No. 16 Penn State men’s lacrosse (7-5, 3-2 Big Ten) defeated No. 19 Rutgers (8-6, 1-4 Big Ten) 16-8.

The offense stepped up for Penn State today. The team went on a six-goal run in the second quarter and took a huge lead going into the second half.

Hunter Aquino had four goals and looked back in true form after missing time this season. Penn State finished the regular season strong with a win.

How It Happened

Penn State gained the first possession after a foul by Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights had aggressive defense and strong stick checks to force a turnover. Rutgers scored the first goal of the game with 12:59 left in the first quarter. A swift dodge to the edge of the field led to an open bounce shot goal.

The Nittany Lions stopped Rutgers’ next two drives. Preston Hawkins had a save on the first, then Alex Ross checked a defender to lead Penn State’s next possession. Liam Matthews scored his first goal of the game for Penn State with 9:05 left in the quarter. He found himself wide open in front of the crease and easily bounced it in.

The next time Penn State was on offense, Jack Iannantuono scored right on the crease with traffic surrounding him. The team’s passing looked smooth and controlled compared to the first few possessions of the game. Penn State took the lead with 7:05 left in the first.

Rutgers then won its third face-off of the game. Penn State only had one face-off win off a penalty, and the Scarlet Knights took advantage with a goal. A misconnection by the defense allowed Rutgers to get behind X and score an open shot with 6:02 left in the quarter.

The next two possessions for Penn State resulted in a turnover and a shot clock violation. The defense had been staying on par with Rutgers, but the Nittany Lions couldn’t find a strong shot. Rugters eventually scored a goal with a top-shelf rip from a distance. The Scarlet Knights took their lead back with 1:48 left in the first.

Rutgers won the next face-off and took a timeout just under a minute and a half left in the quarter. Penn State forced a turnover and took a slow approach on offense to run down the clock. Andrew Beard sprinted by a defender to score his first goal of the game with 24 seconds in the quarter.

The first quarter ended in a 3-3 tie. Penn State’s offense wasn’t getting the best shot looks offensively, but late into the quarter, its passing became more controlled.

Penn State won the first face-off of the second quarter. The team turned the ball over, and a second time on its next possession after a dropped pass. Hawkins made two saves at the beginning of the quarter to make up for the lost time on offense.

Penn State went man up a few minutes into the second. The team had two good shot attempts but missed both and gave the Scarlet Knights the ball. The quarter remained scoreless in the first seven minutes. Both teams had great pressure on defense, and both goalies were making impressive saves to prevent any goals.

Kyle Lehman broke the scoring drought, jumping in the air for a low shot to put Penn State back in the lead. The Nittany Lions led 4-3 with 6:17 left in the half. Shortly after, Aquino pump-faked a defender to create open space and scored with 4:13 left in the half.

Less than a minute later, Aquino made another pump-fake move and slid to the middle of the field for a second straight goal. He became the first multi-scorer for Penn State with 3:35 left in the half. On the next face-off, Reid Gills quickly scooped the ball and scored five seconds after Aquino. Penn State went up four goals over the Scarlet Knights.

Rugters’ offense started to look sloppy and uncontrolled. The team also had a one-minute penalty after a forced turnover from Penn State. Chase Robertson found himself open on the side of the goal on the man-up opportunity. He scored his first goal with 58 seconds left in the half. Rutgers called a timeout with 44 seconds remaining.

Rutgers turned the ball over late in the first half, and Penn State marched downfield to score with one second left. Lehman dove in front of the goal for a last-second shot to put Penn State up six goals.

The first half ended 9-3 after a second-quarter six-goal run. The offense found a great rhythm, and the defense allowed zero goals in the quarter. If Penn Stats continued this playstyle, the game could be a dominant win.

Penn State won the opening face-off in the second half. Lehman was able to find the corner of the goal from a distance. He got a hat trick with 14:13 left in the third quarter. Rutgers responded on its next drive after a long scoring drought in the second quarter. The game went to 10-4 with 12:59 left in the third.

The game went scoreless for a long time. Both teams had shot clock violations and had many shots wide. Penn State’s defense stayed strong and covered the crease well. Rutgers’ goalie Cardin Stoler was preventing multiple shots from going in.

The Scarlet Knights eventually ended the scoring drought with 4:26 left in the third. Rutgers narrowed its deficit to five goals. But, on the Nittany Lion’s next possession, Beard drove the goal and scored at the top of the net. He extended Penn State’s lead back to six.

Rutgers didn’t let the goal stop them and scored off a deflection. Hawkins was confused and lost track of the ball. The game went to 11-6, and Penn State still held a strong lead. Liam Matthews then entered the multi-goal list for Penn State. He was wide open in front of the crease and scored an easy shot.

The third quarter ended with Penn State in the lead 12-6. The team had only three goals, but also allowed only three goals to stay even with Rutgers.

Rutgers won the first draw of the fourth quarter, and Penn State drew a penalty. Rutgers couldn’t find success when it was a man up, and the Nittany Lions took control. Aquino bounced it in to get a hat trick, which became his fourth this season. Penn State went up 13-6 with 11:57 left in the game.

Aquino dodged a defender to score a second straight goal. After missing time this season with an injury, people could assume he looked back on track. Matthews stole a ball on a clear to score on an open net and became the third person for the Nittany Lions to get a hat trick. Penn State went up nine goals over the Scarlet Knights.

The next few minutes remained scoreless, but Patrick Carragher scored his first of the game. He took his opportunity to shine and put Penn State up 10 with 5:39 left in the game.

Rutgers eventually responded with two goals inside the final two minutes. It gave the Scarlet Knights a small boost, but it wasn’t enough.

Penn State won 16-8 in its final regular-season game.

Takeaways

• Aquino scored four goals, which is the most he has scored since returning from his injury.
• The defense led by Ross and Hawkins stepped up after the first quarter. Rutgers only scored five after the first 15 minutes.
• The second quarter was a huge jump for Penn State. The team went on a six-goal run and jumped ahead 9-3 in the first half.

What’s Next?

Penn State plays its first game in the Big Ten tournament on Saturday, April 25. The time, opponent, and site are TBA.