No. 4 Penn State men’s lacrosse (0-1) fell to Colgate (1-0) in its season opener on Saturday in Happy Valley.

The Nittany Lions trailed for the majority of the game and fell just short of a comeback victory. The blue and white struggled early on to maintain momentum and had numerous turnovers in the midfield.

How It Happened

Penn State won the opening face-off and quickly found its footing. TJ Malone connected with Mac Costin to score the Nittany Lions’ first goal of the season in under two minutes of play.

Colgate tied the game 1-1 with 9:46 to go in the first quarter and used the momentum to take the 2-1 lead just a minute later.

Penn State won the next face-off after a violation and found Malone open at the 30-yard line. Malone found Kyle Lehman on the circle who bounced it in past goalie Matt LaCombe.

The assists kept coming for Malone as he set up Ethan Long for a quick shot for Penn State to reclaim the lead 3-2 with 4:59 left in the first quarter.

The Nittany Lions dominated the attack in the final two minutes of the quarter with a slew of shots from Costin and Chris Jordan, but no one could find a breakthrough, and the first quarter ended 3-2 for Penn State.

The second quarter came with a slow start and constant turnovers, and neither side could gain an advantage. With 10:26 to go in the half, the Raiders won a ground ball and Jack Turner went straight downfield, scoring unassisted over goalie Jack Fracyon’s head to retie the game 3-3.

The Nittany Lions struggled to complete their passes, fighting for ground balls constantly. Colgate capitalized on these mistakes, and Jacob Sposita blasted his shot into the back of the net.

Jeff Tambroni called a timeout for his Penn State side halfway through the quarter, and the team came back on with fire. Malone and Costin exchanged shots before Costin’s snuck past LaCombe.

The Raiders fought back and dominated the rest of the quarter, scoring two more goals to end the half leading 6-4.

Penn State won the face-off to start the second half, with Malone scooping the ground ball and sending it to Lehman who blasted it right over the goalie’s head to score.

Colgate won the next face-off and used the momentum to go straight downfield for Michael Kiely to score unassisted. Hunter Drouin followed up with a goal of his own two minutes later.

Malone didn’t let these goals go unanswered and quickly got his first goal of the season to close the gap.

The Raiders continued to fight back with two more goals from Drouin and Patty Eldredge.

After five minutes of straight defense, Penn State found some momentum on offense, thanks to Malone. He connected with Luke Mercer and Lehman for two goals for the Nittany Lions, only eight seconds apart, to make it 10-8.

Penn State went a man-up for a minute after unsportsmanlike conduct from the Raiders but failed to capitalize on the opportunity. Colgate went a man-up immediately after and dominated the midfield, putting pressure on the Nittany Lions defense, scoring with 20 seconds left in the quarter to end it leading 11-8.

Chase Mullins won the face-off to start the fourth quarter for Penn State, and Matt Traynor dodged his defenders to score a solo goal and put Penn State back within two.

After a four-minute drought, Malone picked up his seventh assist and connected with Mercer to sling the ball into goal with Penn State trailing by one goal with 10 minutes to play.

Traynor continued to be a player for big occasions for Penn State, blasting in a long shot to tie the game 11-11 with six to play.

Colgate followed up with a goal a minute later to retake the lead and called a timeout. Returning to the field, the teams traded possession and couldn’t find a breakthrough. Penn State called another timeout with three minutes left, and Long immediately returned to send a rocket into the net and tie the game 12-12.

Colgate turned the ball over with 40 seconds and Penn State took off downfield before tripping and losing the ball. The Raiders scooped it up and caught Fracyon outside of the net, bouncing it in past him to retake the lead 13-12 and finish the game.

Takeaways

• Penn State’s special teams struggled today, recording constant turnovers and giving up man-up goals. It gave up 25 turnovers and completed only 17 clearances. While face-off struggles have improved, Penn State needs to improve in this aspect to maintain game control.
• The Nittany Lions seemed rushed, dropping too many passes today and struggling to maintain their momentum.
• Kyle Lehman and TJ Malone are a duo that can disrupt the entire lacrosse world this season. They registered four combined goals and eight assists against Colgate in their first true showing together. As the team continues to grow, their contributions will only rise.

What’s Next?

Penn State will return to Panzer Stadium to take on Villanova at noon on Saturday, February 10. The game will be streamed on BTN+.