No. 5 Penn State men’s lacrosse (5-2) fell to Marquette (4-3) 12-11 on Saturday during the Long Island Metro Cup game played at MacArthur High School in Levittown, New York.

The Nittany Lions were overcome after a strong performance by the Golden Eagles and failing to convert several key scoring opportunities on transition. Penn State was unable to gain momentum throughout the game and succumbed to turnovers within the final third of the field.

The loss represents an opportunity for the Nittany Lions to regroup following a pair of upsets against the University of Pennsylvania and Cornell, and head into next week’s game against Maryland eager to achieve a conference win.

How It Happened

Penn State started off the match with a strong defensive effort in the opening minutes, eventually forcing a turnover that allowed the offense to gain an early possession opportunity. Both teams were able to force several turnovers on defense within the opening five minutes and exchange shots. The Nittany Lions regained possession which resulted in an opening goal from Mac Costin who capitalized on a failed slide by Marquette, leaving 9:21 remaining in the first quarter.

The Nittany Lions maintained offensive pressure on the Golden Eagles, with TJ Malone nearly doubling the lead after rifling a shot off the crossbar. Marquette tied the game off an individual effort from Bobby O’Grady, who found the nearside upper corner with 7:18 left to play in the quarter.

The Nittany Lions were able to regain the lead after Ethan Long earned his fourth goal of the year by finishing a pass from Malone, setting the score to 2-1. Marquette’s Devon Cowan was able to beat a defender and found an equalizer with 2:40 remaining. The quarter ended in a deadlock with a score of 2-2.

Penn State started the second quarter off slow after Cowan doubled up and scored an early goal to give the Golden Eagles an advantage. Not long after, Grant Evans won the following faceoff, taking the ball down the field and finding the back of the net. This gave Marquette a two-goal advantage at 4-2, with 14:06 left in the first half.

Pup Buono received the first penalty of the game, setting Penn State back a man. Marquette was unable to achieve an advantage due to a strong defensive effort to kill the penalty from Penn State. The Nittany Lions responded strongly after Malone finished a rebounded shot to set the score to 4-3 with 9:59 remaining in the second quarter.

The Nittany Lions found an equalizer after Malone beat a defender and fed the ball to Jake Morin who found his third goal of the season after scoring on the Golden Eagles’ crease, leaving the score tied at 4-4. Penn State looked to control the game and earned an extra-man opportunity after forcing the Golden Eagles to commit a penalty. Penn State’s Chris Jordan capitalized on the opportunity and converted an overhand shot to give the Nittany Lions a single-goal advantage with 4:09 left to play in the half.

The advantage did not last long as Marquette’s Andrew Bowman converted an underhand shot to tie the game at 5-5. Just 26 seconds later, Will Foster beat a Nittany Lion defender and finished a shot into the net, allowing Marquette to regain the lead with 2:24 remaining. The half ended with Penn State trailing by a goal with the score settling at 6-5.

The Nittany Lions lost the opening faceoff and found themselves starting the half off with a two-goal deficit after Cowan extended the Golden Eagles’ lead. Malone responded by scoring his second of the game after Penn State successfully converted a goal on transition. Then, Bowman finished a shot in the back of the Nittany Lions’ net after controlling a pass from O’Grady.

Penn State increased the intensity on transition and Jack Traynor finished a mid-range shot after receiving a feed from Malone. With 5:51 remaining in the third quarter, Sam Sweeney received a penalty, giving Marquette a man-up opportunity. Subsequently, Bowman finished a shot from the crease just before the penalty was released, leaving the score at 9-7 with the Golden Eagles in front. With 0:07 left in the quarter, O’Grady dodged into open space and scored to end the quarter with a score of 10-7.

The Nittany Lions started the fourth quarter off quickly as Traynor found his second goal of the game. The two teams battled in mid-field to control possession as Penn State trailed by two goals heading into the final 10 minutes of the game. Penn State goalie, Jack Fracyon, made a crucial save after the Golden Eagles’ broke down the Penn State defense and fired a point-blank shot. With 7:36 remaining in the game, Luke Blanc scored a nearside goal on the Nittany Lions, increasing Marquette’s lead to 11-8.

With 4:45 left in the game, the Nittany Lions earned a man-up opportunity after the Golden Eagles were penalized for being offside. The Marquette defense forced a turnover on Penn State and killed the penalty. Jordan found the back of the net off a pass from Malone, lowering Penn State’s deficit to two goals.

The Golden Eagles regained the three-goal margin following an effort from Cowan, leaving 1:18 remaining in the game. Costin responded for the Nittany Lions with a goal following a dodge. Just 15 seconds later, Matt Traynor found the back of the net to set the score to 12-11, with Penn State trailing by one. Following the goal, the Nittany Lions went down a man, allowing the Golden Eagles to keep possession and win the game with a score of 12-11.

Takeaways:

• The Penn State offense failed to display its usual shot precision placing only 53% of its 38 shots on goal compared to Marquette’s 68% SOG percentage. The Nittany Lion offense must become more lethal on the transition, especially to see results against tougher opponents.
• The Nittany Lions continued to struggle to string together faceoff wins, only gaining possession on eight out of the 27 faceoff attempts. This is why the team struggled to gain forward momentum.
• The Traynor brothers were quiet today, only combining three goals and a singular assist. Their scoring presence has been a deciding factor for the Nittany Lions’ lethal offense.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions will travel to take on Maryland next week at 5 p.m. on Saturday, March 25, in College Park, Maryland.