Penn State men’s lacrosse (3-9) lost its third conference matchup at Johns Hopkins (6-7) 13-10 on Saturday evening.

The Nittany Lions got off to a slow start and were never able to recover, and a lightning delay in the middle of the third quarter certainly didn’t help them gain any momentum. At halftime, Penn State switched goaltenders, which helped make the Nittany Lions keep the game close.

How It Happened

Johns Hopkins took an early lead against Penn State by finding the back of the net on its first two possessions and taking a 2-0 lead.

Four minutes in, Mac Costin found the back of the back of the net for the 17th time this season, cutting the Nittany Lions deficit in half. Penn State then took a flag but was able to make a few big stops to keep the deficit at just one goal.

After a big kill, Mac Costin found the back of the net for the second time of the night to even the game at 2-2. At about the halfway-point of the quarter, Joey Epstein found the back of the net to allow the Blue Jays to regain the lead 3-2.

After a few dominant possessions by the Nittany Lions, the Blue Jays created a turnover and capitalized on a turnover to double their lead. Mark Sickler was quick to answer for the Nittany Lions and was able to cut the lead back to one.

The Blue Jays went a man-down but were able to defend well and remain up a goal through the first 15 minutes. Garrett Degnon then scored to add a fifth goal for the the Blue Jays.

The Blue Jays then took a flag but were able to defend well and maintain their lead. Up to this point, the Nittany Lions were 0-for-4 on the man advantage. Degnon then found the back of the net for the fourth time in the game to make the Blue Jays lead three.

Almost immediately after, Degnon scored again, hitting his career-high in goals scored in a single game (5) at the midway point of the second quarter. Brendon Grimes scored to add to the Blue Jays lead.

Freshman Will Peden was finally able to end the drought for Penn State with just a few minutes remaining in the second quarter, making the score 8-4 in favor of the Blue Jays. But after a costly Penn State turnover at the end of the quarter, the Blue Jays added to their lead with three seconds remaining in the second half, making the score 9-4 heading into the half.

Johns Hopkins picked up right where it left off by scoring another goal just over a minute into the second half, extending its lead to 10-4. Degnon then added to his career-high by scoring nine seconds after the Blue Jays went a man up, making the lead 7-4.

The Nittany Lions were finally able to gain a little bit of momentum by scoring a goal that was able to trickle through the Blue Jays’ goaltender. Canyon Birch then cut the lead again for the Nittany Lions with a goal just a couple minutes later.

Just after the halfway point of the third quarter, both teams went to the locker rooms for a lightning delay. The game resumed after a 60-minute delay.

Penn State quickly went up a man and was able to capitalize and cut the deficit to four goals. But Joey Epstein then tallied his second of the night to help regain momentum for the Blue Jays. With just under nine minutes remaining, the Blue Jays added another to make their lead six.

The Nittany Lions took a timeout to regroup and help slow the Blue Jays down. At about the midway point of the final quarter, Penn State scored to lower the deficit to five. Penn State added another goal with just under a minute remaining.

Dan Reaume added a goal with two seconds left, but it was too little, too late for Penn State. The late rally from the Nittany Lions was not enough to complete the comeback, ending the game at a 13-10 loss.

Takeaways

• Penn State gave up nine goals in the first half, which may have cost them the game. After keeping the Blue Jays to four goals in the second half, the Nittany Lions kept the game close, but were not able to comeback.
• Penn State was dominated in faceoffs all night. The Nittany Lions won just six out of 26, which gave the Blue Jays a major upper hand on possession.
• Penn State’s freshman goalie, Jack Fracyon, may be the future of the program. He was a major reason that the Nittany Lions were able to make the game close in the second half and recorded eleven saves.

What’s Next

Penn State will face Rutgers on the road in its final game of the season on Saturday, April 23. The game is set to start at 4 p.m. and will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network.