No. 14 Penn State men’s lacrosse falls to No. 5 Maryland in overtime, 11-10
It was a heartbreaking weekend this past week for No. 14 Penn State men’s lacrosse (7-4, 1-1), who took on No. 5 Maryland at home on Sunday. Maryland a notorious lacrosse powerhouse, has always been a formidable rival of the men’s lacrosse program here at Penn State.
It was Maryland who began the tight, 21 goal game on Sunday with the opening goal with 12:39 left in the first quarter. Penn State rallied, and scored two unanswered goals, only to have Maryland pull ahead at 3-2 with a little more than six minutes left in the first. However, it was the trio of Grant Ament (Doylestown, Pa.), Kevin Hill (Webster, N.Y.), and Nick Aponte (West Islip, N.Y.) who came roaring back to leave the Lions up 5-3 at the first whistle.
The second quarter only brought more close scoring margins. The Maryland Terrapins once again catalyzed the scoring onslaught with a goal just under a minute into play. With just a one goal lead, Penn State began firing on all cylinders, notching a 3-0 scoring streak thanks to efforts from Mike Sutton (Sewell, N.J.) and TJ Sanders (Orillia, Ont.). Although the Lions had a comfortable lead, 8-4, Maryland was able to get away with three unanswered goals, once again leaving a scoring deficit of just one goal, 8-7 Penn State at halftime.
The Terps rushed into the third with a desire to score, tying up the game within the first two minutes of the third quarter. Freshman standout Ament brought the Lions back in the lead with a goal, only to be complemented by another Terrapin goal. With a 9-9 tie to start the fourth, both teams knew it would be do or die.
The fourth quarter ended with a 10-10 score in regulation, and sudden death overtime quickly began.
Despite having a couple of chances in the golden goal overtime, Maryland was able to pull off a goal with less than a minute to go in OT, granting them the win, 11-10.
“I thought our guys played their hearts out on this field, and that’s what we asked them to do,” said head coach Jeff Tambroni. “They did it, but we just couldn’t make one more play at the end.”
Despite this tough loss, Penn State has arguably its most exciting game of the season against Johns Hopkins this Sunday evening, 7 p.m., at home. This game is part of Big Ten play, and is sure to be another riveting nail-biter, so be sure to mark your calendars!
It was Maryland who began the tight, 21 goal game on Sunday with the opening goal with 12:39 left in the first quarter. Penn State rallied, and scored two unanswered goals, only to have Maryland pull ahead at 3-2 with a little more than six minutes left in the first. However, it was the trio of Grant Ament (Doylestown, Pa.), Kevin Hill (Webster, N.Y.), and Nick Aponte (West Islip, N.Y.) who came roaring back to leave the Lions up 5-3 at the first whistle.
The second quarter only brought more close scoring margins. The Maryland Terrapins once again catalyzed the scoring onslaught with a goal just under a minute into play. With just a one goal lead, Penn State began firing on all cylinders, notching a 3-0 scoring streak thanks to efforts from Mike Sutton (Sewell, N.J.) and TJ Sanders (Orillia, Ont.). Although the Lions had a comfortable lead, 8-4, Maryland was able to get away with three unanswered goals, once again leaving a scoring deficit of just one goal, 8-7 Penn State at halftime.
The Terps rushed into the third with a desire to score, tying up the game within the first two minutes of the third quarter. Freshman standout Ament brought the Lions back in the lead with a goal, only to be complemented by another Terrapin goal. With a 9-9 tie to start the fourth, both teams knew it would be do or die.
The fourth quarter ended with a 10-10 score in regulation, and sudden death overtime quickly began.
Despite having a couple of chances in the golden goal overtime, Maryland was able to pull off a goal with less than a minute to go in OT, granting them the win, 11-10.
“I thought our guys played their hearts out on this field, and that’s what we asked them to do,” said head coach Jeff Tambroni. “They did it, but we just couldn’t make one more play at the end.”
Despite this tough loss, Penn State has arguably its most exciting game of the season against Johns Hopkins this Sunday evening, 7 p.m., at home. This game is part of Big Ten play, and is sure to be another riveting nail-biter, so be sure to mark your calendars!
