For a team that was averaging just 8.75 goals, scoring 10 in one game seemed unlikely, let alone 10 in one quarter.

That was exactly the case for the Penn State men's lacrosse team (4-5, 2-1 ECAC) in its 19-13 victory against No. 15 Hobart (5-4, 1-2) Saturday. Heading into the game, the Nittany Lions had scored 10 or more goals only three times. Against Hobart, they came out and scored 10 in the first quarter, by far the most goals they have had in a single quarter, en route to 19 for the game.

It was the second straight game with double-digit goals, and the first time the Lions had posted back-to-back wins this season. Penn State beat Mount St. Mary's 14-5 on April 5.

"We've had a tough beginning of the season, but we're coming together," Penn State attackman John Eremus said. "We've been working hard on shooting, and we finally came together today for the big win."

The sudden offensive cohesiveness that was lacking for the Lions prior to the last two games can be traced back to attackman Brian Boyle and faceoff specialist Greg Gurenlian. The two have played spectacularly in the last two games.

Boyle has had three points in both of those games. Against Mount St. Mary's, he had two goals and an assist, followed by three assists Saturday. Coming into the year, Penn State coach Glenn Thiel had high expectations for Boyle, but a torn hamstring limited Boyle earlier in the season. He was expected to take over the ball-handling duties and run the offense, allowing junior Nate Whitaker, whose scoring streak has been extended to 36 games, to play off the ball. As he has gotten healthier, Boyle's play has gotten stronger.

"Boyle is huge," Whitaker said. "Boyle has given us an attackman that can really possess the ball. It's impossible to take the ball away from the kid. He slows down our offense for us, and he's a dodging presence too. Boyle is such a great feeder, and he opens things up in the crease, which helps me a lot."

Whitaker has not been the only beneficiary of Boyle's great play. Eremus, who leads the team with 18 goals, has scored seven goals in the last two games. He credits Boyle for both his scoring and the offensive turnaround of the whole team.

"Boyle is unbelievable," Eremus said. "He's as quick as anyone. He runs by people all day and opens up the whole offense for us."

While Boyle has orchestrated the offense, he will be the first to tell you Gurenlian has been just as important.

"Greg's doing a great job on face-offs, giving us a lot of possessions," Boyle said. "A lot of possessions leads to a lot of shots. More shots seem to lead to more goals, so Greg has been huge for our offense."

Against Mount St. Mary's, Gurenlian won 16 of 21 faceoffs, and on Saturday, he got revenge against Hobart's John Soden, winning 21 of 32 faceoffs. Last year against Soden, Gurenlian was only 4-of-11 on faceoffs, and Penn State lost 8-7. In the last two games, Gurenlian has won nearly 70 percent of his faceoffs, giving the Lions a huge advantage in possessing the ball and setting up the offense.

"Face-off people win games," Eremus said. "When Greg has a good game, we win. He has had two great games in a row, so we have come out on top."

If the Lions hope to continue their great offensive play and have a shot at making the playoffs, Gurenlian and Boyle must continue doing what they have done the past two games.