Penn State men’s lacrosse (2-7) fell to No. 1 Maryland (8-0) Sunday night to open Big Ten play.

The Terrapins held strong both offensively and defensively up until the fourth quarter, when the Nittany Lions were able to make a dent and score. Penn State’s 23-minute goal drought had the Nittany Lions too far behind to catch up.

How It Happened

Aleric Fyock started out in the net for the Nittany Lions against the Terrapins’ Logan McNaney in the opposite net.

Maryland’s Jack Koras scored the first goal of the game after a successful clear attempt by the Terrapins to take the ball down the field. The Terrapins led 1-0 with 13 minutes left in the first quarter.

Penn State was a man up after an illegal hold called against Maryland. Penn State did not convert on the man-up opportunity, and Maryland successfully cleared the ball down the field after a missed shot by Penn State’s Canyon Birch. The Terrapins scored and led 2-0 with 9:15 left in the first.

With 3:58 left in the first, Penn State took a timeout after Maryland scored its fourth goal unanswered. Penn State’s Will Peden scored the first goal of the game, and the Nittany Lions trailed 4-1 with 3:34 to go in the first frame.

Maryland led Penn State 4-1 to open the second quarter, and soon enough, the Terrapins widened that advantage to 5-1.

The Nittany Lions’ Mark Sickler scored Penn State’s first goal in the second quarter. It was Sickler’s 10th goal of the season. Thanks to the score, Penn State trailed 5-2 with 10:46 left in the second quarter.

Peden scored a beautiful goal for his second goal of the game for the Nittany Lions. Penn State trailed 5-3 with 7:35 left in the first half.

The Terrapins responded with two goals just over a minute after the Nittany Lions scored. Penn State trailed 7-3 and took a timeout with 6:25 left in the second quarter.

Maryland’s Keegan Khan scored his third of the game to complete his hat trick. The Terrapins led 8-3 with 3:46 to go in the second quarter.

After another Maryland goal, Jack Fracyon went in the net for Fyock. Maryland scored three goals in the span of 40 seconds, forcing Penn State to take its third timeout of the first half to try and find an answer. The Nittany Lion’s trailed 10-3 with 3:08 left in the second quarter.

The Terrapins led the Nittany Lion’s 11-3 going into halftime. Penn State’s ugly half came as no surprise considering the team went scoreless in the last seven and a half minutes of the second quarter.

Maryland scored the first goal of the third quarter and led 12-3. The Terrapins went on to score two more to lead 14-3 with 9:34 left in the third quarter.

Maryland’s Jonathan Donville scored and the Nittany Lions trailed 15-3. Maryland took a timeout with 5:25 left in the third quarter.

The Terrapins scored two goals after their timeout, and Penn State just couldn’t find an answer to stop the offensive challenges from Maryland. The Nittany Lions trailed 17-3 with 2:24 to go in the third quarter.

The Nittany Lion’s entered the fourth quarter down 18-3. The Terrapins changed goalies, and Drew Morris took over in net for McNaney to start the fourth quarter.

Mac Costin scored Penn State’s first goal of the second half after the team went on a 23-minute scoring drought. The Nittany Lion’s trailed 18-4 in the fourth quarter.

Morris saved a shot against Penn State’s Jack Kelly, but Nils Barry found the rebound and scored for the Nittany Lion’s just under a minute from Costin’s goal. Grant Haus was quick to score Penn State’s third in a row, and suddenly, the Nittany Lions trailed 18-6 with 11:39 left in the fourth quarter.

Maryland took its second timeout with 9:13 left in the game. Five minutes later, Penn State’s Nils scored his second of the game, assisted by Birch. Penn State trailed 18-7 with 4:25 left in the game.

Ultimately, Penn State’s late offensive surge didn’t matter much. The team still went on to lose to Maryland 18-7.

Takeaways

• The Nittany Lions could not find an answer on defense to put a stop to the Terrapin’s strong offensive challenges. Maryland is extremely strong on the offensive side of the field, as evidenced after winning 23-12 over No. 2 Virginia last Saturday.
• Penn State could not get through Maryland’s defense. The team had 21 shots on goal in comparison to the Terrapin’s 31, and most of those looks came in the fourth quarter. The Nittany Lions recorded only one assist in the game compared to Maryland’s seven.
• Penn State struggled in faceoff circle, winning just eight out of 29.

What’s Next?

Penn State men’s lacrosse will play at Ohio State on Friday, April 1. Catch the game at 5 p.m on ESPNU.