan then rattled off three goals in a row over a four-minute period to grab a 6-5 lead. With 2:11 left on the clock, Ament kicked it to Craig, who fired a laser to tie the game and notch the Nittany Lions' first man-up goal of the game. The two sides went into the locker room deadlocked.
Penn State 6, Michigan 6
Third Quarter
Penn State kicked off the third quarter with an unassisted goal, good for the 75th of his career. O'Keefe followed it up with his first score of the day. Michigan scored before O'Keefe logged another. The Wolverines posted two in a row to tie the game again at 9-9 before Aponte posted his third goal of the game on an assist from Ament. Hill scored a man-up goal before O'Keefe broke the Penn State freshman scoring record with his third goal of the day and his 45th of the season. Michigan found the back of the net with less than a minute remaining.
Penn State 12, Michigan 10
Fourth Quarter
O'Keefe added a fourth goal to start the fourth quarter. Michigan's Ian King found the back of the net before a four-goal run by the Nittany Lions gave Penn State a definitive edge. Following Keenan and Aponte's previously mentioned goals, Craig scored on a pass from the senior captain with 4:40 on the clock. Just over a minute later, Foulds found paydirt on another Aponte assist. Michigan scored twice more before the final horn, as Penn State secured its 12th win of the season by four goals.
Penn State 17, Michigan 13
For up to date coverage of Penn State Men's Lacrosse, follow the team on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.