No. 10 Penn State men’s lacrosse (2-2 0-0 Big Ten) fell in dramatic fashion 12-11 to the Navy Midshipmen (3-1, 0-0 Patriot League) at Marine Corps Memorial Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Similar to all Penn State lacrosse games this season, it was another high-paced contest where neither team could gather momentum. Coming off a big win against Princeton last week, the Nittany Lions hoped to continue building confidence, but Navy had other plans. The Midshipmen were led by Haley’s four goals, three of which came late in the second half to help secure the 12-11 victory.

How It Happened

Penn State won the opening face-off, but it was Navy who struck first. Just over a minute into the game, William Goers wasted no time in giving the Midshipmen an early 1-0 lead. The Navy sophomore became a very familiar name throughout the contest.

With 11 minutes remaining in the first, junior Kyle Lehman tied the game with a turnaround shot into the right corner of the net. Two minutes later, Lehman caught the Midshipmen out of position on defense and capitalized on the breakdown. He scored his second goal of the match off an assist by Patrick Keenan to give Penn State a 2-1 lead with nine minutes.

Back-to-back turnovers stalled Penn State’s next two possessions, giving Navy an opening. Senior attack man Mac Haley tied the game at 2-2 with 7:51 to go.

Penn State regained the lead when Lucca Dibartolomeo finished a Jack Iannatuno assist to make it 3-2. Fast forward a few minutes in the game until Patrick Carragher nailed the back of the net for Penn State off an assist by Hunter Aquino. This pushed the Nittany Lions ahead 4-2 and gave them their first two-goal cushion of the contest.

Back-and-forth action kept the match moving along until Navy struck at the 1:31 mark. A slick move by sophomore Alec Gregorek allowed him to cash in his first goal of the game. This helped give Navy its first lead of the match since Goers opened the game with a score. After a couple of missed shots by both sides, Navy found itself in a man-up scenario. Goers took advantage of an out-of-position Penn State defense and scored his second of the day, putting the Midshipmen up 6-4 with 19 seconds to play in the first period.

The game moved on to the second period, and similar to the first period, Navy scored first. Jack Ponzio added his name to the score sheet off an assist by junior Nick Golini with 12:55 to go. To complete the first half hat trick, Goers expanded the Navy lead to 6-4, picking up his third goal of the day. Although the offense was humming along, it still had many sloppy moments. At this point in the first half, the Midshipmen had eight turnovers on the day, but Penn State had yet to make them pay.

A Penn State team that already suffered one upset on the season to Villanova was not looking to repeat history again in Annapolis. They began to pick up some steam at the 8:58 mark with a Matthews score off a Lehman assist. This was Matthews first of the day, but helped provide a subtle spark for a sputtering Nittany Lions offense.

Multiple missed shots and turnovers by both squads helped pass five minutes in the game, and a break in the back-and-forth finally came with 3:49 to play in the first half. Matthews had more tricks up his sleeve than just scoring when he provided a bounce pass assist to sophomore midfielder Chase Robertson, who knotted it up at 6-6.

Goers had a team-high 17 assists in the 2025 season. He showed off why when he went east to west from the right hash of the field, and after making a smooth cut in towards the net, he dished it off last second to Flaherty, who snapped off a quick release, finding the top right corner of the goal. Penn State freshman goalie Preston Hawkins had a phenomenal game last week against the Princeton Tigers, but seemed to be struggling to find the same success against the Midshipmen.

Penn State handled the final possession of the first half, and it began at the 20-second mark with the ball in Aquino’s hands. The All-American sophomore failed to make anything happen and was denied on the left side of the goal when the ball was knocked free of his stick. As the game headed into halftime, the Nittany Lions trailed the Midshipmen 7-6 and seemed very out of rhythm.

Three games into the 2026 season, Penn State had been a team that dominated the face-off game, but that success was hard to come by so far. Navy won the opening face-off of the second half but missed on their first shot opportunity. After some quick passes in transition, the Nittany Lions found an opening in the defense, and only 30 seconds into the second half, senior Jon King drilled the first score off a Lehman assist.

At the 11:16 mark in the third period, both teams had played an even ballgame. Each squad had seven goals apiece, 13 shots on goal, and eight face-offs won. The Midshipmen found some success in the first half on offense, but coming out in the second, they appeared very anxious.

A slashing penalty by Navy at the 7:47 mark in the third period provided Penn State with a man-up opportunity and they didn’t waste it. The Nittany Lions tossed around multiple passes and like a basketball shooter waiting at the free throw line, Aquino snagged the final pass and fired a laser into the top right corner of the net. Penn State led the Midshipmen 8-7 following the Aquino goal.

The Nittany Lions’ momentum wouldn’t last for long when Jack Flaherty sniped his second goal of the contest from deep into the bottom left pocket of the net. Following the goal, Penn State’s defense bounced back and forced a Navy shot clock turnover. Impressive defense translated into impressive offense for Penn State with 3:47 left in the third. Luke Walstrum snuck around the right corner of the net and tossed a quick dish to Liam Matthews, who tapped it in for his second goal of the day, giving Penn State a 9-8 lead.

Multiple sound defensive possessions by both teams would put a halt in the scoring until Gregorek drilled a goal at the 8:34 mark, tying it up at nine each. A contest that seemed to be heading in the defensive battle direction quickly flipped the offensive engine on. Penn State regained the lead 10-9 off Walstrum’s first goal of the game. With only six minutes to play, Navy was looking to tie it back up with a score.

With 5:21 to play in the fourth, Haley took matters into his own hands for the Midshipmen. The senior made a slick hesitation move on the right side of the field, fired a rocket into the bottom left pocket of the goal, and found his second goal of the contest. This tied it up at 10-10, but he wasn’t done yet.

At the 3:01 mark, he scored his third goal, completing the hat trick and giving Navy an 11-10 lead. Only 30 seconds later, Haley found success for the fourth time today, extending the Midshipmen’s lead to 12-10. He had found a gap in the Penn State defense, and he wasted no moves exploiting it.

Penn State didn’t plan to go down without a fight. A goal at 1:51 by Carragher at least provided the Nittany Lions with a fighter’s chance, but they didn’t have any more time to waste. They won the next face-off and got the shot they were looking for by Aquino, but it was blocked. The Midshipmen would maintain possession for the following 60 seconds and claim a massive victory over a reeling Penn State team.

Takeaways

• A late-game collapse on defense killed the Nittany Lions. They held a fourth-quarter lead, but then allowed three late goals. Defensive inconsistencies have been an issue all season, and many of those showed up today.
• Missed opportunities by Penn State are once again an issue. The offense came out slow again and eventually got into rhythm, but it wasn’t without committing too many turnovers that it found its groove. Against stronger opponents later in the season, those mistakes will be even more costly.
• Despite early inconsistencies, the offense was once again the bright spot. Eight different players scored a goal, and they had momentum going their way entering the fourth. The potential is there for this team, but they will need to find a way to piece it all together for a full game.

What’s Next?  

The Nittany Lions return home against Yale at 1 p.m. on Saturday, February 28, at Panzer Stadium. The game will be streamed on Big Ten Plus.