The “next man up mentality” for Penn State men’s lacrosse has been vital in a season where the availability of starters has been in question every week. Players like Alex Ross, Will Costin, and others have had to step up in big moments for the Nittany Lions all over the field.  

Penn State’s injury troubles were made even worse in an early season matchup against Stony Brook when attackman Kyle Lehman went down. In the two games prior, Lehman had already instated himself as a vital part of the offense, scoring six goals and adding an assist.

Five weeks later, Lehman returned to action just when the team needed a spark. 

Struggling on Sunday against an under-appreciated Ohio State squad, the Nittany Lions gave up six unanswered goals in the first half and only managed to score one midway through the second quarter. That’s when head coach Jeff Tambroni brought on Lehman, who made an instant difference to an unusually stagnant offense.  

“Kyle is a tremendous athlete in his own right, so he really provided a nice boost in a lot of different areas,” Tambroni said.  

One area in particular that Lehman improved was creativity in the offensive sets. The attacker was one of the top recruits in the country coming out of high school last year, and it’s obvious when he has the ball in his stick.  

Penn State statistically has one of the best offenses in the country, scoring 14.62 goals per game, but the Nittany Lions struggle at times to beat their man. Lehman adds a component to the offense little others can’t: shot-creating.  

“He did create his own shot a couple of times,” Tambroni said. “And that was an area that we were struggling with early in the game.” 

An inspired offense turned the game around, and the Nittany Lions went on two separate four-goal streaks in the third and fourth quarters to take home their seventh straight win.  

Penn State’s newly healthy offense will have its hardest test of the season against Ajax Zappitello and a stout Maryland defense on Sunday, March 31, in Panzer Stadium.