No. 14 Penn State men’s lacrosse (2-1, 0-0 Big Ten) beat No. 3 Princeton (0-1, 0-0 Ivy League) 13-7 with a dominant win in New Jersey.

The Nittany Lions took over the game early, scoring seven goals in the first quarter. Multiple different players were able to put the ball in the back of the net and prevent the Tigers from gaining momentum all game, as Penn State shows how strong their depth is in every position on the field.

How It Happened

Penn State won the opening faceoff and took an early lead with a goal from Luke Walstrum with less than a minute into the game. Penn State then immediately won another face-off with a second goal from Hunter Aquino with 13:37 left to go in the first quarter.

Penn State quickly took an early lead and got a third possession into the game. Princeton had not had an offensive possession at this point until it eventually got a turnover and quickly scored with 12:42 left with a goal from Tucker Wade.

The Nittany Lions were running the offensive side of the field. Penn State took a 5-1 lead with goals from John Jude Considine, Kyle Lehman, and Jack Iannantuono with 6:38 left in the first quarter. There was pure domination on both sides of the field from the Nittany Lions, stunning the No. 3-ranked team early on.

Soon after, Penn State scored another goal from Walstrum for his second of the day. Princeton looked slow on defense and couldn’t get into a rhythm early in the game.

Penn State had been aggressive with its stick checking and maintained the ball on offense throughout the first quarter. It went up 7-1 with an accidental defensive own-goal from Princeton off a pass. There had been a massive lack of possession by Princeton throughout all of the first quarter, with utter domination from Penn State, up six goals at the end of the first.

Princeton won the faceoff at the start of the second quarter. It scored a much-needed goal within the first two minutes from Nate Kabiri, narrowing Penn State’s lead to five goals.

The Tigers started to slow down their offense and had more patience, but were still struggling with turnovers. However, the Nittany Lions did not maintain the same momentum as in the first quarter. Princeton’s defense focused on covering the crease, creating fewer opportunities for easy shots for Penn State.

Even with the Tigers’ strong defense, Iannantuono scored with 7:42 left to go in the half for his second goal of the day. Penn State was not making it easy for Princeton to keep offensive possession. The Nittany Lions were slowing down their offense, killing time on the clock to try to maintain their lead as long as possible.

Both teams had only scored once in the second quarter, with 5:00 left to go. After some time, Michael Faraone extended Penn State’s lead to seven with 2:21 left to play in the half.

With 27 seconds to go in the first half, Kabiri scored his second goal of the day for the Tigers. The half ended 9-3 as Penn State’s offense dominated the field.

The second half of the game started with a faceoff violation, and Penn State turned over the ball. With Penn State’s strong defense, it gained possession quickly back, but the game remained slow in the first few minutes.

With 12:24 left to go in the third quarter, Aquino scored his second of the day, giving Penn State a seven-goal lead.

Princeton looked to get offensive momentum and took more controlled shots, but the Nittany Lions maintained strong defense with impressive stick-checking. Defender Alex Ross had his third turnover of the game early in the third quarter. Goalie Preston Hawkins was also making spectacular saves in the net, letting no ball go behind him against one of the best offenses in the country.

However, with 4:22 left to go in the quarter, the streak stopped as Colin Burns scored, narrowing Penn State’s lead to six.

The third quarter had been slower offensively than most of the game. Penn State’s defense had been shutting down the Tigers despite their aggression. Princeton couldn’t find a way to consistently put the ball in the back of the net with the patience and focus Penn State’s defense had.

The third quarter finished 10-4, as the Nittany Lions’ defense remained strong, causing six turnovers in the quarter alone, allowing only one goal.

Princeton started the fourth quarter with possession, but with the ball on their defensive side. Aquino got a penalty for Penn State, giving the Tigers a man up early in the fourth. Princeton took advantage of that as Chad Palumbo scored within one minute.

Penn State remained slow on offense, still wanting to kill time with a five-goal lead. Princeton looked to be even more aggressive on offense, and with 12:53 left to go in the game, Peter Buonanno scored a goal for the Tigers, narrowing Penn State’s lead to only four.

Penn State’s defense started to falter in the fourth quarter. With 10:09 left in the game, Tucker Wade scored, giving Princeton its fourth goal in a row. The Nittany Lion offense still looked to kill time, but the Tigers were slowly coming back. Penn State started to move quicker on offense, and Patrick Carragher scored with 8:11 left in the game on a shot-clock buzzer beater, giving the Nittany Lions some relief.

The fourth quarter picked up pace on Princeton’s offensive side of the field. With limited time remaining, there was a rush to catch up on the lead Penn State held all game. However, Aquino used his height to extend Penn State’s lead back to five with 6:17 left to go, earning a hat trick on the day.

Even though Princeton was looking like it would make a comeback, Penn State didn’t let that stop it as Liam Matthews scored with 3:36 left to go. The Nittany Lions stopped Princeton’s offensive momentum and finished the game 13-7, beating the No. 3-ranked team.

Takeaways

• Penn State dominated early, allowing it to maintain a lead throughout the whole game. This allowed the Nittany Lions to remain calm and continue to play at a steady pace. They showed they can compete at the highest level, taking down a top-three team with an electric offense.
• The Nittany Lions showed the variety of offensive weapons the team has, with goals from eight different players. Aquino led the team in scoring with three goals.
• Penn State’s defense was able to stop one of the best offenses in the country, with 16 turnovers and a dominant performance by goalie Preston Hawkins.

What’s Next?

Penn State heads to Annapolis, Maryland, for a game against the Navy Midshipmen on Saturday, February 21, at noon. The game will be played at Memorial Stadium.