Penn State men’s lacrosse beat Rutgers 15-9 on Friday night to wrap up the regular season, and the successful game saw typical under-the-radar players shine.  

One of these players was Sean Donnelly. The midfielder played at Drexel last season and tallied 33 goals and 11 assists in his junior year. This year, Donnelly has been in and out of the lineup and hasn’t scored his first point for the Nittany Lions.  

This changed during the match against Rutgers as he recorded two assists and played most of the game as a part of the second midfield line.  

“He provides a veteran presence and he’s also been fairly productive in the limited time that he’s played because of the courageous style,” head coach Jeff Tambroni said of Donnelly. “He also presents and provides a more courageous style, a little bit more creative, a little bit more of a willingness to make some mistakes because he is a little bit older.” 

Donnelly’s rise in play gave the Nittany Lions much-needed encouragement and a boost to some of the other less spotlighted players. Defensive midfielder Brendan Leary even took the second shot of his career.  

This had the bench electrified as it was impossible to miss the difference in body language between the two teams. Penn State’s team was celebrating every detail of the game, while Rutgers looked toward the ground.  

“It’s nice to see our guys recognizing the little things. Some of the things that are invisible to the stat sheet, but really important to us,” Tambroni said.  

An away game quickly felt like a home atmosphere for the Nittany Lions, and they took home a win because of it. 

This week, Penn State is faced with the Scarlet Knights once again, though this time at Panzer Stadium. The game marks the first of the Big Ten Tournament and is set for 3 p.m. on Saturday, March 27. The winner advances to the semifinals to face Maryland.