VICTOR, N.Y.—The Hobart College lacrosse team cut a nine-goal third quarter deficit down to just two with 13 minutes remaining in its season opener against No. 15 Penn State University. However, the Nittany Lions regained their composure to score six of the final eight goals in a wild 21-15 win at Pinnacle Athletic Campus this afternoon.
 
PSU (2-0) got a second consecutive seven-point game from first-year Mac O'Keefe. After scoring seven goals against Robert Morris in the season opener last week, he added four goals and three assists today. Sophomore Nick Spillane also had four goals and three assists. Junior Ryan Keenan scored twice and assisted on three other goals. Sophomores Greg Ament and Kevin Hill both finished with four goals.
 
The Nittany Lions outshot the Statesmen 42-34, enjoyed a 44-20 advantage in ground balls, and won 27-of-38 faceoffs. Penn State first-year Greg Aceri won 22-of-31 faceoffs and picked up a game-high 10 ground balls. Senior Billy Lombardi was 5-of-7 at the X with two ground balls.
 
Hobart first-year Justin Scott was impressive in his debut, scoring a team-high four goals. Sophomores Chris Aslanian and Bryan Hancock each finished with a hat trick. Sophomore Stanny Gilbertson scored twice and senior Frank Brown had a goal and an assist. Junior Christopher Willman picked up a team-high five ground balls with Hancock adding four GBs.
 
Hill scored twice in the first quarter, including a man-up goal, while Spillane added a goal and an assist for a 5-2 lead after 15 minutes. O'Keefe started to heat up in the second quarter, firing home three goals as the Nittany Lions carried a 10-4 lead into halftime.
 
Penn State continued to control play early in the second half, using a 4-1 run to stretch its lead to 14-5 midway through the third quarter. Hobart refused to go down without a fight, rattling off eight of the next nine goals.
 
Senior Tanner John got the ball rolling followed about a minute later by Brown's tally. Just over a minute after that, Aslanian completed his hat trick to make it a 14-8 game. Scott sandwiched a pair of goals around a PSU score to make it 15-10 with 19 seconds left in the third quarter. On the ensuing faceoff, J Andrew Spallanzani picked up the win thanks to a ground ball by Willman. He fed senior Kevin Murphy who went to goal with time running out. His first shot of the year beat Penn State first-year goalie Colby Kneese and the end of the quarter by two seconds.
 
Just over a minute into the fourth quarter, Gilbertson fired one home from 15-yards out and 54 seconds later, Scott made it a two-goal game.
 
PSU stole the momentum back with back-to-back goals by Hill and Spillane, both setup by O'Keefe, and put the game out of reach with three goals inside the final three minutes.
 
Kneese made six saves (13 GA) in 47 minutes of work. Junior Will Schreiner played the final 13 minutes making one stop.
 
Hobart senior goalie Jackson Brown went the distance, making 10 saves.
 
The Statesmen will be back in action on Saturday, Feb. 18, when they host Siena College at Pinnacle Athletic Campus. The opening faceoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.