COLUMBUS, Ohio – Penn State secured a home game in the quarterfinal round of the Big Ten Men's Lacrosse Tournament and kept the Creator's Trophy in Happy Valley with plenty of late-game heroics in a 10-9 win at Ohio State on Saturday.
Dylan Foulds scored two goals in a span of 45 seconds, the second of which was the eventual game-winner with 23 seconds to play, and Aleric Fyock made an incredible save in the closing seconds to give Penn State the much-needed victory. The Lions, who improved to 4-6 overall and in the Big Ten, clinched the No. 3 seed in the Big Ten Tournament and will host either Johns Hopkins or Michigan in the quarterfinal round on Saturday, May 1. The semifinal and championship rounds will be played at Panzer Stadium on May 6 and May 8, respectively.
It was a back-and-forth game throughout, most notably in the fourth quarter. Penn State tied it at 7-7 with a goal by Foulds with 12:01 left on the clock and then at 8-8 with a goal by Dan Reaume with 5:20 to play. Jack Myers then gave Ohio State its final lead with 4:02 showing on the clock.
With Ohio State up one and with possession of the ball with under two minutes to play, Penn State knew it needed to make something happen on defense to give its offense a chance. The Lions got what they needed in the form of a caused turnover by Sutton Boland, his second of the game, and a ground ball by Nick Cardile with 1:43 remaining in the game.
That set the stage for Foulds. His game-tying goal was a result of a heads-up play by Mac O'Keefe. The prolific goal scorer took a pass on the left side and saw the Ohio State defense sell out to that side thinking the NCAA's all-time leading scorer would go for the glory. Instead, O'Keefe found a wide-open Foulds in front of the crease. He beat the goalie with 1:08 to play for his second hat trick of the season.
Gerard Arceri came through in the clutch with a win on the ensuing faceoff, and Foulds scored the game-winner 45 seconds later. This time he went unassisted, beating the goalie from 13 yards out for his fourth goal of the game and his 14th of the season.
Ohio State won the next faceoff and got an unobstructed look from five yards out at the left hash mark. Fyock made a kick save that sent the ball out of bounds 20 yards down the field to secure the victory.
Fyock, a redshirt sophomore, was impressive in his first career start. He stopped 15 shots on 24 chances. Over his past three appearances, he has saved 36 of the 62 shots he faced for a .581 save percentage.
His final two goals made the difference in the end, but Foulds best goal of the game came early in the fourth quarter. Ohio State, which led 7-6 at the time, gained possession behind its own goal. Foulds immediately turned his effort to the ride and sent the Ohio State player's stick flying with a trail check right near the crease. He finished the play with a scoop and score to tie the game with a phenomenal individual effort.
The largest lead for either team was two goals when Ohio State went up 6-4 early in the third quarter, and that was only for 1:16 of game time. The teams were tied 2-2 after one quarter and 4-4 at the half. The Buckeyes held a 7-6 lead after three quarters.
Foulds's four goals came on five shots and upped his career total to 93. Reaume, O'Keefe and Malone each scored twice. Reaume added two assists, while O'Keefe had one. Freshman Mark Sickler tallied an assist, giving him at least one point in six-straight games.
Arceri did his job at the x, winning 13 of his 20 faceoffs while leading all players with seven ground balls. Cardile finished with four ground balls, while Canyon Birch and Boland had three apiece.
Boland led the team with two caused turnovers. John Nostrant, Foulds, Brayden Peck, and Grant Haus each caused one turnover.
Penn State ensured the Creator's Trophy will stay in Happy Valley, where it has been since they won it in 2016. The trophy goes to the team with the best record in games between Penn State, Michigan and Ohio State each season.
