PSU Scores Final Five, Upsets No. 19 Rutgers
from press release
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State men's
lacrosse team rode the strong offense of freshman Shane Sturgis
(Downingtown, Pa.) to an 11-6 win over No. 19 Rutgers on Saturday
at Penn State's Bigler Field. Sturgis scored four goals and had an
assist to spark the Nittany Lions to the win over the ranked
Scarlet Knights, handing Rutgers its first loss of the year.
Sturgis' five-point burst helped Penn State offset an early
Rutgers lead. The Scarlet Knights scored the game's first two goals
quickly, getting scores from Andrew D'Agostino and Scott Klimchak
in the first three minutes of play. Senior Colton Vosburgh (Kennett
Square, Pa.) got Penn State back into the game quickly, however,
netting unassisted goals with 8:27 and 6:52 on the clock to tie the
game. Penn State took its first lead off a Gavin Ahern (Rockville
Centre, N.Y.), with an assist from Kyle VanThof (Penfield, N.Y.),
with 1:49 left in the opening period. Rutgers' Duncan Clancy tied
the game with just :35 left in the period but Penn State junior
Jack Forster (Jenkintown, Pa.) took a VanThof pass and scored with
just :12 left on the clock to put Penn State up 4-3 at the end of
the period.
Vosburgh scored his third goal of the game off a Sturgis assist
with 1:42 on the clock and Forster netted his second off a Matthew
Mackrides (Newtown Square, Pa.) pass to give Penn State a 6-3 lead
with just over 10:00 left in the half. Rutgers cut into Penn
State's lead when Michael Diehl scored with 1:01 left, sending the
Nittany Lions into intermission with a 6-4 lead.
Rutgers was able to control play for much of the third period and
completed a comeback with two Anthony Terranova goals, one with
9:32 left and one with 1:49 on the clock. Terranova's second goal
tied the game at 6-6, erasing a three-goal Penn State lead. But
Sturgis took over with just :05 left in the third period, scoring
an unassisted goal to give Penn State a 7-6 lead, a lead it would
never relinquish.
Sturgis ended the game by scoring four of Penn State's last five
goals (including the final goal of the third period). He scored at
the 11:51 mark and then again four minutes later with 8:11 left.
Mackrides notched an unassisted goal with 5:58 to play and Sturgis
iced the contest with an unassisted goal at the 3:12 mark to close
out the scoring in the game.
Freshman goalie Austin Kaut (Morton, Pa.) was outstanding in goal
once again, allowing only six goals against 39 Rutgers shots (21 on
goal). Kaut also had 15 saves three ground balls. Sophomore Danny
Henneghan (Beverly Hills, Mich.) won 12 of 21 face offs and had a
game-high eight ground balls as well. Senior defender Matt Bernier
(Drexel Hill, Pa.) anchored a strong Penn State defense, collecting
six ground balls. Ryne Sternberg (Toronto, Ontario) had three.
Rutgers outshot Penn State 39-27, but Penn State owned a 22-21 shot
on goal edge. The Nittany Lions won 12 of 21 face-offs and forced
Rutgers into 17 turnovers (while committing only 15 themselves).
Rutgers won the ground balls battle 38-32. The Nittany Lions
connected on one of five man-up opportunities while hold Rutgers
scoreless on five attempts.
Penn State is now 2-3 on the year while Rutgers falls to 4-1. The
Nittany Lions will return to action in Amherst, Mass., when they
open up CAA play at UMass on Saturday, March 19, at 12 p.m.
