Once again for men’s lacrosse, goalie Connor Darcey’s strong efforts were not enough for a Penn State victory. Despite Darcey’s goaltending and a four-goal performance from Pat Manley, the Nittany Lions fell to Johns Hopkins in an 11-10 double overtime heartbreaker on Saturday afternoon.

How It Happened

The Lions were down 2-0 until sophomore Mike Sutton put them on the board with 4:12 left in the first quarter. Johns Hopkins quickly answered Sutton, with three consecutive goals in the first half of the second quarter, giving the team a 6-1 lead. Penn State’s Dan Craig broke the streak on the extra man opportunity.

Things were looking up for Penn State as it initiated a five-goal run. Pat Manley found the net just before halftime to make it 6-3. Fifty-one seconds into the third quarter, Nick Aponte tallied yet another assist as he found Sutton to make it 6-4. Manley scored the next two, and it was a tie game at 7:23 into the third. TJ Sanders handed it off to Manley for the next one, giving Penn State its first lead of the game, 7-6 with 3:03 left in the third quarter. Johns Hopkins was not backing down, though, and the team answered with 1:12 left in the quarter to tie it up at 7-7.

Sanders opened the scoring in the fourth quarter with his 21st goal of the season, giving the Lions an 8-7 lead. Johns Hopkins superstar Ryan Brown responded just 38 seconds later with his fourth of the game to make it 8-8. In the same back-and-forth fashion this game showcased, Penn State’s Aponte scored to give the lead back to Penn State with 8:16 left in regulation play. Johns Hopkins answered under a minute later with Brown’s impressive fifth of the game. With 1:27 left in regulation, the Blue Jays struck again to give them a 10-9 lead.
Penn State showed resiliency though, and Sutton earned a hat trick and tied the match 10-10 with 33 seconds left in regulation. Unfortunately it wasn’t enough, as Johns Hopkins’ Joel Tinney scored the game winner with just seven seconds remaining in the second overtime period.

Player of the Game

Although he did not tally the most points of the game, Johns Hopkins’ Joel Tinney was the most valuable offensive player on the field. Of his four shots on goal, three found the back of the net. He  made two assists, showing versatility. His double overtime thriller earned him player of the day, though, considering he rounded out the scoring with seven seconds remaining.

Takeaways

• Connor Darcey impressed once again, with 13 saves on the day. This was his eighth game of the season with double-digit saves. He has managed to do this against the likes of Maryland and Johns Hopkins, two historically great teams.
• The resilience Penn State exuded in this game is invaluable. If it can keep that up, we can expect big things for the rest of the season (even if there is only one home game left).
• It’s been a rough first season for the Lions in the new Big Ten conference. Penn State sits in last place with a 3-8 overall record, and is just one of two teams (Rutgers) to remain winless in conference action.

What’s Next?

Penn State’s annual Senior Day is next Sunday, April 19, the final home game of the season. The game against Rutgers will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network.

Image: Mark Selders/GoPSUsports.com