No. 9 Penn State men’s lacrosse (6-1) handled Marquette (3-5) 13-7 on Saturday in Springfield, Pennsylvania, for a neutral site matchup.  

Penn State came flying out of the gates, securing a 5-0 lead in the first quarter and never looked back. Despite multiple Golden Eagle runs throughout, the Nittany Lions’ defense once again held strong as Penn State took the six-goal game.

How It Happened

The opening face-off was won by Colby Baldwin, and Penn State held the opening possession. The Nittany Lions peppered Marquette early, taking four shots in the opening two minutes before Will Peden opened the scoring on the fifth attempt, and Chris Jordan doubled the lead on the sixth.

The following minutes were all the Golden Eagles, but Penn State’s defense held strong, and the Nittany Lions quickly added two more goals to the scoreboard, making it 5-0 with seven minutes still to play in the first quarter.

Penn State dominated the remainder of the quarter and was rewarded by a Luke Walstrom goal with one minute left before the break.

The second quarter started with a Golden Eagle extra-man opportunity that Carsen Brandt capitalized on. This was the only goal until the six-minute mark of a very up-and-down second quarter. Brandt was the next on the board, which brought the Marquette deficit to just three with six minutes to play in the first half.

With Brandt’s second goal, play opened and both the Nittany Lions and the Golden Eagles found the back of the net in the next two minutes. Peden scored his second goal of the game for Penn State, while Brandt completed his second quarter hat trick to make it 6-3.

As time ran out in the opening half, Luke Blanc brought the game within two for Marquette, but three quick responses from Penn State ended the half with a 9-4 score.

The second half started in a similar back-and-forth manner, yet with plenty of opportunities, both sides struggled to find a way through the defenses and the first goal wasn’t until seven minutes in courtesy of Marquette. In true Penn State fashion, though, the Nittany Lions responded instantly, retaining the five-goal lead with eight minutes to play in the third quarter.

On the subsequent possession, Penn State drew a flag and had a man-up opportunity but couldn’t take advantage of the extra man. Because of this, the score remained 10-5 as the game headed into the fourth quarter.

The slow offensive game continued into the fourth. Marquette’s goalkeeper made stops on outside shots, and Penn State struggled to find ways inside. On the other end, when Marquette did have the ball, Penn State’s defense forced constant mistakes from the Golden Eagles’ offense.  

With seven minutes remaining, Peden finally broke the scoring drought, extending the Nittany Lions’ lead to six. The goal was followed quickly by two goals for both Penn State and Marquette. With two minutes left to play, Penn State still led by six.  

In the following minute, neither team scored, ending the game with a 13-7 Penn State victory. 

Takeaways

• Penn State’s defense and goalkeeper play has been superb so far this season, and the game was no different. Marquette is averaging 11.86 goals per game and was held to just seven in today’s matchup. Shut-down defense from Alex Ross and 12 saves for Jack Fracyon tell the story.
• Somehow TJ Malone’s play started to go under the radar by many, yet Malone comes out every game and performs. This one wasn’t different as he recorded three goals and three assists.

What’s Next?

Penn State begins its tough Big Ten schedule against Ohio State on Sunday, March 24, in Columbus, Ohio. The Nittany Lions are set to take on the Buckeyes at 2:30 p.m. Folks can watch on the Big Ten Network.