No. 9 Penn State men’s lacrosse(5-3, 1-0 Big Ten) defeated No. 11 Maryland (3-4, 0-1 Big Ten) 10-6 in a dominant defensive performance.

Preston Hawkins dominated in goal with a total of 14 saves for the day, beating his personal record. Maryland struggled to score as the Nittany Lions forced many turnovers throughout the game.

The second half started slowly for Penn State. The team didn’t score once in the third quarter but was able to fight back in the fourth and win.

How It Happened

Maryland won the opening face-off and started the game with the first possession. After a dropped pass by the Terrapins, Penn State got the ball and had a chance to score.

The first two shots taken by Penn State were saved, the third off the post, and the fourth was saved again. Penn State had five straight shots missed but recovered the ball each time.

On the sixth shot, Chase Robertson finally capitalized for the Nittany Lions with 12:12 remaining in the first quarter.

Penn State won the next face-off in an intense battle.

John Jude Considine scored the second goal for Penn State with 10:52 left in the first.

On Maryland’s next possession, a flag was thrown on Penn State, and the Nittany Lions went man down. Braden Erksa scored the first goal for the Terps with 8:12 left in the first.

Penn State won its third face-off but had a crease violation, giving Maryland possession. Leo Johnson scored for the Terps with 4:18 left in the quarter, tying the game.

Penn State had a slower start than it had hoped. The team had many missed shots to start the quarter, which caused a few turnovers on offense.

Penn State won the next face-off and quickly scored. Mark Watters scored his first goal of the game with 3:30 left in the first. Watters only had one goal on the season prior, but he came up big for the Nittany Lions to regain the lead.

Robertson scored another goal for Penn State with 1:52 left in the quarter. Robertson got his 10th goal of the season and put the Nittany Lions back up two.

After a beautiful spin move around the crease, Jack Iannantuono scored his first of the game with eight seconds left in the first.

The quarter ended 5-2 as Penn State had a great finish in the first. Face-offs were being controlled by the Nittany Lions, giving them more opportunities to score. Penn State had more time of possession on offense and took advantage early in the game.

Penn State won the first face-off of the second quarter, but a missed shot forced the ball to go the other way. Goalie Preston Hawkins had a great save to give the Nittany Lions the ball back.

Mac Hobbs scored his first goal of the game and of the year with 12:26 left in the half. He had an amazing shot scored as he fell down while catching and shooting the ball.

Maryland won the next face-off, but Hawkins had another great save, which allowed Penn State to march downfield and score. Luke Walstrum scored his first of the game with 11:14 left in the half.

Maryland called a timeout to recenter its team.

The second quarter was a little slower than the first. With seven minutes remaining, there were only two goals scored by both teams. Penn State’s shots weren’t on goal, and Maryland was causing turnovers on many possessions.

Hawkins had two back-to-back saves late into the second quarter to give Penn State a shot to score. However, the Nittany Lions still couldn’t find a way to get shots on goal and turned the ball over.

Hawkins had another save to give Penn State possession again. But Penn State turned the ball over, which led to a goal by Maryland, ending the drought. Penn State still led 7-3 with 1:26 left in the half.

Maryland won the next face-off and had another chance to narrow its deficit. Hawkins finished the half with a save as Penn State led 7-3. Face-offs had been going Penn State’s way, and the team was able to jump ahead of the Terps.

Penn State’s defense held Maryland to only three goals in the half, but for the amount of time Penn State had on offense, there definitely could have been more goals scored. Nevertheless, the Nittany Lions still looked dominant in the game.

Penn State won the opening face-off of the second half. Maryland quickly saved a shot and had its first chance to narrow the deficit.

Hawkins had his first save of the half and gave Penn State an opportunity to score.

A shot clock violation on Penn State turned the ball over. Maryland scored the first goal of the second half with 10:29 left in the third quarter.

Penn State took control of the ball after a missed shot by Maryland. However, a dropped pass by the Nittany Lions gave the Terps the ball again.

Both teams struggled to find ways to score. Many dropped passes and missed shots were huge contributing factors. With less than 2 minutes left in the third, there was only one goal scored the whole quarter.

The third quarter ended as Penn State led 7-4 over Maryland.

Penn State started the fourth quarter with possession, but no shots were able to fall through.

Maryland was quickly able to respond and score with 13:45 left in the game. Penn State only led by two goals with zero goals scored in the second half.

Maryland won the next face-off, but Hawkins saved yet another shot today. That became his tenth save of the game and brought him one away from tying his personal record.

Hawkins managed to tie his record on Maryland’s next possession.

Penn State still couldn’t capitalize on offense. The team had three passes stolen in a row, and with less than eight minutes to go in the fourth quarter, the team still had zero goals in the second half.

Maryland was able to force a turnover and score with 7:19 left in the game. Penn State only led by one goal and was up 7-6.

Hobbs ended Penn State’s second-half goal drought with 6:11 left in the game. The goal was a big relief for Penn State to maintain a two-goal lead.

The Nittany Lions found rhythm on offense and managed to score another goal. Michael Farone scored his first goal of the game with 5:14 left in the game to extend Penn State’s lead to three.

Penn State won the next face-off with hopes of getting a third straight goal. The Nittany Lions missed a shot but were able to chase it out before it went out of bounds. As Maryland’s goalie left the net open, Kyle Lehman scored his first goal of the game with 3:55 left in the game.

Time slowly ticked down, and Maryland couldn’t complete its comeback. The game finished 10-6, and Penn State won its first game against Maryland at home.

Takeaways

• Penn State’s defense started the first half strong and remained resilient throughout the game. Maryland struggled to score since the defense forced many turnovers.
• Preston Hawkins broke his personal record for saves today with 14. He gave the Nittany Lions more time on offense, leading to a strong win.
• The third quarter was a struggle for Penn State’s offense as the team couldn’t find a way to score. Many shots today were not on target or saved.
• The Nittany Lions are the third-ranked team in face-offs, and the Terps are fourth. Today’s game was one to look for face-off dominance. Penn State led 11-8 on the day.

What’s Next?

Penn State travels to Columbus to take on No. 7 Ohio State at 3 p.m. on Saturday, March 21, at Ohio Stadium. The game will be streamed on Big Ten Plus.