Keenan rebounds; laxers top UMBC

Down 3-7 after the first quarter against Maryland-Baltimore County (UMBC) on Saturday, Penn State goalie Kevin Keenan knew his position was in jeopardy.

Earlier this week, the men's lacrosse coaches gave Keenan a warning -- improve or be replaced. Keenan listened to his coaches' advice and gave a stellar performance in the Nittany Lions' 14-11 defeat of No. 22 UMBC at Jeffrey Field.

"I haven't been doing my job," Keenan said. "I've been getting the goalie syndrome. Finally the coaches came to me and said to me this week, 'You are not doing your job, pick it up and get it going or were gonna put Matty (Vallone) in.' I am glad I responded to it. I just tried to fire myself up and get it going."

But it wasn't enough. The Retrievers stormed back with six more goals, all within the first quarter.

"The first quarter they beat the hell out of us and on our own field," Keenan said. "Those kids were scrappy, they came out fired up. They were doing what they had to do to win and we were not doing what we had to do to win."

Upon taking the field, the Retrievers appeared controlled and poised. The Lions, on the other hand, suffered from miscommunications and poor passes. Keenan watched as UMBC dominated possession and the ground balls and controlled most of the first quarter.

The defense watched as the Lions' offense experienced difficulties finding the open shot. Many Lion shots carried wide of the net or were aimed directly at UMBC goalie Andrew Hampson. While the Lions were missing, the Retrievers were still scoring.

"When they had the ball, they could score. We definitely knew that so we had to keep the ball out of their stick," Penn State attacker Chris Killoren said. "We played tough defense in the second half and I think the difference was that we just came together on offense. We kept them from getting the ball."

In the second half, the Lion offense got the ball between the pipes while the Lion defense kept the ball out of the goal. Numerous penalties left Penn State in man-down situations, but Penn State survived, inspired by its goalie.

The outstanding performance of Keenan helped keep Penn State in the game. Amidst a frenzied Retriever offense, Keenan kept cool and composed.

"He was the leader and he made some key saves," Penn State coach Glenn Thiel said. "When he's hot like that, we are able to beat just about anybody. So the fact that he is getting a higher number of saves for us, that is key."

Keenan fired himself up as well as his teammates and the Lion fans. After an 11-11 tie at the end of the third quarter, the Penn State offense took control of the game.

Appearing tired and strained, the Retrievers were unable to defend the tenacious Penn State attack. The Lions kept possession for the last half of the fourth quarter. The three Penn State goals in the period pushed the Lions ahead for their meaningful 14-11 victory.

"As a team, it shows that we can get down and come out," Keenan said. "It is one of those things you never like to find out about, but it is always nice to know that you can be down and climb yourself back into it."