Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 2/26/22
From Penn State Press Release
Aleric Fyock and the Penn State defense shut down one of the top teams in the country as the Nittany Lions upset No. 5 Yale 10-6 Saturday at Panzer Stadium. Jeb Brenfleck (Academy of the New Church) led the offensive effort with three goals and an assist to help the Lions improve to 2-3 on the season, while the Bulldogs dropped to 1-1.
After the teams battled to a 5-5 tie through two quarters, Penn State took control with three goals in the first six minutes of the second half. Mark Sickler (Hershey) started the run off an assist from Will Peden (Malvern Prep). Brenfleck followed with a goal and then assisted on the third goal of the run, which was scored by Jack Kelly.
Those were the only three goals of the quarter as Penn State held Yale scoreless thanks to four saves by Fyock. He made nine saves in the second half while holding the Bulldogs to just one goal.
Yale’s one goal in the second half cut Penn State’s lead to 8-6 with 4:50 to play. The Lions responded with goals by Sickler and Mac Costin (Haverford School) to get the four-goal win.
Between Yale’s goal with 8:46 to play in the second quarter and its next score with 4:50 to play in the fourth quarter, Penn State held the Bulldogs scoreless for 33:56 of play. Fyock made 12 saves during that stretch.
Fyock’s big game came after a tough start. Yale scored on its first shot just 33 seconds into the game and then took a 2-0 lead just 2:09 into the game on its third shot. From there, Fyock stopped 20 of the next 24 shots he faced.
Penn State countered Yale’s two quick goals with a 5-0 run to take a 5-2 lead after one quarter. Brenfleck had two goals during the run, while Kelly, Jack Traynor (Malvern Prep) and Costin each scored once.
Traynor’s goal came on an impressive defensive effort. On the ride, he deflected a pass attempt intended for the Yale goalie that misdirected the ball past the keeper.
Including Brenfleck’s four, Penn State received nine points from freshmen in the contest. Ethan Long tallied three assists, while Will Peden chipped in with two. Peden entered the game as one of just two freshmen in the country to rank in the top 20 in assists/game.
Costin, Kelly and Sickler each scored two goals for Penn State. Traynor scored once and added an assist. He is averaging 4.6 points through five games.
Senior Brayden Peck (Avon Grove) played a pivotal role in Penn State’s dominant defensive effort, leading the team with three caused turnovers. Pup Buono (Malvern Prep), Traynor, and Jack Posey each caused two turnovers, while Sam Sweeney, Sickler and Kevin Parnham caused one apiece.
Parnham paced the Lions in ground balls with four, while Sweeney was right behind him with three. Grant Haus, Costin, Kelly, Traynor, and Sutton Boland picked up one ground ball apiece. Chris Fake (Hun School) had two groundballs and a caused turnover while Bryce DeMuth (Avon Grove) had two groundballs to lead the Yale defense.
