No. 14 Penn State men’s lacrosse (4-2, 0-0 Big Ten) beat No. 7 Cornell (3-1, 0-0 Ivy League) 19-7 at Panzer Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

The Nittany Lions took control in the first and third quarter, scoring seven goals in each. Four players recorded a hat trick, led by Kyle Lehman with six. Penn State’s defense also stepped up, holding Cornell to only seven goals and forcing many turnovers throughout the game.

How It Happened

Penn State won the opening faceoff, but quickly turned the ball over to give Cornell the first offensive possession of the game.

Goalie Preston Hawkins made his first save of the game, giving the Nittany Lions their first offensive possession. Lehman drew first blood with 13:15 left to go in the first quarter.

Penn State quickly won the next faceoff as Micheal Farone sniped the ball in the net with 12:16 left to go in the first.

The Nittany Lions started the game strong with control on offense. Both goals were unassisted and Penn State’s defense let no easy shots off.

John Jude Considine scored Penn State’s third goal of the game with 8:57 left to go in the first frame. The Nittany Lions took an early lead up 3-0 on the reigning champs.

With another faceoff win by Colby Baldwin, Penn State quickly scored another goal. Lehman scored his second of the day with 8:14 left to go in the first.

Penn Srare team took a four-goal lead and forced multiple turnovers on defense. The Big Red struggled on finding shots close to the crease.

Another stick check led to a Nittany Lions offensive possession. While getting pushed to the ground, Liam Matthews scored his first goal of the game with 4:09 left to go in the first.

Cornell won the next faceoff, but again quickly turned the ball over. Jack Iannantouno ripped the ball into the net with 3:37 left to go in the first quarter.

Penn State dominated the field in the first quarter with a 6-0 lead with three minutes left to go. Within the next minute, Lehman scored another goal, getting a hat trick in the first quarter alone. The Nittany Lions led 7-0 with 2:38 left.

The Nittany Lions’ defense forced turnover after turnover, allowing the offense to work. Cornell caused a cross check penalty, allowing Penn State to be man up on offense to end the first quarter.

Penn State started the second quarter with possession. A saved shot by Cornell led to its first offensive possession, but the Big Red missed a shot.

Iannantuono scored his second goal of the game with 12:32 left in the first half.

Cornell responded with an unassisted goal scored by Ryan Waldman with 10:22 left in the half. The Big Red were in desperate need to get on the scoreboard down eight goals.

Penn State bounced back with another goal scored by Lehman with 9:56 left in the half. Penn State maintained its eight-goal lead.

Hawkins had another save to give Penn State the ball again. Lehman scored his fifth goal of the game to give the Nittany Lions their largest lead of the game. Penn State went up nine with 6:56 left in the half.

After a missed shot and challenge by Penn State, Cornell got the ball on offense again. Matthew Perfetto scored with 4:50 left in the half. The Big Red narrowed their deficit to eight.

The Nittany Lions were not able to produce as many goals in the second quarter. A shot-clock violation by Penn State gave Cornell the ball again, but the Big Red turned it over.

The first half ended 10-2 as Penn State managed to gain an early lead over Cornell. Lehman led the team in goals with five in the first half alone.

The second half started with a faceoff win by Cornell. A behind-the-back pass led to a goal scored by Willem Firth with 14:09 left in the third quarter.

Andrew Beard responded for Penn State and scored the team’s first goal of the second half with 13:34 left in the third.

Both teams started out hot to start the second half. Cornell needed to quickly get back into the game, and Penn State needed to maintain its strong lead.

But, Willem scored another goal for Cornell with 9:33 left in the third.

Penn State responded as Lehman scored his sixth of the game with 8:38 left in the third. The Nittany Lions led 12-4 with eight minutes left in the third quarter.

Defender Alex Ross ran downfield and assisted Matthews for another goal for Penn State with 7:17 left in the third. Within the next minute, Farone scored an unassisted goal with 6:25 left in the quarter.

Penn State took control of the offensive side of the ball again gaining another boost of momentum.

The Nittany Lions continued to force turnovers on the defensive side. Hawkins was a force in the goal preventing potential goals for Cornell.

Farone scored a his third of the game with 3:02 left in the third. Farone became the second player on the team to score a hat trick on the day.

With a forced turnover by Penn State, Matthews scored a goal with 2:14 left in the quarter. Matthews became the third player to score a hat trick in the game.

Penn State got another offensive possession and scored another goal with 34 seconds left in the game. Beard got his second goal of the day.

The third quarter ended 17-4 as Penn State took a 13-point lead.

Cornell won the opening face off in the fourth quarter, but a missed shot gave that Penn State the ball again. However, a shot-clock violation gave Cornell the ball back.

Hawkins got another save to prevent Cornell from reaching five goals. Iannantuono scored another goal with 10:53 left in the game. He became the fourth player for Penn State to record a hat trick.

Cornell scored a much-needed goal in response with 8:25 left in the game. Perfetto scored his second of the game.

Cornell scored another goal with 7:45 left in the game. Luke Robinson scored his first and gave Cornell a small boost of energy.

Penn State responded with a goal scored by Enzo Grieco with 5:35 left in the game with his first collegiate goal.

Ryan Goldstein scored another goal for Cornell with 2:56 left in the game.

The game ended 19-7 in Penn State’s favor.

Takeaways

• Penn State took an early 7-0 lead in the first quarter. The offense wasted no time to showcase its ability to score quickly.
• The defense stepped up with fourteen caused turnovers in the game. Cornell’s offense struggled to move the ball efficiently and find good shot opportunities.
• Eight different players scored goals for Penn State today. The team proved they have solid offensive depth.

What’s Next?

Penn State hits the road to take on No. 5 North Carolina at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 14, at American Legion Memorial Stadium.