The No. 16 Penn State Nittany Lions (2-2) took on the Robert Morris University Colonials (2-2) on a rainy Saturday afternoon at Panzer Stadium. This game marked the final matchup of the Nittany Lions four-game home stand to open the season against a Robert Morris team that came to Happy Valley having lost its two games by three or fewer goals.

The Colonials would leave Panzer Stadium victorious, however, taking down Penn State 12-9 in an upset.

How It Happened

Penn State got on the board first with the opening goal coming from Matt Donnelly. It didn’t take too long for the Colonials to answer with a goal of their own, coming roughly three minutes after the Nittany Lions got on the board. Chris Sabia scored about 20 seconds after the goal from Robert Morris, giving the Nittany Lions a one-goal lead. Both teams were going back and forth with chances throughout the first period, with it finally ending at 3-2 in favor of Penn State after a goal from Kevin Hill with 3:02 to play in the quarter.

It didn’t take Gerard Arceri long to find the back of the net in the second period, scoring 13 seconds into the quarter. Nick Spillane scored next for Penn State, and gave the Nittany Lions a 5-2 lead early in the second. The Colonials came back and scored 3 unanswered goals to tie the game at 5-5 with 1:38 left in the half. Ryan Keenan gave Penn State a goal lead with 47 seconds left, but it was answered by a goal from Robert Morris with .8 seconds left to send the game into a 6-6 tie at halftime.

Donnelly opened up the scoring in the second half, giving the Nittany Lions a one goal advantage yet again in a slow third quarter. This goal was the score in a very sloppy quarter for both teams.

It only took the Colonials nine seconds into the fourth quarter to find the back of the net, tying the game up at 7-7. Jimmy Perkins got his second and third goals to give the Colonials a 9-7 lead. With 4:56 left in the fourth, Robert Morris added another goal to go up by three. Penn State began to chip away at the Colonials’ lead with a goal of their own from Keenan, only for it to be immediately answered by Robert Morris almost immediately. Robert Morris increased their lead to 4 goals with 2:20 left in the game. Hill got one back for Penn State in the final minute of the fourth, but it was not enough to stop the Colonials.

Player of the Game

Matt Donnelly | Attack | Junior

Despite the outcome of the game, Matt Donnelly put on a great performance for the Nittany Lions with two goals and an assist. His efforts were not enough to stop the upset, and looking ahead, the Nittany Lions will need to figure out how to produce more on offense.

What’s Next 

Penn State will head to Philadelphia for their next match up against the University of Pennsylvania Quakers on Saturday, March 3 at 1 p.m.