No. 9 Penn State men’s lacrosse (2-0) had itself a field day in a 27-10 win against Robert Morris (0-1) on Saturday. The team broke its record for most goals in a game, passing the 26 mark set in 1976 against Lafayette.

The wealth was shared all around with 15 players scoring for Penn State, including five from Mac O’Keefe and four from freshman TJ Malone. Grant Amant was the biggest playmaker on the day, nabbing himself six dimes.

How It Happened

Despite the offense onslaught shown on the scoreboard, neither team got on the board until 9:26 to go in the first period. O’Keefe struck first, but Robert Morris kept the pressure up on the Nittany Lions, replying right back with a goal of its own. It was 3-2 Penn State with five minutes to go in the first, but after Dan Reaume scored less than a minute later, it was all Penn State.

The rest of the game was goals, goals, goals. O’Keefe completed his hat trick and then some with four scores coming off his stick in the second period. Nick Spillane and Jack Kelly both got their names in the stat sheet with two a piece. Kevin Fox and Brain Townsend made their scoring debuts on the year with Townsend getting his a man up and Amant finding Fox for a clean shot at goal.

By halftime, the game already had the makings of a blowout. Penn State scored 12 times in the second period, with the Colonials only managing to score once. With the Nittany Lions up 18-3 at the start of the third, anything seemed possible.

There was no second half slump for Penn State. More players got their first of the year as the scoreboard kept lighting up. Nick McEvoy got his from O’Keefe with Malone getting another soon after as Penn State reached 20. Bobby Burns and Barrett Sutley got their firsts, along with freshman Jack Traynor.

Penn State was able to push their lead all the way to 25 goals with 4:34 to go in the third, but it was Robert Morris’ turn now. The Colonials went on a 5-0 run from the end of the third to the start of the fourth. Robert Morris had not gone quietly over the game — The Colonials had 36 shots to Penn State’s 46.

Solid defense and excellent saves from Colby Kneese had kept the Colonials at bay up until this point. After Kneese was subbed out in the third, backups Dylan Sulzbach and Trevor Scollins tried to hold the fort. Sulzback stopped all three shots he faced, but when Scollins was subbed in during the fourth, the team struggled. Alongside his fellow backups on defense, Scollins let in six goals. But while the team’s win was all but guaranteed, the record was not.

Freshman Jack Traynor tied the record with a goal at the 12:07 mark, making it a 26-9 Penn State lead. Time was on their side as the Lions buckled down during a Robert Morris attack that resulted in a goal for the Colonials. As soon Penn State regained possession, freshman Nate Buller made his Nittany Lions scoring debut in the biggest way possible, getting that 27th goal and helping his team break their single game scoring record.

Takeaways

• While the score certainly doesn’t seem close, Robert Morris and Penn State were neck and neck in shots by the end of the game, with Penn State having the slight advantage at 51-50.
• Faceoff ace Gerard Arceri looked stunning as always for Penn State, going 11-13 on the day. He even got himself a goal.
• Mac O’Keefe was a sharpshooter, getting eight of his 10 shots on goal with five of them making their way in.
• Four freshman scored for Penn State, including TJ Malone who has seven goals in the first two games of the season.

What’s Next

The Nittany Lions hope to continue their early season domination as they visit Stony Brook. The game will be on February 16 at 12 p.m.