Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 4/30/17
From Press Release
Behind a monster performance from senior captain Nick Aponte, the 10th-ranked Penn State men’s lacrosse team (12-2, 3-2 Big Ten) defeated Michigan (8-6, 0-5 Big Ten), 17-13, on Sunday inside Michigan Stadium.
With the victory, the 2017 team matched the program record for wins with 12 following the 17-13 win. Only the 2013 NCAA tournament team had recorded 12 wins before. The team also set a new mark for wins in a Big Ten conference season, notching its third of the year against Michigan.
Penn State’s 17 goals were the most ever scored by a Penn State team in Big Ten conference game.
Aponte led Penn State with a record-setting nine-point performance. With five goals and four assists, the captain broke the Penn State records for goals and points in a Big Ten conference game.
Freshman Mac O’Keefe also recorded a historic performance against the Wolverines. The rookie scored four goals, logging a new freshman record for goals in a season with 46 to date. Sophomore attackman Grant Ament finished with three assists.
Senior midfielder Dan Craig added an impressive four-point performance, scoring his third career hat trick while tacking on an assist.
Midfielders Kevin Hill, Matt Florence, Mike Sutton and Ryan Keenan and attackman Dylan Foulds scored a goal each. Hill and classmate Nick Spillane both added assists. Senior midfielder Tyler Chambers (Episcopal Academy) logged a team-high four groundballs and added an assist.
Many other Philly grads made key contributions for both teams. For Penn State, Mike Sutton (St Augustine Prep) had a goal and a groundball; Grant Ament (Haverford School) had three assists, two caused turnovers and a groundball; and defenseman Chris Sabia (Haverford School) had three groundballs and two caused turnovers.
For Michigan, Chase Young (St. Joseph’s Prep) had an assist, two caused turnovers and two groundballs; LSM Nick DeCaprio (St. Augustine Prep) had seven groundballs; and defenseman Stefan Bergman (La Salle) had three caused turnovers and a groundball.
Penn State enters the Big Ten Tournament as the fourth seed, facing top-seeded Maryland, with the two going toe-to-toe on Thursday, May 4, at 5 p.m. inside Jesse Owens Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. First faceoff is set for 5 p.m., with the game set to air live on the Big Ten Network.
The Turning Point
With 10:58 left in the game, Keenan bolted down the alley before firing a shot off into the bottom right corner of the goal. On the ensuing faceoff, Billy Lombrdi flung the ball out to Chambers who scooped it up. Chambers darted down field, finding Aponte on the crease, who buried the shot to go up four. The goals sparked Penn State’s 4-0 run to put the game out of reach.
Difference Makers
Penn State
Nick Aponte – The senior captain put on a show, scoring five goals and adding four assists for nine-point performance. The output broke records for points by an individual in a Big Ten game, goals by an individual in a Big Ten game and points in a Big Ten season (22).
Mac O’Keefe – The rookie logged four goals en route to breaking Penn State’s freshman scoring record. With 46 goals this season, O’Keefe needs just four more goals to earn the program record for single season goals.
Dan Craig – The senior logged his first hat trick of the season and tacked on an assist for a season-best four point performance. The senior has now logged seven goals in the past three games.