Penn State men’s lacrosse (1-2) fell to Vermont (1-2) 16-10 in a non-conference matchup at Panzer Stadium Wednesday afternoon. Jeff Tambroni’s group struggled to keep up with the Catamounts’ offense in their first matchup since 2015.

The Nittany Lions trailed by four goals entering the fourth quarter, but found the back of the net just one more time in the final frame as Vermont coasted its way to the win.

How It Happened

The Nittany Lions started the game by turning over the first possession to Vermont after a face-off violation.

An early offensive push by Vermont led the Catamounts to a score for Liam Limoges just under three minutes into the game. Charlie Pope scored shortly after at the 11:16 mark to make it 2-0 Vermont.

Limoges then scored his second goal of the game with 7:17 left in the first quarter, assisted by Brock Haley.

Vermont consistently was able to transfer the ball to Penn State’s defensive side quickly. Shortly after Penn State won the face off after the Limoges goal, senior David Closterman scored the fourth goal of the game for the Catamounts.

A crease violation on Vermont’s offense allowed Penn State to maintain possession and head to the Catamounts’ defensive side. Three missed shots led to senior Will Peden to score the Nittany Lions’ first goal of the game with 3:16 left in the first quarter, assisted by senior Jack Traynor.

Vermont’s offense quickly came back and junior Brock Haley scored the Catamount’s fifth score at 2:09, assisted by Pope.

Penn State called a time out after Vermont’s fifth score. Shortly after, Dan Reaume scored with 46 seconds left in the first quarter, bringing the score to 5-2.

Starting off the second quarter, Vermont gained possession of off a ground ball. Limoges then locked up his hat trick and made it 6-2 Catamounts.

Penn State gained possession after redshirt junior goalie Aleric Fyock made a save off of Pope. Reaume then scored for the Nittany Lions less than a minute later to bring Penn State within three.

After two missed shots from freshman Kyle Aldridge, Jack Traynor scored with 12 minutes left in the half to bring the score to 6-4.

After the Catamount’s timeout at 10:20, a personal foul on Brian Townsend from a cross check at 9:27 allowed Vermont to gain possession. Closterman then scored with an assist by Johnathon McConvey for the seventh goal of the game with 8:53 on the clock.

The McConvey brothers were on fire when shortly later, Thomas McConvey had back-to-back shots that ultimately led to him scoring to make it 8-4 Vermont.

After many flags on Vermont’s defense, senior Jack Kelly scored his first goal of the day assisted by Peden with 4:20 left in the half.

Sloppiness on both sides of the ball allowed for a slow three minutes, until Vermont’s sophomore Jonas Hunter scored with 1:28 left. This was his first goal on the season.

The face-off to start the second half was won by Vermont thanks to another violation. Vermont’s early possession allowed Closterman to score 42 seconds into the third quarter. Just seven seconds later, Limoges scored his seventh goal of the season with an assist from junior Tommy Burke.

With 11:11 on the clock, redshirt freshman Jeb Brenfleck tipped in the sixth goal for Penn State. Less than a minute later, sophomore Jake Morin scored with an assist from Traynor to bring the score to 11-7.

A later shot and goal by Reaume with an assist from Aldridge brought the Nittany Lions up to eight points. This was Reaume’s seventh goal of the season.

Sophomore Mark Sickler brought a change in pace after no goals were scored for four minutes. A nice shot by Sickler brought the score to 11-9 with an assist from Peden.

Shortly after Vermont’s timeout, Haley scored with 3:15 left on the clock.

After being down from a penalty on Penn State’s side for a cross check from Buono, McConvey scored the 13th goal with 1:58 left in the third quarter.

The third quarter ended with the Catamount’s in possession, but Penn State defense didn’t allow them to score for the remainder of the quarter. The Nittany Lions were down 13-9 entering the final frame.

After Vermont maintained possession for the most of the fourth quarter, Limoges scored with 11:12 remaining. The Catamounts were man-up after Penn State freshman Kevin Parnham received a penalty for slashing 15 seconds prior.

After many turnovers from both Penn State and Vermont, Thomas McConvey scored with 5:30 left in the game, making it 15-9 Vermont.

Vermont called a timeout with just over two minutes left in the game, and less than 30 seconds later Pope found the back of the net to make it 16-9 Catamounts.

Penn State won the face-off and shortly after Reaume scored his fourth goal of the game with 1:33 left on the clock. That made it 16-10 Vermont, but it was clearly too little too late for the Nittany Lions.

Takeaways

• Vermont had more offensive intensity throughout the game, which overpowered Penn State on either side of the field. The Catamounts beat the Nittany Lions to the punch throughout the afternoon, as they opened up each quarter with scores to keep their momentum rolling.
• The Nittany Lions got within two in the second half, but a quiet fourth quarter was too much to overcome. Tambroni’s group found the back of the net just once in the final quarter while Vermont managed to run out the clock and run up the score.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions will return to the road this weekend against Saint Joseph’s in Philadelphia. That will begin at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday.