No. 6 Penn State men’s lacrosse (6-4, 2-1 Big Ten) fell to No. 16 Johns Hopkins (7-3, 2-1 Big Ten) after giving up a five-point lead.

The Nittany Lions started the game slowly, but picked up in the second quarter, finishing the first half 7-4. In the first few minutes of the third quarter, Penn State quickly scored two more goals to take a five-point lead.

However, the team went on a 22-minute scoring drought where Johns Hopkins took over and came back to win.

How It Happened

Johns Hopkins won the opening face-off, but quickly turned the ball over. Penn State took over possession but lost the ball from a stick check.

The Blue Jays scored the first goal of the game with 12:14 left in the first quarter. A wide-open crease shot led to a Hopkins goal to take the first lead.

On Penn State’s next possession, the team struggled to find a good shot opportunity. The team almost ran out of time on the shot clock, but a penalty by Hopkins reset the clock.

Penn State went man up and capitalized on the opportunity. Kyle Lehman was open on the side of the goal and scored with 10:19 left in the first.

The Blue Jays took control on the next face-off after a hard-fought battle. They were pressured into taking a timeout after the ball was forced out of bounds.

The game was 1-1 with 10 minutes left in the quarter.

Preston Hawkins made a great save to put the ball the other direction, but a dropped pass turned the ball over.

Johns Hopkins wasted no time in marching downfield and scoring with 8:37 left in the first. Penn State’s offense was struggling to find any shot opportunities. The only reasonable one was on a man-up opportunity.

Johns Hopkins won the next face-off and became 4-4 on the day. The Nittany Lions needed to find a way to take control. With three turnovers and no face-off wins, the Blue Jays looked dominant.

Penn State took over on offense and had beautiful passing movement through X to find the middle of the field for an easy goal. Michael Farone scored his first of the day with 5:44 left in the first.

The Nittany Lions won their first face-off of the game after a push call on Hopkins. They hustled to get the ball outside of the box and quickly passed the ball to a wide-open Liam Matthews for an easy goal. Penn State took the lead with 4:32 left in the quarter.

With a second face-off win, Penn State was finding its rhythm. Chase Robertson dodged a defender to score a goal with 3:51 left in the first.

Penn State had a 3-0 run within two minutes.

Luke Walstrum eventually had to be helped off the field. He was able to walk, but needed assistance. It looked like a possible ankle sprain, but a huge loss for the Nittany Lions.

After a few back and forth possesions, Johns Hopkins took over in the final seconds of the first quarter. The Penn State defense got mixed up, which led to a goal by the Blue Jays with .5 seconds remaining in the first.

The quarter ended with Penn State leading 4-3. The team typically starts out hot, but the Hopkins defense contained the Nittany Lions.

Penn State won the opening face-off in the second quarter. The team took an early timeout to recenter after continuing to struggle on offense.

Jack Iannantuono made a remarkable diving goal behind X. He put Penn State back up by two with 13:02 left in the half.

Penn State’s defense dropped into more of a zone position. Hawkins made two nice saves to contribute to a turnover. Johns Hopkins had possession for almost three minutes, but the team looked scared to make a dodge. The Blue Jays simply passed the ball around the field until an opportunity presented, but none were open.

Mac Hobbs was able to snipe the corner of the net after getting around a defender with 8:43 left in the half. The last six shots were all goals from Penn State, and the team found momentum.

Hawkins continued to step up for Penn State with six saves in the first half thus far. His progression this year has been impressive, and his sixth save led to a goal from John Jude Considine. He made a great swim dodge in front of the crease for an easy goal with 5:03 left in the half.

Johns Hopkins was able to respond after a shot clock violation on Penn State. The Blue Jays narrowed their deficit to three with 2:45 left in the half.

Penn State called a timeout with 41 seconds left in the first half for a last-minute chance to score. The team couldn’t capitalize, and the first half ended 7-4.

The second quarter for Penn State was stronger defensively, only allowing one goal with strong zone defense. While having a slow start, the team still pulled ahead and found its rhythm with shooting. Johns Hopkins only has one save in the first half, so the team, when having a good opportunity, is hitting shots.

Penn State won the opening face-off in the second half. Within 30 seconds, Robertson scored to get his second of the day with 14:30 remaining in the third quarter.

With the team’s eight goals, Robertson became the first person to have multiple goals for Penn State today.

After a save from Hawkins, Walstrum scored his first goal of the day with an open shot in front of the crease. He came back after an apparent injury to score.

Penn State caused a turnover on its next possession, and a diving stick check stopped the Blue Jays. However, a recovery by Johns Hopkins led to a goal with 11:53 left in the quarter.

The Nittany Lions’ transition defense improved. An unlucky ground ball led to a goal, but the team still looked dominant coming out in the second half.

Johns Hopkins was able to find another open shot for a goal with 10:11 left in the third. The game became only a three-point difference.

Penn State was able to find strong shot opportunities, but missed many shots on multiple possessions. The second half of the quarter was slower for the Nittany Lions after a few turnovers.

Johns Hopkins had five saves to start the second half. After the fifth save, the Blue Jays finally took advantage of the opportunity and scored with 3:10 left in the third. Penn State started to fall behind and go on a scoring drought.

The Blue Jays made it a one-score game after a diving goal with 47 seconds left in the quarter. The Nittany Lions gave up four straight goals to Johns Hopkins and hadn’t scored in around 12 minutes.

The third quarter ended with Penn State leading 9-8. The team needed to be consistent with shots on goal. While having some good attempts, they lacked execution and had to find ways for easy looks near the crease.

Penn State won the first face-off in the fourth quarter and won 7-8 of the last face-offs. Even with control of possessions, Penn State had missed the last 14 shots.

After an open distance shot, Johns Hopkins tied the game with 13:19 left in the game.

Shortly after, the Blue Jays scored another goal with 12:49 left in the game. Hopkins took its first lead since the first quarter as the Nittany Lions continued their scoring drought.

Johns Hopkins managed to score another goal with a wide-open man in front of the crease. Hunter Chauvet scored his third goal of the game for the Blue Jays with 10:51 remaining.

Penn State won the next face-off but couldn’t get a shot off in time. Johns Hopkins was all over the field defensively. They forced Penn State’s 15 turnovers to try to go up three.

Robertson caught a contested catch in the middle of the field and scored a goal. He had a hat trick for Penn State and put them back in the game with 3:34 left in the game after a 22-minute scoring drought.

Hawkins made a great save, but a turnover on a clear attempt forced Penn State to put heavy pressure on the Blue Jays. The Nittany Lions got the ball back and called a timeout with 26 seconds remaining.

Penn State couldn’t score and lost the game 11-10 in a heartbreaker.

Takeaways

• Robertson led the offense today with a hat trick and a goal late into the fourth quarter to make the game closer.
• A 22-minute scoring drought caused Hopkins to go on a 7-0 run in the second half. Penn State lost a five-point lead.
• The offense struggled in the second half to put shots in the back of the net. They won the majority of the face-offs, but couldn’t adapt to the pressure from Johns Hopkins’ defense.

What’s Next?

Penn State comes home to take on Michigan at 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 11, at Panzer Stadium.