Penn State men’s lacrosse (7-3, 1-2 Big Ten) took down Michigan (6-5, 2-1 Big Ten) 11-8 on Saturday afternoon in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

The Nittany Lions took an early lead, but Michigan responded and took the lead in the second quarter. The Nittany Lions trailed by one entering the fourth but went on a run and secured their first conference victory of the season.

How It Happened

Michigan took the opening faceoff and Jack Fracyon made a quick save just 30 seconds in before the Nittany Lions managed a clear. Matt Traynor wasted no time as he got open for a shot and cashed in on the opportunity as Penn State took an early 1-0 lead.

Penn State took the next draw and established a position in the offensive zone. Ryan Dirocco took a shot on goal but Hunter Taylor made the save before Michigan went the opposite direction after a successful clear.

After turnovers from both sides, Michigan had the first shot attempt in two minutes but it was blocked and Penn State regained possession. The Nittany Lions fired four shots on the next possession but couldn’t find the back of the net before Taylor stopped Traynor’s shot and cleared.

Michigan tied the game on the ensuing possession after Alex Lobel got past Fracyon to make it 1-1. Penn State took the next faceoff and Jeff Tambroni called the game’s first timeout. Out of the timeout, a shot from Luke Walstrum was negated by a crease call, but Tambroni threw the challenge flag, and the call was overturned as Penn State took a 2-1 lead.

Penn State retained possession on the next draw and Jack Aimone increased the Penn State lead to two at 3-1, but Michigan’s Jack Marlow answered 12 seconds later to keep it a one-goal game at 3-2. Michigan committed a shot clock violation after a sustained offensive zone presence yielded just two shots, both of which went wide. Penn State failed to clear, though, and Michigan went right back on offense.

The Wolverines couldn’t score as the first quarter came to an end.

Michigan took the opening draw of the second quarter but Fracyon picked up a ground ball and successfully cleared. Lehman scored his second of the game from right in front of the crease after a pass from Hunter Aquino that put Penn State up 4-2.

Michigan took the next faceoff and committed a turnover but the Nittany Lions couldn’t clear and Lukas Stanat got the Wolverines back to within one at 4-3. After another failed clear attempt from the Nittany Lions, Jackson Clay tied the game up with a little under nine minutes left in the first half.

The first penalty of the game came with 6:24 left in the first half as Pace Billings was called for a push and Penn State went a man-up but couldn’t convert as play rolled on. Michigan called its first timeout of the game with five minutes remaining. Out of the timeout, Ryan Cohen beat Fracyon and Michigan took its first lead of the game at 5-4.

Walstrum managed a shot off the next faceoff, but Michigan sustained pressure in the offensive end and took two shots before Fracyon cleared. The Nittany Lions couldn’t find space for a shot and the first half came to an end with the Wolverines leading 5-4.

The Nittany Lions established possession off the opening faceoff and Traynor tied the game less than a minute into the third quarter with his second goal of the game. Michigan took the nest faceoff and after a shot from Aidan Mulholland, Stanat scored again and put the Wolverines back on top at 6-5.

After a period of back-and-forth action without sustained offensive pressure, Marlow was called for a cross-check and the Nittany Lions went on the man advantage again. The Nittany Lions cashed in and Liam Matthews tied the game up at 6-6 at the midway point in the third quarter.

The tie was broken just two minutes later when Cohen beat Fracyon again and the Wolverines retook the lead at 7-6. After a media timeout, Penn State took the faceoff but lost possession on a groundball. The Nittany Lions cleared with two minutes left in the quarter but Taylor made two stops and Michigan went the other way.

Penn State rushed to the offensive zone with 30 seconds remaining but the period expired and the Nittany Lions headed to the final frame trailing 7-6.

A lengthy faceoff battle led to a Michigan possession but the Nittany Lions held and headed to their own zone. Ethan Long unleashed a heater on Taylor that got past the netminder and evened the score at 7-7 with 11 minutes left in the game. Jon King picked up the next faceoff and Traynor beat Taylor again and the Nittany Lions took the lead at 8-7.

Traynor nearly scored again off the next faceoff but it went off the post and the Nittany Lions set up their possession. Aimone scored his second of the night to increase the Nittany Lion lead to two at 9-7. Michigan committed another penalty as a push sent Penn State to a 30-second advantage.

Penn State couldn’t capitalize on the man-up chance and Michigan called a timeout with 5:46 left in the game. Michigan continued to struggle in the offensive end and, after a turnover, Matthews found the back of the net and put Penn State up by three at 10-7 with three minutes remaining. Brendan Leary launched a shot from midfield on an empty cage and effectively sealed the game at 11-7 with a minute left.

Michigan managed to get one back thirty seconds later from Emmett Houlihan who made it 11-8. That was the end of the offense for the day as the clock ran out on the Penn State victory.

Takeaways

• Jack Fracyon was strong in the cage as goals were hard to come by for both teams. Fracyon finished with a .529 save percentage while Michigan’s Hunter Taylor finished with a .421 clip.
• Matt Traynor led the Nittany Lions in goals during the low-scoring affair, finishing with three on the day. Jack Aimone finished second with two.
• The fourth-quarter run was critical as the Nittany Lions scored five straight to go up by as many as four. Traynor, Ethan Long, Liam Matthews, Brendan Leary, and Aimone scored during the run.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions will return home to take on Johns Hopkins at 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 12, inside Panzer Stadium.