April 8, 2017
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COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The top-ranked Penn State men's lacrosse team (10-1, 1-1 Big Ten) faced its first setback of the 2017 season on Saturday, dropping a 15-11 contest to No. 6/8 Maryland (7-2, 2-0 Big Ten) at Maryland Stadium.
The loss snapped Penn State's 10-game win streak, with the 2017 team being just the second in program history to win 10 consecutive games in a single season.
Four Nittany Lions recorded multiple goals and five had multiple points as the two sides combined for 26 goals.
Freshman attackman Mac O'Keefe paced Penn State's goal-scoring efforts, logging a hat trick with three goals for the seventh game of his rookie season. Senior attackman Nick Aponte (2g, 1a), sophomore attackman Grant Ament (2g, 2a) and senior Mike Sutton (2g) each logged a pair of goals, extending their point streaks to 43, 26 and 21 games in a row, respectively.
Junior Ryan Keenan and sophomore Nick Spillane both found the back of the net for the Nittany Lions as a part of the second midfield line. Keenan added an assist for his fifth multi-point game of the season. Senior midfielder Dan Craig added an assist as well.
On the defensive end, the Nittany Lions forced four turnovers, with a pair from sophomore defender Chris Sabia while sophomore midfielder Kevin Fox and redshirt-senior midfielder Drake Kreinz added one each. Freshman goalie Colby Kneese was credited with his first loss of the season, making 10 saves over the duration of the game.
Penn State returns to the field next Saturday, April 13, when the Nittany Lions face conference foe Johns Hopkins (6-3, 1-0 Big Ten), with the first faceoff set for 2 p.m. ET. The game is set for national broadcast on ESPNU.
The Turning Point
The Nittany Lions looked as if they may close the gap in the third, with O'Keefe burying a shot with 6:01 left to play in the third. A goal from Maryland's Connor Kelly with 2:52 remaining started a 3-0 Maryland run, putting the game out of reach.
Difference Makers
Penn State
- Mac O'Keefe - The Penn State rookie led Penn State's attack in goals scored, freeing his hands and finding the back of the net three times for the Nittany Lions.
- Grant Ament - Ament led Penn State's point production, scoring a pair of goals on his own while finding Sutton and O'Keefe for a pair of assists.
- Nick Aponte - The senior captain posted a pair of goals and an assist against the Terrapins, logging his 58th career assist - three shy of tying 10th most in program history.
Maryland
- Attack Unit - Maryland's attack trio of Matt Rambo, Colin Heacock and Dylan Maltz combined for 11 points, scoring eight goals and adding three assists.
- Jon Garino, Jr. - After Maryland's main faceoff man Austin Henningsen was taken out, Garino went 9-11 at the faceoff dot in the second half.
By Quarters
First Quarter
A pair of goals from Kelly and Rambo gave Maryland an early 2-0 lead. Aponte was the first to find the scoreboard for Penn State, dodging from behind the net before the score. Maryland added a pair of scores to go up 4-1 before Sutton responded with a strike from distance. A minute and a half later Craig dished the ball to Ament for his first goal of the game. Maryland won the ensuing faceoff and scored before adding a final tally with just under two minutes to go.
Penn State 3, Maryland 6
Second Quarter
Aponte kicked off the second half with his second score of the game, breaking past the defense for the score. Maryland scored twice before Ament dished the ball to Sutton to cut Penn State's deficit to two goals. The Terrapins found the back of the net before O'Keefe received a pass from Aponte and scored, extending his scoring streak to 11 games in a row. With 21 seconds left in the half the Terrapins scored for a four-goal lead at the half.
Penn State 6, Maryland 10
Third Quarter
Maryland scored twice to open the third before Keenan sprinted down the alley for his first goal of the day. The tally opened a 3-0 run for the Nittany Lions as Ament and O'Keefe both found paydirt, cutting the Maryland lead to three with just under six minutes left in the third. The Terps added another score with 2:52 to go before the final 15 minutes started.
Penn State 9, Maryland 13
Fourth Quarter
Maryland started the fourth again with a pair of back-to-back scores. Keenan made the most impressive feed of the day, threading the needle to find Spillane in space for the Nittany Lions' 10th goal of the day. With 3:23 left on the clock Ament capitalized on a turnover by the Terrapins' keeper, finding O'Keefe at the top of the crease who dumped the ball into the open net. Penn State looked for more chances but could not convert before the final buzzer.
Penn State 11, Maryland 15
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