Penn State upset No. 11 Hofstra 11-10 Saturday night at Jeffrey Field after a hard fought overtime battle. Freshman Nick Dolik scored three goals on the day, including the game-winner in overtime, while sophomore Matt Mackrides contributed four goals of his own in the victory.
The upset against the Pride was only the second win for PSU (2-9, 1-2Colonial Athletic Conference) on the season, while Hofstra falls to 7-4 and 1-3 in the CAA.
The Pride dominated the first half, as they went up 7-2, but a pair of goals late in the second quarter courtesy of Mackrides narrowed the scoring gap and brought the Nittany Lions within three goals before halftime.
PSU managed to come out strong in the third quarter, as Mackrides put away yet another goal at the 10:41 mark. Dolik tacked on another score, as PSU came back from a five-goal deficit to tie the score 7-7.
The Pride were finally able to halt Penn State’s scoring spree when Brad Loizeaux scored and put the Pride back on top with 1:34 remaining in the third quarter. Dolik responded with another goal with just 12 seconds remaining, however, and the game was once again tied. The teams continued to swap goals in the fourth quarter until the game was sent into overtime.
Overtime was short lived, as Dolik won the face-off and buried the game-winner just 50 seconds into overtime. Dolik earned CAA Rookie of the Week honors for his efforts.
Tigers in First Place in CAA
Towson topped seventh-ranked Drexel, 8-7, last Saturday at Johnny Unitas Stadium after overcoming a two-goal deficit in the third quarter, propelling the Tigers to first place in the CAA.
Towson struck first when sophomore attackman Matt Lamon scored just five seconds into the game off the opening face-off. The Dragons were able to respond just a minute later, however, when senior attackman Colin Ambler tied the game at 1-1, scoring his 19th goal of the season. The teams continued to trade goals, tying the score at 3-3 at the end of the first period. Drexel had the edge going into intermission, however, as it led 5-4 after Adam Dennis scored an unassisted goal with just nine seconds left in the period. The Dragons tacked on yet another goal early in the third quarter, going up 6-4. The Tigers rallied in the fourth quarter, scoring four straight goals to turn the two-goal deficit into a two-goal lead.
Drexel scored one more goal with 7:55 left in the game when freshman attackman Robert Church tallied his 27th goal of the season. The Dragons caught a break with nine seconds remaining after a penalty and had a chance to tie up the game yet again. Church took a shot from 18 yards away, but goalkeeper Travis Love stopped the attempt as time ran out to clinch the Tiger victory.
With the victory, Towson’s record improves to 5-5 and 3-0 in the CAA, while the Drexel falls to 9-3 and 2-1.
Dickson earns POW honors
Delaware senior attackman Curtis Dickson was selected as the Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Week for the week of April 18. Dickson had a standout performance after the Blue Hens upset No. 16 Massachusetts 9-6 Saturday at Delaware Stadium.
Dickson is no stranger to receiving accolades, as he was honored back on Feb. 22 and March 8 of this year. He also received honors once in 2009, three times in 2008, and once back in 2007.
Dickson contributed heavily to the win against the Minutemen after scoring three goals, including a man-up game-winner with just 10 minutes left to play. The victory halted a two-game losing streak while keeping the Blue Hens’ postseason hopes alive. Dickson will be entering this coming Saturday’s match-up against CAA rival Drexel with 45 goals and 57 points on the season, needing just eight points to reach the 200-point mark for his career.
He currently leads the nation in total points and ranks second in total goals, points per game, and goals per game.
The game against UMass was Dickson’s eighth hat trick of the season while it extended his scoring streak to 21 straight games and 51 straight games with a point.
Dickson and the Blue Hens’ regular season will come to an end Saturday as they face-off against the Drexel Dragons at 7 p.m. at their home stadium.
Kara Deyermenjian can be reached at [email protected].
