Penn State men’s lacrosse (1-0) opened its season with an impressive 20-15 victory over Lafayette (0-1) Saturday at Holuba Hall.

The game was very up and down throughout, as the Leopards put together two-goal leads at several different points. However, Jeff Tambroni’s squad managed a strong offensive effort in the second half to come out on top in the season opener.

How It Happened

The scoring started early for both Penn State and Lafayette. Both teams found the back of the net within the first minute of the game, and that flurry of scoring left the Leopards with a 2-1 lead early.

The Nittany Lions tied the game very soon after that, and eventually took the lead. Tambroni’s squad held a 6-5 lead with 3:49 left in the first quarter. Scores from Brian Townsend, Will Peden, and Jack Kelly helped pace that early effort for Penn State.

Penn State had a big time man-down stop early, but that did not stop Lafayette from scoring a goal at even strength on that possession, tying the game 6-6 at the end of the first quarter.

The second quarter was not ideal for the Nittany Lions, as they allowed Lafayette to score two goals very early and jump out to an 8-6 margin. However, Kelly and freshman Nils Barry stayed hot on offense to make it 9-9. Face-off man Jake Glatz was successful on two consecutive draws, which was key for Penn State in keeping possession and upping the pressure on Lafayette’s defense.

After Lafayette scored its tenth goal of the game, Penn State pulled junior goalie Aleric Fyock in exchange for true freshman Jack Fracyon.

After causing a turnover on the man down, Penn State’s long stick midfielder, Sam Sweeney, made a heads-up play when on the fast break. Instead of shooting, he allowed the offense to get settled, which later created a Penn State goal and tied the game at 11.

Lafayette called a very smart timeout following the score, which allowed for its offense to get settled. This gave the Leopards a goal with three seconds left in the first half, and they took a 12-11 lead into the locker room.

The third quarter began with two exceptional rides which led to two Lafayette turnovers, one of which set up a goal for redshirt senior midfielder Dan Reaume, and the game was deadlocked again at 12.

An amazing save and pass by new goalie Fracyon set up a goal for the Nittany Lions, which gave them the lead 14-13 in the third quarter.

After another great stop by the Nittany Lions defense, Penn State midfielder Mac Costin scored, giving his group a 15-13 lead at the end of the third quarter.

Both teams started the fourth quarter slow, but Penn State midfielder Jack Kelly made some incredible plays. He threw a behind the back pass to attackman Jack Traynor, who scored a goal off of that feed. On the ensuing possession, Keely scored one for himself, dodging down the alley and ripping it into the net, making the score 17-14 Nittany Lions.

Kyle Aldridge and and Mark Sickler both added goals down the stretch to bolster the lead. The Leopards scored once more in the game’s final minutes, but Penn State’s lead was too much as it locked up the 20-15 lead.

Takeaways

• Freshman goalie Jack Fracyon stepped up in a big way when he subbed in for Fyock in the first half. Fracyon’s stops helped spark the Nittany Lions’ offensive effort in the other direction, and his effort was clearly a momentum swing for Jeff Tambroni’s team. Don’t be surprised if we see much more of him between the pipes going forward.
• Although the man-down defense was solid overall Saturday, 15 goals isn’t exactly a great reflection on that side of the ball. Penn State will need to improve its play on that end if it wants to keep putting together wins this season.
• The midfielders for the Nittany Lions have great skill at setting up the offense by dodging down the alley and feeding it to their attackmen. Jack Kelly, who scored four times and finished with an assist, was especially impressive in setting up the offense for Penn State.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions will take on the Villanova next Saturday, February 12. As of now, that game is set to begin at 3 p.m. at Panzer Stadium.