April 28, 2018
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The No. 14 Penn State men's lacrosse team lost a Senior Day overtime heartbreaker to the University of Michigan, falling 10-9 at Panzer Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Despite trailing early, Penn State was able to take a 7-5 lead into the fourth period. However, the Wolverines would out-scored Penn State, 5-2, over the fourth period and overtime combined to take the game.
Penn State saw senior midfield Ryan Keenan net four goals to lead the Nittany Lion offense, and five other players scored for the Penn State attack. The starting attack trio of Mac O'Keefe, Nick Spillane, and Dylan Foulds each found the back of the cage once, while freshman midfielder Jack Kelly, who made his first appearance since March 3, added one of his own. Defenseman Chris Sabia was able to find the score for a pole goal.
Junior Robby Black dished out a career-best two assists, while freshman Brian Townsend added one as well.
Defensively, Sabia was impressive all around, recorded three caused turnovers and added four ground balls. His fellow defenseman Michael Aronow also added three caused turnovers and scooped up one ground ball.
In the cage, Colby Kneese recorded 10 saves and added two ground balls.
The opening 10 minutes served as a feeling-out period for both teams as the two squads played solid defense, causing turnovers on each side before Michigan grabbed the 2-0 lead with a pair of scores in the last 3:32 of the frame.
Kneese made two great saves early on, but the Wolverines would score on their next two as Brent Noseworthy and Chase Young found the back of the net at 3:32 and 0:59, respectively.
Noseworthy opened the scoring to give Michigan the 3-0 lead with his second of the day at the 11:08 mark of the second before back-to-back Penn State goals from Ryan Keenan and Chris Sabia at 8:39 and 5:50, respectively, cut the deficit to a single goal.
The Wolverines fought back as Alex Buckanavage and Kevin Mack helped Michigan regain the three-goal advantage with just 2:11 remaining in the first half. However, the Nittany Lions came down the field on the ensuing possession and Keenan deposited his second goal of the game to make the score 5-3 in favor of the visitors heading into the half.
Penn State dominated the third quarter scoring four unanswered goals to grab the 7-5 lead heading into the fourth. Nick Spillane opened the scoring at the 11:20 mark followed by goals from Dylan Foulds, Keenan, and Jack Kelly, who saw action for the first time since the Penn game on March 3, capped the scoring in the frame with just 4.8 seconds on the clock.
Keenan registered his fourth goal of the game at the 11:15 mark, but Michigan put in back-to-back goals to pull even, 8-8, at the 6:33 mark. Mac O'Keefe would get on the board with just 40.0 seconds remaining as Robby Black found the cutting attackman for the score. However, after winning the face, a turnover would put the ball back in the hands of Michigan, and Michigan's Decker Curran would tie the game at 9-all with just 22.0 left to play
In the overtime period, Curran would put in his fourth of the game to give Michigan the win.
Penn State's postseason future lays in wait as the rest of the Big Ten contests finish out on Saturday evening.