University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Penn State
Rastivo & Keenan Lead Tar Heels To 14-10 Win Over Penn State
February 11, 2012 | Men's Lacrosse
Feb. 11, 2012
Listen to Coach Breschi's Post-Game Comments (mp3)
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KENNESAW, GA. - Steven Rastivo made a career-high 18 saves and R.G. Keenan won a career-high 19 face-offs to power sixth-ranked North Carolina to a 14-10 victory over 17th-ranked Penn State Saturday before a crowd of 6,913 in the fourth annual Southern Showdown played at Kennesaw State University's Soccer Stadium. The game marked the 2012 men's lacrosse opener for both teams.
After a brief tie at 1-1, North Carolina led the rest of the game but the Nittany Lions always stayed within striking distance, twice cutting the lead to three goals after Carolina achieved its initial five-goal cushion at 8-3. Carolina's biggest lead of the game came at 11-5 with 9:13 to play in the third quarter.
Several newcomers were involved in UNC's 14-goal outburst as junior transfer Davey Emala (from Georgetown) led the Heels with four goals and an assist while freshman Jimmy Bitter and junior tri-captain Marcus Holman each had three goals with Holman also adding a helper. Graduate student transfer Jack McBride (from Princeton) also scored twice for the Tar Heels, who will play Mercer Sunday at the Lovett School in Atlanta at 1 p.m.
UNC's other goals came from senior Jimmy Dunster, who also had an assist, and sophomore midfielder Mark McNeill.
Sophomores Pat Foster and Duncan Hutchins had three and two assists, respectively, as Carolina registered assists on 10 of 14 goals. It was a career high assist total for Foster, who started on attack with Holman and freshman Joey Sankey. Hutchins matched his career high for assists. He also had two against UMBC last year. Sophomore midfielders Will Campbell and Greg McBride also had assists for Carolina (1-0).
Three different Nittany Lions (0-1) scored two goals each - Matthew Mackrides, Kyle VanThof and Nick Dolik. Jack Forster led PSU with a trio of assists. Also scoring for PSU were Shane Sturgis with a goal and an assist while Tom LaCrosse, Ryan Link and Pat Manley had single titles for the team from Happy Valley.
Rastivo, who transferred to UNC from Penn State in January 2010, was brilliant in goal for the Tar Heels as he made a career high 18 saves and had a career high eight ground balls. He had 12 of his saves in the second half as Carolina protected an 8-5 halftime lead against an onslaught of 22 second half shots by the Lions. Rastivo's previous career high for saves was 13, which he achieved twice last season, against Maryland on March 26, 2011 and against Notre Dame on May 6, 2011. His previous career high for ground balls was four set against Ohio State as a freshman and Maryland as a sophomore.
R.G. Keenan was equally instrumental in the victory as he won 19 of his 27 face-off attempts in the match while snaring seven ground balls. Keenan's previous high for face-offs won was 18, which he accomplished three times last season -- against Navy, Duke and Dartmouth. Keenan was only four face-off wins shy of the school record of 23 established by Shane Walterhoefer against Ohio State on April 21, 2008.
Overall, UNC outshot the Nittany Lions 44-37 and won the key ground ball battle 40-28. Rastivo with eight and Keenan with seven led Carolina in ground balls while seniors Jimmy Dunster and Mark Staines each had four. Ryan Link led the Nittany Lions in ground balls with give.
UNC won 21 of 30 face-offs overall. UNC committed 15 turnovers to only 13 by the Lions. Both teams were successful in the clearing game with UNC going 17 for 21 and Penn State 15 of 18.
All-America goalkeeper Austin Kaut went all the way in goal for Penn State and made 15 saves and had two ground balls.
Carolina was whistled for six penalties and Penn State took advantage by scoring three extra-man goals. UNC scored one extra-man goals on two tries.
Carolina opened the scoring on an unassisted goal by Mark McNeill 2:33 into the match as McNeill's lazer beat Kaut to his stick-hand side. The Lions tied the game with 10:15 to go in the opening frame on an extra-man tally by Pat Manley off a feed by Shane Sturgis. UNC took the lead for good with 9:15 to play in the opening period as Jimmy Dunster canned an outside shot off an assist by Davey Emala.
Neither team scratched again in the opening frame. A minute and a half into the second quarter, Dunster and Emala switched roles with Emala tallying his first goal in a UNC uniform as the Hells went up 3-1. Less than a minute later Marcus Holman finished off the doorstep off a feed by Pat Foster. Jack McBride then beat his man one-on-one to score at 9:23 and the Heels were up 5-1.
Link scored off the ensuing face-off making it 5-2. Neither team then tallied for nearly five minutes, but the last 4:40 of the half featured three goals for each squad. Holman scored his second goal of the game, assisted by Hutchins, at 4:40. Nick Dolik answered for PSU at 3:08 but Carolina responded 36 seconds later on a wicked worm burner by Jimmy Bitter off Will Campbell's assist. In a scramble off the next face-off, Greg McBride scooped up a ground ball and fed Jack McBride for a goal with 2:17 to play.
UNC's five-goal lead would not last for long as Sturgis' unassisted goal with 1:27 left was followed 1:08 later by an EMO tally by Matthew Mackrides to cut the lead to 8-5 at intermission.
Carolina came out strong in the second half. Just 1:23 into the third quarter Emala scored his second goal and 58 seconds later, Holman scored his third of the game off an assist by Foster. With 9:13 left in the period, Holman got his third and final goal, with Foster providing another assist. The extra-man tally was UNC's only such score of the game.
Penn State did not go quietly. Unassisted goals by Dolik and Tom LaCrosse cut UNC's lead to four with 6:36 left in the third period and when Kyle VanThof beat Rastivo high 25 seconds into the fourth quarter Carolina's lead was down to three goals again.
The Tar Heels had the correct response, however, as Bitter scored at 12:51, off Foster's third assist, and Emala got his fourth goal 34 seconds later, off a helper by Hutchins, to make it 13-8 Carolina with 12:17 to play.
Both teams had trouble hanging on to the ball down the stretch with nine combined turnovers in the fourth quarter. Penn State scored its third man-up goal at 8:36 of the quarter but Bitter's third goal, this one unassisted, with 3:20 to play iced the win.
This marks the 14th straight year that Carolina has won its season opener. The last time Carolina failed to win its opener was February 22, 1998 when it lost to Butler 13-12.
The win kept UNC perfect against the Nittany Lions all-time as UNC now leads the series 10-0. It was the first meeting since March 6, 1996 when Carolina defeated the Nittany Lions 18-9 in Chapel Hill.
