Penn State men’s lacrosse (4-6) spoiled No. 16 Ohio State’s (4-6) Senior Day Saturday afternoon in Columbus with a 10-9 victory.

The game was very evenly matched, as neither team could get much of a lead throughout the contest. Penn State’s win came down to back-to-back goals by Dylan Foulds in the final moments of the game, followed by a terrific save by Aleric Fyock.

How It Happened

Both teams traded possessions to open the game without any scoring. The following Nittany Lion possession had a few shots on goal, but Ohio State escaped once again.

Penn State was the first team to strike a goal about halfway through the first quarter. Dan Reaume managed to score the goal while taking a shot to his body.

It counted!

Dan Reaume's 7th goal of the year opens the scoring. #WeAre pic.twitter.com/IzGfT7y9Xu

— Penn State Men’s Lacrosse (@PennStateMLAX) April 24, 2021

Two minutes later, Tre Leclaire of Ohio State tied the game up at 1-1. Less than a minute later, the Buckeyes scored another goal, taking a quick 2-1 lead. Following the two quick scores, the intensity picked up tremendously on both sides of the ball for the teams, particularly on the Penn State side.

Who else but Mac O’Keefe tied up the game 2-2 with 20 seconds left in the first quarter.

The second quarter started much like the first. The two defenses stood strong and defended shots well, while also causing turnovers. At one moment, Penn State had an excellent stop on defense when a cutting Ohio State player was interrupted and caused a turnover.

The following play, TJ Malone made a strong dodge to take the lead for Penn State.

Malone gets it done himself to give us a 3-2 lead. #WeAre pic.twitter.com/TCnb6rYZa6

— Penn State Men’s Lacrosse (@PennStateMLAX) April 24, 2021

Ohio State was awarded a man-up with just under eight minutes left in the first half. The Buckeyes had not scored in 13 straight minutes when they received the opportunity and finally scored with just two seconds left on the advantage.

The offenses continued their struggles throughout the second quarter as both teams turned the ball over quite a bit. Ohio State managed to overcome its offensive struggles, however, and struck a fourth goal of the game at the end of the second quarter.

Dylan Foulds made an outstanding play and scored the fourth goal of the game for Penn State at the buzzer in the second quarter. The first half resulted in only two goals for both teams, and the score was tied 4-4 at halftime.

TJ Malone made a great move to open up the half, but Ohio State managed to somehow stop him. Right back at the other end, the Buckeyes responded with a goal by Leclaire.

A shot by O’Keefe was stopped inches from the goal line on the ground, and for the first time in the game, Ohio State went up two goals on the Nittany Lions after a Jackson Reid score.

Malone stopped the Buckeye momentum, bringing the Nittany Lions within one goal with a pretty score. Despite being awarded a man0up opportunity, the Buckeyes then forced a turnover, stopping the Nittany Lion momentum.

Yet again, O’Keefe was the one to tie the game up at six goals. Sloppy play by the Penn State offense led to an Ohio State possession where they took a one-goal lead. The Nittany Lions attempted to tie the game up going into the fourth quarter, but the shot missed and the Buckeyes kept their slim one-goal lead.

Ohio State stopped yet another Penn State goal, as the push was on for Jeff Tambroni’s team to tie up the game. After getting another stop on defense, Dylan Foulds forced an Ohio State turnover in front of the goal, scooped up the ball, and tied the game with around 12 minutes left.

The push was on to see who could score next, and the game became very intense. Ohio State struck a goal with just under seven minutes left in the game to give it an 8-7 advantage. Less than two minutes later, a big-time goal by Reaume tied up the game at 8-8.

On the following possession by Ohio State, it took a 9-8 lead, and the contest was suddenly full of scoring. Another turnover for the Nittany Lions ruined an opportunity to tie up the game, as Ohio State got possession, but then another turnover ensued. A third goal was scored by Dylan Foulds, as he tied up the game with just a minute left to go.

The Nittany Lions took the lead with a second goal by Fouls with just 45 seconds remaining. A ridiculous save by Fyock saved Penn State’s lead, and the Nittany Lions stole the game 10-9.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?"

Aleric Fyock with an incredible save and Penn State wins it! #WeAre pic.twitter.com/zeEQxgsmcK

— Penn State Men’s Lacrosse (@PennStateMLAX) April 24, 2021

Takeaways

• This was high intensity throughout, as both teams were in search of momentum entering the Big Ten Tournament. After a bit of a slow start in the first few minutes, it picked up quickly after the teams traded goals. You could feel how much this game meant to each squad, as they hoped to stay hot at this time of the year.
• Aleric Fyock was a big key to the Nittany Lions’ success on defense today. The sophomore seemed to stop practically anything that came at him. Fyock had eight saves alone in the first half. The goalie is hot and should continue to come up big for Penn State in the Big Ten Tournament. In addition to Fyock, the Penn State defense was on its game today and came up huge on multiple plays. The unit did everything it needed to keep the momentum going strong for the most important time of the year.
• Turnovers, turnovers, and more turnovers. This was the theme throughout the game as both teams struggled on offense. Every single time it seemed like a team would have an opportunity to really take a strong lead, there was a turnover caused or forced. The two teams had a combined 29 turnovers in the game, and it showed on both sides.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions will play next Saturday, May 1 in the Big Ten Tournament at Panzer Stadium. Their opponent and time has yet to be decided.