On Saturday, Penn State men’s lacrosse lost its second straight game to an unranked opponent in Michigan. Following the loss, Penn State dropped 10 spots in the Inside Lacrosse rankings.

The team had a low shooting rate of .250 and tied a season low of eight goals in a game. While they only lost by one goal, the Nittany Lions managed just 32 shots taken and were physically dominated by the Wolverines’ defense.

This year, Penn State has had some impressive wins. It took down Princeton, Cornell, Maryland, and Ohio State, all of which were ranked at the time of competition.

However, this is where the season has been extraordinary for the Nittany Lions: They are currently 6-5, but four out of those five losses were in games they were favored to win. Villanova, Navy, Hopkins, and Michigan all defeated Penn State despite entering those matchups unranked or ranked lower than it.

Penn State seems to come more prepared against stronger teams and play sloppily against lower-ranked teams. Head coach Jeff Tambroni said the team possibly gets less motivated the week prior, which he takes responsibility for.

“When our guys look at them, that week of preparation or coming into the game, we’re not as excited or prepared, and that’s gonna fall down on my shoulders,” Tambroni said. “I don’t think that’s the case, but that’s probably the most obvious: when we’re playing these teams, we’ve got to be a little bit more even-keeled, regardless of where the ‘rankings’ may be.”

Tambroni further explained that he expects experienced players to focus on the remainder of the season, no matter the opponent.

“That comes with maturity. You hope that your seniors can lock down and maintain a focus every day, no matter what the challenge is,” he said.

Despite the loss, attackman Hunter Aquino scored two goals in his first game back since injury. He plays a huge role in the Nittany Lions’ offense, and Tambroni couldn’t be happier to see him return. He said the past six weeks were challenging, but Aquino’s done well recovering.

“Physically, he’s done a really good job of getting himself back into shape, getting himself back into a healthy posture. Mentally, it’s really hard when you take away the sport that you love so much. Part of that is identity. Part of it is just participation with your teammates,” Tambroni said.

While it’s great to see Aquino step back onto the field, he still needs time to settle.

“He’s missed six weeks of lacrosse, competitive lacrosse. Coming out here today, I thought he did a nice job,” Tambroni said. “But I think it does take some time to get him back into what a game feels like, and I know he’ll continue to keep growing as the days and hopefully weeks continue.”

Penn State only has one more regular-season game remaining. While every Big Ten team qualifies for the conference tournament, the Nittany Lions need a strong finish to improve their postseason positioning and national title hopes.

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