COLLEGE PARK, Md. – The No. 1 Penn State men's lacrosse team took down No. 3 Maryland, 13-10, on Sunday night to move to 8-1, 1-0 in Big Ten play, earning the program's first varsity win over the Terrapins.
Penn State moved to 3-40 all-time against the Terps, but the two Nittany Lion wins came in 1916 and 1920 before Maryland became a varsity lacrosse program in 1924.
The Nittany Lions used a balanced offense and a solid defensive stand to take the 'W' back to University Park.
Penn State saw eight different players score goals and nine total players record points.
Sophomore middie Jack Kelly led the Nittany Lions with three goals for his sixth multi-goal performance and his fifth hat-trick of the year. Kelly also added an assist for four points.
Junior attackman Mac O'Keefe also recorded four points scoring two goals and dishing out two assists. O'Keefe is now at 124 career goals, just three goals shy of tying Will Driscoll's (1999-2002) Penn State Career Goals Record of 127. He also now has 38 goals on the year.
Senior Nick Spillane had a three-point performance with two goals and an assist.
Redshirt junior Grant Ament, redshirt freshmen Dan Reaume and freshman Jack Traynor each recorded two points as Ament dished out two assists, Traynor scored two goals, and Reaume tallied one of each.
Redshirt junior Dylan Foulds, sophomore Cole Willard and freshman TJ Malone all recorded a goal.
Ament is now has 48 assists this season and 112 for his career.
At the 'x,' junior Gerard Arceri recorded 10 ground balls for a career-high in a Big Ten game. He also went 18 of 26 for the game for 69.2-percent.
Junior Colby Kneese stood tall in cage, recording seven saves and earning his eighth win of the season.
Senior defenseman Chris Sabia recorded two caused turnovers and three ground balls.
Penn State opened the game with an 8-1 first quarter, and though that seemed to set the tone for the game, Maryland would bring it back to 8-7 late in the third quarter after being able to hold the high-powered Penn State offense scoreless for 27:57 in the game. Penn State would score their eighth goal with 00:01 on the clock in the first, and their ninth goal would come at 2:04 in the third.
That goal at 2:04 came from Willard who was able to inject life back into the Nittany Lions as they then followed it up with a goal by Reaume less than a minute later to take a 10-7 lead into the fourth.
The two teams would each score three goals in the fourth, and the lead the Nittany Lions built ultimately paved the way for the win in College Park.
Penn State returns home for the first time since March 2 to host Ohio State on Sunday, April 7 at 7 p.m. in Panzer Stadium. The game will be aired on the Big Ten Network.
