No. 15 Penn State men’s lacrosse (3-2) toppled Yale (2-2) 17-7 Saturday afternoon at a sunny Panzer Stadium. 

In their first game of the year at Panzer Stadium, the Nittany Lions had 26 shots on goal compared to Yale’s 14, and never looked back after getting out to a 3-0 lead in the first five minutes of the game.

How It Happened

Penn State controlled the opening faceoff but couldn’t capitalize on its first possession after a turnover near the crease. 

After Brendan Leary forced a turnover, Penn State got possession back but Hunter Aquino rang a shot off the crossbar. A couple shots later, the Nittany Lions cashed in to strike first off Jack Iannantuono’s fifth goal of the year 2:47 into the game. 

Less than a minute later, Iannantuono found an open Luke Walstrum, who scored easily to make it 2-0. 

Iannantuono, who started at X, then sprinted in front of the cage and bounced in his second of the opening five minutes to force a Yale timeout. 

Penn State’s defense continued hounding Yale, but the Bulldogs got on the board with 5:57 to go in the first on a low rip from Luke Pascal. 

On the ensuing two possession, Yale goalie Ben Friedman made a pair of saves, but the Nittany Lions kept possession and took a timeout. 

Penn State’s leading scorer Aquino extended the lead back to three off a goal assisted by Iannantuono, and the next few minutes were scoreless as Penn State led 4-1 after the first 15 minutes. 

To start the second frame, Reid Gills won a draw, ultimately setting up Michael Faraone for a goal. 

On Yale’s first possession of the quarter, a low Pascal shot was stopped by Penn State netminder Preston Hawkins. A couple minutes later, Alex Ross forced a turnover and Will Costin converted on the other end for his first goal of the season. 

With 8:45 remaining in the second, the referees deemed a shot from Alex Watters to be no goal, but after Jeff Tambroni and Penn State challenged, the call was overturned and the blue and white went up 7-1. 

A minute and 30 seconds later, Iannantuono set up Patrick Carragher for another Nittany Lion goal. 

On the next faceoff, Gills was assessed a 30-second holding penalty, and the Bulldogs converted on the man-up with a low-to-high goal scored by David Anderson. 

A few scoreless possessions went by before the next goal, which was scored by Andrew Beard off a Walstrum feed to put Penn State up 9-2 and get Beard fired up. 

A Sean Grogan turnover gave Penn State possession back late in the half, and with 8.9 seconds remaining, the Nittany Lions took a timeout. However, they didn’t get a shot off and Penn State went to the locker room up 9-2. 

Penn State started the second half with a ground ball pickup and shot by Jon King, but he hit the post. 

Pascal was assessed a one-minute unnecessary roughness penalty after a hit from behind, giving Penn State a man-up opportunity that resulted in Liam Matthews’ first goal of the game. 

Walstrum then set Penn State up from X and dished a pass to Chase Robertson in front of the crease for another goal to give Penn State an 11-2 advantage. 

The Bulldogs got one back on a Grogan goal to get their traveling fans back into it, and they held momentum as Pascal put his second of the day into the back of the net. 

Then, after a few missed shots, Yale was able to hold onto possession and Cole Cashion rifled a deep shot past Hawkins with 5:33 left in the third to make it a six-goal game. Cashion walked off the field gingerly after cramping on the shot. 

With 4:41 to go in the quarter, Walstrum took it himself right down Broadway and put a high shot past Friedman. Under a minute later, John Jude Considine dodged his way toward the net and scored, making it 13-5. 

Despite being defended tightly, Kyle Lehman bounced a deep shot in and the Nittany Lions kept it rolling to a nine-goal advantage with 2:56 left in the third. 

The offense stayed hot, as 39 seconds later, Watters found Aquino, who put it in Considine’s stick for his second goal of the afternoon, and Penn State led 15-5 going into the fourth quarter. 

Less than two minutes into the final quarter, Faraone scored his second goal of the game off another assist from Iannantuano, his fourth. William Sheehan and Grogan scored to respond for Yale, but Wesley Scurci got on the board for the Nittany Lions with just over four minutes remaining.

The next stretch was quiet, and Penn State improved to 3-2 with a 17-7 victory.

Takeaways

• Penn State’s offense spread the wealth, as 13 different players scored and four had multiple goals.
• While goaltending has been an issue early in the season, the Nittany Lions stopped half of Yale’s shots on goal, with Hawkins playing most of the game.
• The Nittany Lion defense was great in this game, causing 10 turnovers and forcing multiple shot-clock violations.

What’s Next? 

Penn State will return home to face No. 5 Cornell at 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 7 at Panzer Stadium.