No. 10 Penn State men’s lacrosse (6-3, 2-0 Big Ten) defeated No. 8 Ohio State (8-2, 1-1 Big Ten) 13-6 with great offensive improvement from last week.

Penn State dominated the offensive side of the ball against one of the best defenses in the country. Chase Robertson led the team with three goals, and Penn State had seven other players score today.

The Nittany Lions’ defense also stepped up with many passes intercepted and stick checks enforced. Preston Hawkins had another 10-save game and an impressive 62.5 save percentage.

This game was a huge defensive battle. Ohio State is one of the best scoring defenses in the country, and Penn State came off a great performance against Maryland. Hawkins had a great day in net and looked to do the same against the Buckeyes. Penn State also forces many turnovers in each game and is one of the best teams in the country for it.

How It Happened

Penn State won the opening face-off to gain possession, but the Nittany Lions quickly turned the ball over.

Ohio State had its first shot blocked on the team’s first drive. Penn State got the ball back and looked to have the first goal of the game.

Michael Farone capitalized on Penn State’s opportunity and scored the first goal of the game with 12:44 left in the first quarter.

Ohio State won the next face-off but had a shot saved by Hawkins, who was off to a great start.

Penn State ran down the field and scored a goal with 10:37 left in the first. Liam Matthews had an incredible behind-the-back goal while falling down.

Ohio State won another face-off, but the Buckeyes ran out of time. Penn State’s defense had great pressure, forcing Ohio State to have a shot clock violation.

After Penn State forced a turnover, John Jude Considine ran and cut to the crease to score with 7:39 left in the quarter. The Nittany Lions found their rhythm early, taking a three-goal lead.

Penn State won the next face-off and quickly scored again, less than 30 seconds later, through Jack Iannantuono.

Ohio State called a timeout with 7:03 left in the first quarter after going down 4-0. The number one defense in the country had an early deficit against an aggressive Penn State offense. Penn State had a 35-minute scoring drought last week, but came out hot against Ohio State.

The Buckeyes continued to miss shots by shooting wide or having them saved by Hawkins. However, Kyle Foster had almost a full field goal after he noticed Hawkins was out of the net.

A careless mistake by Hawkins, which hasn’t been seen often recently, led to a Buckeye goal. Ohio State narrowed its deficit to three with 3:41 left in the quarter.

Penn State responded as Matthews scored his second of the game with 2:40 left in the first, but Ohio State quickly came back and scored with 2:08 remaining.

The first quarter ended with Penn State leading 5-2 with an impressive offensive performance against one of the best defenses in the country. The Nittany Lions gave up two late goals in the first, but overall stepped up on defense as well.

Ohio State won the first face-off in the second quarter. The team scored with 14:12 left in the half after Hawkins got a piece of the ball, but it slowly bounced behind him to just go past the line.

On Penn State’s next possession, Robertson scored with 12:18 left in the half. Robertson put the Nittany Lions back up to a three-point lead.

Both teams had back-and-forth possessions, forcing turnovers on both ends. However, Penn State started to slow down on offense to score.

Iannantuono scored his second goal of the game with 9:50 remaining in the half. The Nittany Lions were stunning the Buckeyes early in the game.

After another few minutes, both teams were causing turnovers from dropped passes. Penn State took a timeout with around seven minutes remaining to recenter its offense.

The team had the opportunity to gain its largest lead of the game thus far. Penn State had a shot saved, but Hawkins responded with his third save of the game.

Ohio State had a sloppy start on offense due to the Nittany Lions’ strong stick checking and pass deflections. The Buckeyes were really struggling to find the middle of the field and strong shot opportunities.

On Penn State’s next possession, the team almost had a shot clock violation, but a cross-check on Ohio State gave them a man-up opportunity.

After a pump fake by Kyle Lehman, he found Robertson standing open next to the crease for an easy catch and score with 1:14 left in the half.

The Nittany Lions took their biggest lead of the game, up five goals.

The first half ended with Penn State leading 8-3. The team had been dominating Ohio State on offense and putting great pressure on defense. The defense was also able to read many passes and steal the ball throughout the game.

Ohio State won the first face-off of the second half, but in no time at all, Penn State checked the ball to gain possession.

Ohio State responded with a turnover on the Nittany Lions. The Buckeyes scored the first goal of the second half with 13:14 left in the third quarter. After a quick run around the crease and a bounce shot into the goal, Ohio State started the half how they wanted.

On Ohio State’s next possession, Hawkins had a great save down low to put Penn State back on offense. The Nittany Lions turned the ball over, and Ohio State had a shot right in front of the crease, but Hawkins saved it again.

His progression in recent games has shown as he continued to prevent the Buckeyes from scoring.

Mark Watters scored for Penn State after cutting through multiple defenders and bouncing the shot into the goal. Penn State gained its five-goal lead back with 8:00 left in the third.

However, Ohio State responded 21 seconds later with a goal off the post.

Then, with 7:21 left to go in the third, John King had a ball checked out of his stick but managed to go between goalie Caleb Fyock’s stick. A lucky goal for the Nittany Lions, but the team will always be happy with the result.

Penn State got the ball again, and Farone scored his second goal of the day with an underhand snipe on a narrow angle. Penn State took its largest lead of the game, up six goals.

The Nittany Lions started to slow down on offense to kill time on the clock.

Ohio State was in need of momentum on offense. Penn State continued to win ground balls and force turnovers, giving no easy shot opportunities.

The start of the third quarter went Ohio State’s way, but the Nittany Lions kept fighting and playing aggressively to maintain their lead.

With 52 seconds left in the third quarter, Penn State went man up due to a slash from the Buckeyes.

With some distance from the goal, Robertson side-armed and bounced the ball low for a goal with 21 seconds left in the third. He got a hat trick, leading Penn State in goals today.

The quarter ended 12-5 with Penn State up seven goals on Ohio State. Hawkins continued to make impressive saves, and the defense was dominating ground balls today.

Penn State appeared to be in a great position to slow down and finish the game strong.

Fyock was subbed out for Ohio State for Jack Allen to start the fourth quarter. The first face-off went to Penn State as well, giving the Nittany Lions another opportunity to extend their lead.

Penn State had a shot off the post, which gave Ohio State the ball. The Buckeyes needed to move quickly and use every offensive opportunity given to come back.

Luke Walstrum scored his first goal of the day while getting wrangled around his neck. A flag was thrown to give Penn State another man-up opportunity with 11:54 left in the game.

Thirteen seconds later, Ohio State responded with a cut to the crease and an easy goal.

Penn State had the next possession, but Allen made a nice save for Ohio State. He came into the game against a strong offense but stood tall.

The game started to slow down, but Ohio State still had hope. The Buckeyes went man-up and looked to come back late into the game. However, a shot clock violation sent the ball the other way.

After a few more forced turnovers, Penn State stayed strong and beat Ohio State 13-6.

Takeaways

• Penn State’s offense had many improvements from last week, scoring goals in each quarter. Ohio State’s defense is one of the best in the country, and the Nittany Lions found great shot opportunities throughout the game.
• Preston Hawkins had 10 saves today and an above 60% save percentage. He is proving to be a star early into his collegiate career.
• Penn State forced 23 turnovers against Ohio State today. The defense really stepped up with stick checks and intercepted passes throughout the whole game.

What’s Next?

Penn State travels to Baltimore to take on No. 11 Johns Hopkins at noon on Saturday, April 4, at Homewood Field.