No. 11 Penn State men’s lacrosse (6-5, 2-2 Big Ten) fell to Michigan (5-7, 2-2 Big Ten) 9-8 in a last-minute finish.

The first half was very sloppy for the Nittany Lions. The offense was pressured throughout the game and couldn’t find good shot opportunities.

The second half was a big difference, and the team came back to go up two against the Wolverines. Michigan scored three goals in the final 6:10 to finish strong and win the game.

How It Happened

Penn State won the opening faceoff and took over on offense. After a strong stick check by the Michigan defense, the Wolverines took over.

A shot clock violation gave the Nittany Lions the ball. A strong defensive start for Penn State led to a Hunter Aquino goal with 11:47 left in the first quarter. It was his first score back from injury.

Penn State won the next faceoff, but the team was bulldozed by the defense. However, the Nittany Lions reciprocated to get back on offense.

A delay of game penalty allowed Michigan to go man-up, but the Wolverines missed a shot. Penn State cleared the ball and turned it back over.

Michigan scored to tie the game with 7:51 left in the first frame.

Penn State won its third straight faceoff, but Michigan forced another turnover. The Wolverines were able to score another goal on a long-range bounce shot with 5:24 left in the quarter.

Michigan took control of possession to score a third goal with 4:46 left in the first. The Wolverines took a 3-1 lead and were in control on defense.

Penn State struggled with pressure from Michigan. The team got ran over and lost the ball consistently from stick checks.

Penn State also had a hard time clearing the ball after forcing turnovers. Michigan was able to keep a larger time of possession due to failed clear attempts.

The first quarter started to wind down, and Penn State had the ball within the last minute. However, the team couldn’t find a shot opportunity and ran out of time.

Penn State trailed 3-1 against unranked Michigan after the first window. The offense needed to find rhythm against the Wolverines’ pressure.

Penn State started the second quarter with the ball, but caused a turnover from a shot clock violation. Michigan failed its clear attempt and gave the Nittany Lions the ball again.

After a cut in the slot, Liam Matthews had a quick catch-and-shoot goal with 13:24 left in the half. Penn State cut its deficit to one.

Both teams had a few back-and-forth turnovers. Penn State attempted a couple of full-field shots with open net opportunities, but couldn’t score.

With 7:54 remaining in the half, Michigan scored after it found a wide-open shot in front of the crease. Penn State left a player unguarded, allowing the Wolverines to go back up two.

Penn State won the next faceoff, but quickly turned the ball over. Michigan ran downfield and immediately scored with 7:09 left in the half. After around six minutes with no goals on either end, Michigan scored two within a minute of each other.

Penn State was able to find better shot opportunities, but had three straight shots saved. After the Nittany Lions didn’t score, the first half ended. Michigan led 5-2.

Penn State’s offense needed to escape Michigan’s defensive pressure. The Wolverines double-teamed the ball and wrecked through each Nittany Lion player.

The Nittany Lions won the first faceoff of the second half. The team turned the ball over, but later regained possession.

Penn State had a few good shot opportunities, but Michigan saved them all. No team scored halfway through the third quarter as the game remained 5-2. Penn State struggled to work around Michigan’s defensive pressure and looked sloppy throughout the game.

After around a 27-minute scoring drought, Penn State was finally able to net its third goal. John King sprinted downfield after a clear to rip the ball and score from a long distance with 1:58 left in the third.

On the next possession for Penn State, Michigan had a delay of game penalty, allowing Penn State to go man-up. A conduct foul was then called on Michigan, which forced the team to only have four defenders on the field.

Michael Farone scored on a snipe from the outside with 1:01 left in the quarter. Penn State cut its deficit to just one goal.

The third quarter ended as Penn State trailed 5-4 after two last-minute goals to end the third frame. The defense increased its aggression and allowed no goals in the second half to that point.

Penn State won the first faceoff of the fourth quarter and quickly scored to tie the game. Luke Walstrum cut to the crease and scored a contested goal with 14:25 left in the game.

After a faceoff violation on Penn State, Michigan quickly responded after another player was left wide-open in front of the crease. The Wolverines took the lead with 13:57 left in the game.

Aquino responded for the Nittany Lions with an aggressive shot in the top corner of the net with 13:09 left in the game. He became the first Penn State player to score more than one goal on the day.

Shortly after, Chase Robertson threw an underhand shot at the bottom of the goal to put Penn State ahead of the Wolverines with 12:34 left in the game.

Michigan had a pass thrown out of bounds on its next possession, which led to another goal for the Nittany Lions. Walstrum scored his second with 9:22 left in the game to put Penn State up two.

After a turnover on Penn State’s next possession, Michigan was able to find another open man in front of the crease to score with 6:10 left in the game.

Penn State called a timeout with 2:47 left in the game with offensive possession.

A shot clock violation gave the Wolverines the ball. Michigan scored to tie the game with a long-distance goal with 1:43 remaining.

Penn State called another timeout with 1:29 left in the game.

A missed shot gave Michigan the ball. The Wolverines slowed down in an attempt to get a last-second shot off and executed. Michigan scored with 12 seconds remaining.

The Wolverines snuck away with a 9-8 win.

Takeaways

• The first half was a very slow start for the Nittany Lions. Their transition offense wasn’t strong, and clears were stolen consistently.
• Hunter Aquiono scored his first goals since returning from an injury. He had two on the day, leading the offense to eight goals.
• The second half was a huge difference for Penn State, but the team gave up last-minute goals after being up two for its second consecutive loss.

What’s Next?

Penn State travels to Piscataway, New Jersey, to take on No. 19 Rutgers at 1 p.m. on Friday, April 17, at SHI Stadium.