State College, Pa. ¨C March 10, 2007 ¨C The Penn State Nittany Lion lacrosse team, under the guidance of veteran head coach Glenn Thiel, dropped a heart-breaking 10-8 decision to visiting Ohio State in non-conference men¡¯s lacrosse action today. The Nittany Lions scored the first four goals of the game but succumbed to a hot third period by OSU.

Penn State got off to a hot start in the game, scoring the first four goals of the game and leading 4-0 as the first period wound down. Chris Hogan (Wyckoff, N.J.) got the Nittany Loins started with a goal at the 10:49 mark, taking an assist from Brian Boyle (Derry, N.H.) and finding the back of the net. Boyle then tacked on a second goal six minutes later, scoring unassisted at the 5:12 mark.

Senior Matt Radecic (Mission Hills, Kan.) scored unassisted with 3:06 left and classmate Gil Pearsall (Carthage, N.Y.) got an unassisted goal with just 0:54 left to play in the opening period. With Penn State rolling, the clock was working its way down to the end of the period when OSU¡¯s Jason Lutz got hot. Lutz scored two unassisted goals in the first period¡¯s final 0:21 to get the Buckeyes back in the game. Lutz scored at the 0:21 mark and the 0:06 mark to make the score 4-2, Penn State, after one period.

After a high-scoring first period, matters settled down in the second with only three goals being scored overall. Penn State¡¯s Pearsall got his second goal of the game off a Matt Radecic assist at the 10:25 mark, putting Penn State up 5-2. But Ohio State would score the second period¡¯s last two goals and cut the Nittany Lion lead to just one at the break. Kevin Buchanan and Brian Lalley each scored for the Buckeyes, one at the 8:15 mark and one with 5:16 to play in the second, and Penn State led 5-4 at intermission.

The third period began with a Buckeye flurry as Lutz got this third goal and Joel Delgarno scored a man-up goal, all in the first four minutes. The two goals, combined with the final two of the second period, gave OSU a four-goal scoring streak and put Ohio State up 6-5. But Penn State answered with two goals to retake the lead. Rob Forster (Jenkintown, Pa.) scored off a Boyle assist at the 9:39 mark, tying the game at 6-6. Brian Shea (Gaithersburg, Md.) put Penn State up 7-6 with an unassisted goal at the 6:36 mark.

Ohio State, however, would score the game¡¯s next four goals. Kevin Buchanan scored at 5:57 and 2:57 to give OSU the lead back, 8-7. James Green scored with just 0:39 left in the third and the Buckeyes led 9-7 with one period to play.

The fourth quarter was a defensive struggle with each team scoring one goal. Delgarno scored Ohio State¡¯s last goal, an unassisted tally at the 8:40 mark. Boyle got PSU¡¯s final goal, unassisted, at the 6:18 mark, cutting the Buckeye lead to 10-8. The final six-plus minutes featured outstanding defense by both teams and the Buckeyes got out of Holuba Hall with a hard-fought 10-8 win.

Ohio State outshot Penn State 42-34. Nittany Lion goalie Drew Adams (Springfield, Pa.) collected 13 saves while Ohio State¡¯s Stefan Schroder had 11. Face-offs were a basic split with Ohio State winning nine and Penn State winning eight.

Penn State is now 0-4 on the year while Ohio State moves to 4-3. The Nittany Lions will take on Colgate this Tuesday, March 13. The neutral site game will be played at Georgetown Prep in North Bethesda, Md., and begins at 3:30 p.m.

GAME SUMMARY: Penn State 8, Ohio State 10

SCORING (Goal-Assist):
1st: PSU 10:49 (Hogan, Boyle), PSU 5:12 (Boyle), PSU 3:06 (Radecic), PSU 0:54 (Pearsall), OSU 0:21 (Lutz), OSU 0:06 (Lutz)
2nd: PSU 10:25 (Pearsall, Radecic), OSU 8:15 (Buchanan, Bentine), OSU 5:16 (Lalley, Buchanan)
3rd: OSU 11:53 (Lutz), OSU 10:59 (Delgarno, Ryan), PSU 9:39 (Forster, Boyle), PSU 6:36 (Shea), OSU 5:57 (Buchanan, Lalley), OSU 2:57 (Buchanan), OSU 0:39 (Green, Delgarno)
4th: OSU 8:40 (Delgarno), PSU 6:18 (Boyle)

GROUNDBALLS: PSU 24, OSU 27 ¨C EMO: PSU 0-4, OSU 1-4

SHOTS (SH-SOG): PSU 34-19, OSU 42-23

FACE-OFFS: PSU 8-17, OSU 9-17

GOALIE SUMMARY: PSU (Drew Adams 57:54, 10 GA, 13 SV; Greg Boyle 2:06 0 GA, 0 SV), OSU (Stefan Schroder 60:00, 8 GA, 11 SV)

 SCORE BY QUARTERS: 1 2 3 4 F PENN STATE 4 1 2 1 8 OHIO STATE 2 2 5 1 10 

RECORDS: Penn State 0-4, Ohio State 4-3

UP NEXT FOR PSU: Penn State vs. Colgate, Tuesday, March 13, 3:30 p.m. at Georgetown Prep, North Bethesda, Md.