Penn State men’s lacrosse (2-3) stunned No. 5 Yale (1-1) on Saturday during a 10-6 win.

Three goals from redshirt freshman Jeb Brenfleck led the charge as the Nittany Lions picked up a much-needed signature win at Panzer Stadium.

How It Happened

The Yale Bulldogs came out hot. Will Cabrera scored two goals within the first three minutes of the game, giving his team an early 2-0 lead over Penn State. The Nittany Lions responded just two minutes later with a goal from Jack Kelly to stop the bleeding and tighten things up 2-1.

Two big saves by goalie Aleric Fyock allowed the Nittany Lions to kill a penalty and set up a Brenfleck goal for Penn State, tying the game 2-2. Just about 30 seconds later, the Nittany Lions scored an honestly strange goal off of a great ride by Jack Traynor.

Face-off specialist Hudson Bohn won another face-off, which set up a Mac Costin goal. Brenfleck’s second goal of the game, following a great save from Fyock, gave the Nittany Lions a 5-2 lead by the end of the first quarter.

Yale opened the start of the second quarter with three quick goals from Leo Johnson, Kyle Zawadzki, and Matt Brandau, tying things up 5-5 and erasing Penn State’s comfortable lead.

Penn State had a man-up opportunity after a Luke Eschbach cross-check, but the team was not able to capitalize.

The Nittany Lions started the third quarter with two goals from Mark Sickler and Brenfleck to give them a 7-5 lead. Off of the man-up, Kelly buried one in the back of the net to increase that lead even more.

The defense played amazing, especially, Brayden Peck, and they held the Bulldogs scoreless for the entire third quarter.

Strong defense from Penn State, especially Brayden Peck, helped the team hold Yale scoreless throughout the third quarter. The Nittany Lions generated six turnovers in the frame.

Toward the end of the fourth quarter, Yale’s Will Cabrera was able to score another goal, bringing the Bulldogs right back into the game. Soon after, Sickler put one in the back of the net for the Nittany Lions to keep their edge intact.

With just under three minutes to go, the Nittany Lions scored off of a Mac Costin goal to take a 10-6 lead. They never looked back.

Takeaways

• Aleric Fyock is a great goalie. He played amazingly well on Saturday and made 21 saves in the game while maintaining a .778 save percentage.
• The defense played great today. Collectively, the Nittany Lions allowed only six goals and caused a lot of turnovers. If they can continue to play like this, this team should be able to lean on its defense more often.
• Penn State’s win over Yale is the team’s first since 1997, believe it or not.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions will face Penn at 4 p.m. on Saturday, March 5, in Charlotte, NC.