Penn State men’s lacrosse (2-6) fell just short to Bucknell (6-1) by a score of 12-11, after an exciting fourth quarter push by the Nittany Lions.

Penn State almost came back to tie the game but fell just short after Jack Kelly’s shot went wide. Penn State’s offense suffered an 18-minute goal drought from the third to the fourth quarter, which put the team behind.

How It Happened

Penn State started off strong on offense with two shots, one going wide and the other hitting the post. Bucknell took advantage of the misses and forced a turnover that Frankie Higgins scored on. The Bison led 1-0 with 12:33 to go in the first quarter.

Just a few seconds later, Higgins took the ball to the net again to score his second in just 20 seconds. Bison led 2-0 with 12:33 to go in the first frame.

Bucknell’s Andrew Stanzel had an illegal body check penalty and the Nittany Lions got rewarded with a power play. Dan Reaume then opened up the scoring for the Nittany Lions, cutting Bucknell’s lead to 2-1.

Penn State’s Kyle Aldridge rolled his way through the Bison’s defensive efforts to tie the game 2-2 with 8:03 left in the first quarter.

Penn State had a few missed shot attempts and turned the ball over on offense. Bucknell’s Cam Doolan then took advantage of Penn State’s turnover and tied the game 3-3 with 3:47 left in the first.

Mac Costin answered the Bison’s goal quickly and scored his second of the game and tenth goal of the season. The Nittany Lions went back on top and led 4-3 with just over three minutes to go in the first. Bucknell’s Ethan Gyllenhaal scored his first of the season and tied the game 4-4 to end the first quarter.

Penn State started off the second quarter by winning the faceoff, which led to a Nittany Lion goal by Jack Kelly. Penn State was up one goal early in the second quarter, but not for long, as Bucknell answered instantly and tied the game 5-5 with 13:55 to go in the second quarter.

The Nittany Lions took a timeout with eight minutes to go in the second after several missed shots by both sides. After the timeout, Bucknell forced a turnover on Penn State and scored the first goal in several minutes. The Nittany Lions trailed by one with seven minutes to go in the second quarter.

Bucknell found itself one man down, again, after a slashing penalty on Stanzel. The Nittany Lions used the man advantage and scored to tie the game 6-6 with 4:42 left in the second frame.

The Bison took a timeout with just over one minute left in the first half. Bucknell came out of the timeout with some fire and scored twice to lead the Nittany Lions 8-6 at the end of the first half.

Down two at the half. pic.twitter.com/EmmvYmDb06

— Penn State Men’s Lacrosse (@PennStateMLAX) March 15, 2022

Penn State changed goalies for the second half with, Jack Fracyon taking over for Fyock. The third quarter started off slowly, with neither team scoring for over three minutes. Both goalies showed off their skills with great saves, but Jake Morin broke the silence with an amazing no-look shot, and the Nittany Lions trailed by one goal with 11:42 to go in the third. Bucknell answered immediately and led 9-7.

There was only one goal scored by each team during the third quarter, as both squads had multiple turnovers in the offensive zone. Penn State trailed 10-7 going into the final quarter of the game.

Kelly ended Penn State’s 18-minute dry goal spell and answered Bucknell’s goal that happened just a minute before. The Nittany Lions then trailed 11-8 with 11:47 to play in the final quarter.

Penn State took a timeout after Bucknell scored to take the lead by four, as the team looked to regroup for the final ten minutes of the fourth quarter. Kelly scored his third for Penn State, cutting Bucknells lead to just three goals with 6:23 left in the fourth quarter.

Penn State’s Canyon Birch had his first goal of the season with 3:53 left to go in the game. Birch then scored again with 31 seconds left in the fourth. Penn State won the faceoff and took a timeout with 19 seconds left, needing one goal to tie the game.

Kelly took a shot at the end of the quarter but missed, and Penn State fell by a score of 12-11.

Takeaways

• The Nittany Lions had 25 turnovers in comparison to Bucknell’s 17. Their turnovers cost them big on offense, and they need to zone in on their shots, as well. There were many missed opportunities on offense where Penn State couldn’t convert a great offensive push into a goal.
• Canyon Birch had a stellar performance in the game’s final quarter. He scored twice in the fourth quarter to help Penn State almost tie Bucknell at the end of the game.
• Both Penn State goalies Aleric Fyock and Jack Fracyon played their hearts out. They helped turn away multiple grade-A scoring chances from Bucknell to keep Penn State close throughout the entire game.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions will travel to Maryland to take on the Terrapins at 7 p.m. on Sunday, March 27, kicking off its Big Ten conference schedule.