April 21, 2008

By Wayne Staats Daily Collegian

April 21, 2008

UNIVERSITY PARK, PA (UWIRE) --

Drenched in sweat and rain, Max VanArsdale looked around, searching for answers he didn't have.

Unable to play consistently on offense, the Penn State men's lacrosse team lost to Rutgers, 8-4, yesterday at Jeffrey Field, leading to VanArsdale's disappointment with his team's early inability to gain control of groundballs and its failure to score on shots right in front of the net.

"It's frustrating," he said. "You don't want to embarrass yourself because you're still wearing that Penn State name on your chest."

VanArsdale and the rest of the offense struggled to make the most out of its scoring opportunities against the Scarlet Knights, as the Nittany Lions (5-7, 1-5 ECAC) were unable to put a rally together in the second half, never getting closer than two goals.

Although the wet field led to some slips, the constant rain in the second half had no adverse affect on gameplay, as Penn State acknowledged both teams had to deal with the weather.

"I have fun playing in the weather like this," goalie Drew Adams said. "It's not the ideal conditions, but at the same time, it's fun. So to have an element like this, it's not an excuse."

In the first two quarters, Rutgers (5-6, 3-2) made a habit of getting multiple groundballs that extended its possessions longer than the Lions would have liked.

The game could have quickly turned into a rout if it weren't for some stick saves by Adams and lucky bounces off the post and crossbar throughout.

Adams and the defense were forced to play on their heels for many stretches in the opening half. Rutgers would patiently bide its time until it was able to complete cross-field passes that caught the defense off-guard and caused coach Glenn Thiel to have his standard reaction of bowing his head down and burying his hands in his pockets.

Although the final stat box shows Penn State winning groundballs, 43-36, Rutgers' early dominance on gaining control of the ball frustrated both the team and the fans.

"It takes the air out of the ball a bit," VanArsdale said. "What you really need to do after that is you need to counter with a long possession, but it almost puts the pressure on. You feel like you need to go and do something right away because it's been so long since you've had the ball."

Each time Rutgers regained possession, collective groans resonated in the Penn State fan section, with some people even banging on the bleachers in frustration.

The Lion coaches also lost patience with yells that echoed through the wet stadium.

And in a game marred by more careful play in the first half, both the action and the rain picked up in the latter half.

Both teams were more aggressive around the ball, which led to some face-to-face contact that resulted in penalties.

This led to multiple transition chances for both teams. The only difference was Penn State sometimes would shoot the ball right at Rutgers goalie William Olin's chest, while the Knights would methodically work their way around Adams behind the goal to get point blank shots of their own.

And it was these long possessions that made it difficult for Penn State to put together a strong rally and were crucial in Penn State's inability to erase an early three-goal deficit.

"It's easy to lose focus with everything going on out there," Adams said.

"As a goalie, I just try to focus on the ball, if it's a 30-second possession or a 10-minute possession. The longer the possession, the easier it is for someone to relax and maybe let a guy cut through."

(C) 2008 Daily Collegian via UWIRE