Ament Breaks B1G Points Record in No. 1 Penn State's 12-10 Loss to No. 3 YaleAment Breaks B1G Points Record in No. 1 Penn State's 12-10 Loss to No. 3 Yale
Mark Selders

Ament Breaks B1G Points Record in No. 1 Penn State's 12-10 Loss to No. 3 Yale

Box Score

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – No. 1 Penn State made an impressive comeback attempt but couldn't overcome an early five-goal deficit in a 12-10 loss to No. 3 Yale in a non-conference men's lacrosse matchup between two of the nation's top teams on Saturday. The game was played in front of a Panzer Stadium-record crowd of 2,478 fans.
 
Penn State dropped to 3-1, while Yale improved to 2-0. Virginia, the second-ranked team in the USILA Coaches Poll also lost Saturday, falling to Princeton, and Maryland, the fourth-ranked team, lost to Villanova on Tuesday.
 
In a surprise to many, the game was low scoring throughout, including a first quarter that saw Yale take a 2-1 lead. The Bulldogs struck first with a goal just 28 seconds into the game, but Penn State tied it up with a great individual play by Mac O'Keefe just over three minutes later. O'Keefe showed he's more than just one of the best offensive players in the nation, coming up for the ride on a Yale clear attempt, forcing the turnover and then picking it up himself before beating the goalie one-on-one to tie it up.
 

 
Neither team scored for the next nine minutes, 41 seconds before Yale took a 2-1 lead on a goal by Thomas Bragg. That started a 5-0 run by the Bulldogs that gave them a 6-1 lead with 5:05 to play in the opening half.
 
Much of Yale's early success was the result of the play from TD Ierlan, a Tewaaraton finalist last season along with Penn State's Grant Ament. He won the first eight faceoffs of the game.
 
Penn State got back in the contest and gave itself momentum with a pair of goals late in the second quarter. O'Keefe scored his second unassisted goal of the game with 3:18 left on the clock, and Jack Kelly brought the Lions within three, 6-3, off an assist from Jack Traynor with 1:31 left in the half.
 
Gerard Arceri, who along with Ierlan is one of the best at the faceoff 'x' in the nation, turned things around in the second half and helped Penn State nearly come back to tie the game multiple times. Arceri won eight of 15 faceoffs over the final two quarters.
 
Trailing 7-3 midway through the third quarter, Penn State went on a 3-0 run to pull within one, 7-6. Ament factored in on all three goals, assisting on scores by Dylan Foulds and TJ Malone before scoring one of his own with 3:04 left in the quarter. That goal gave Ament 267 career points, breaking the previous Big Ten record of 266 by Johns Hopkins' Terry Riordan (1992-95). Riordan also holds the Big Ten career goals record, which O'Keefe is three goals away from breaking.
 

 
A huge turning point in the game came early in the fourth quarter. Traynor made it a one-score game with a goal 2:23 into the quarter, and it appeared that the Lions tied the game just over four minutes later. A Penn State goal was waved off due to an offsides call, and Yale took advantage of the opportunity with a goal at the other end 34 seconds later to go up 9-7.
 
Yale would up its lead to 12-8 before Penn State had a late comeback attempt. Malone scored with 1:36 to play, and Kelly scored with 37 seconds showing on the clock to make it a two-goal game.
 
Arceri won the ensuing faceoff to keep the Lions' chances alive. They took four shots in the final 30 seconds, one that was saved by Yale's Brody Wilson and three that were off target.
 
Wilson made eight saves and allowed 10 goals to get the win for Yale. Colby Kneese was outstanding for the second-straight week for Penn State, stopping 16 of the 28 shots he faced. He was out of the crease for one of those scores.
 
Ament finished with six points on one goal and five assists. He factored in on six of the team's final seven goals. O'Keefe, Malone and Kelly all scored two goals for Penn State. Foulds, Traynor and Kevin Hill had one apiece. Traynor added one assist.
 
Yale had 23 turnovers, 11 of which were caused by Penn State players. O'Keefe and Nick Cardile each caused three turnovers, while Bobby Burns caused two. Hill, Brayden Peck and Tommy Wright added one apiece. Wright also contributed four ground balls, while O'Keefe chipped in with three.
 
Nine different Yale players scored in the win, led by Christin Cropp, Matt Brandau and Matt Gaudet with two apiece.
 
Penn State won't be back at Panzer Stadium until March 21, with the next three games being played on the road or at a neutral site. The first of those games is at No. 7 Penn on Saturday, Feb. 29. The Quakers beat No. 10 Duke 14-11 on Saturday.