After a rocky start to the year, Penn State moved up one spot to No. 14 in the latest Inside Lacrosse rankings.

The Nittany Lions have collected convincing wins over No. 3 Princeton and unranked Yale. A victory over Princeton originally seemed like a step in the right direction, but after dropping a pair of games to Villanova and Navy, the progress has been limited. A 17-7 victory over Yale this past weekend helped boost the Nittany Lions up one ranking and should help boost some confidence.

Against the Bulldogs, freshman Jack Iannantuono and Kyle Lehman both led the team in scoring with a pair of goals. Despite his young age, Iannantuono has played a key role in the Nittany Lions’ offensive success. He is second on the team in scoring with 16 points and six goals. He is only one spot behind a familiar Nittany Lion name, Hunter Aquino.

Aquino, an All-American sophomore, is the driving force of the Penn State offense with a team-high 12 goals. In the victory over Yale, he tallied one goal and one assist. Similar to Iannantuono, Aquino is very young but has yet to have that show as a flaw. Instead, he has had an immediate impact since he arrived in Happy Valley. Last season, he racked up 37 points with 16 goals. For the Nittany Lions to have a successful season, they will run through the fast-paced offense, spearheaded by Aquino and Iannantuono.

The road to success will not get any easier for Penn State when it meets a familiar face this weekend — A matchup with the defending national champions in No. 7 Cornell. In 2025, the two met in the semifinals of the NCAA tournament, where the Big Red topped the Nittany Lions 11-9.

Penn State will host Cornell at 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 7, at Panzer Stadium. The game will be the Nittany Lions’ youth lacrosse promotional day. It can be streamed on Big Ten Plus.