No. 15 Penn State Men’s Lacrosse Defeats No. 7 Johns Hopkins 16-8 In Big Ten Title Game
No. 15 Penn State men’s lacrosse (10-5, 5-2 Big Ten) defeated No. 7 Johns Hopkins (10-5, 4-3 Big Ten) 16-8 to win the Big Ten Championship.
Penn State suffered a deficit three different times in the game. But the offense stepped up in the second half, scoring 10 goals.
Eleven players scored for the Nittay Lions on the day, showing how much of a threat the offense can be against strong opponents.
How It Happened
Johns Hopkins won the opening faceoff of the game, but the team quickly turned the ball over after a pass went out of bounds. Penn State took no time to score as Hunter Aquino pump-faked two defenders for an open shot as the Nittany Lions jumped out to a quick lead.
Penn State held the ball for around three minutes on its next drive. The team missed four shots, two off the post. Johns Hopkins scored its first goal on a strong top corner shot, which tied the game. Ryan Dirocco responded with a goal at the top of the net off the side.
The Nittany Lions had control of the time of possession. They were 3-1 in faceoffs early in the game. Despite this, the Blue Jays took full advantage on offense. They tied the game again after a strong diving cut to the crease. Johns Hopkins became 2-2 on shots with minimal time on offense. A media timeout was called with 5:59 left in the first quarter.
Preston Hawkins had a great save and chase after the timeout. Johns Hopkins goalie Oran Gelinas had two saves. The 6’4”, 225-pound goalie is hard to get by. The Blue Jays took their first lead of the game on a strong bounce shot. The first quarter ended with Penn State trailing 3-2 despite having four more shots.
Penn State won the first faceoff of the second quarter, but couldn’t find a strong shot. After a save by Hawkins, Penn State stormed back on offense, where Liam Matthews cut to the crease for an open shot and goal. The game became tied 3-3.
Johns Hopkins quickly took the lead again with another diving goal. The Blue Jays looked composed and in rhythm offensively after a slow start at the beginning of the first quarter. They took a timeout with 11:10 left in the half.
After the timeout, Penn State became more aggressive defensively, stopping a clear from Hopkins. Chase Robertson had a strong dodge for a goal down low. Penn State was awarded possession on the next faceoff, where Kyle Lehman stepped in and scored his first goal. He had a great cut to the middle of the field and easily finished the shot, giving Penn State a one-goal lead.
Johns Hopkins eventually committed the first penalty of the game, giving the Blue Jays a man-up opportunity. However, Hawkins saved a shot, and the game quickly went back to even. Penn State then missed two shots, and the shot clock was going down. But Matthews powered through a defender at the last second and scored through traffic.
The final two minutes were scoreless, and the first half ended as Penn State led 6-4. The team picked up defensively in the second quarter, only allowing one goal. The team was 9-9 on clears and found the middle of the field for better shots.
Penn State won the opening faceoff in the second half, but after a long scramble, Johns Hopkins got possession. The Blue Jays scored shortly after with a quick dodge to the goal. After a faceoff violation by Penn State, Hopkins scored another goal through a tight angle. The Blue Jays quickly tied the game and had a strong start to the third quarter.
Penn State’s defense started to fall behind early in the second half, but the offense still took control in terms of time of possession. Luke Walstrum had an open lane and scored a wide-open goal, which put Penn State back in the lead.
The Nittany Lions’ defense had some grit left and forced a big turnover on Hopkins’ next drive. Andrew Beard dodged past a defender and cut to the crease for a quick goal.
Shortly after, Jack Iannantuono scored his first goal of the game. He dove in front of the goal and shot it low to put Penn State up three, which became the largest lead of the day for the Nittany Lions.
The game went scoreless for the next four minutes. Both teams had a back-and-forth possession, but Penn State eventually had a shot that looked good but was ruled a miss. Robertson side-armed a shot, hitting both posts, but grazing the net. Jeff Tambroni challenged the shot and was successful. The Nittany Lions took a 10-6 lead with 2:30 left in the third quarter.
Penn State won the next faceoff, and Aquino stepped up for another goal. He ripped the ball from distance with one minute left in the quarter. After the goal, the third quarter ended as Penn State led 11-6 over the Blue Jays.
Hopkins won the first faceoff in the fourth quarter and scored off an underhand rip in the slot. The Blue Jays started the quarter strong in a much-needed comeback. But Penn State went man-up on its next drive. Aqui o limped on the sideline.
After the first goal in the fourth quarter, there was a six-minute scoring drought. Penn State had a few turnovers, but the defense held its ground. The team began to burn the clock, but Michael Farone delivered a smooth bounce shot to keep the lead at six points. Lehman followed with back-to-back goals to give Penn State its largest lead. He had a strong dodge on one goal and a rebound on the other to get a hat trick. Penn State led 14-7 with 6:04 left in the game.
John Jude Considine became the tenth player for Penn State to score while also getting his first goal on a snipe in the top corner. Hopkins eventually responded, but Penn State bounced back with a goal scored by Wesley Scurci. Scurci doesn’t see the field too often, but Tambroni was confident enough to put him in.
Penn State finished the game 16-8 and became Big Ten champions for the first time since 2019.
Takeaways
- Nine players scored for Penn State. Lehman led the team with three, but the game showed the overall offensive depth the team has.
- The defense only allowed four goals in each half. The team was also perfect on clears, going 18-18 to allow the offense time on offense.
- Penn State dominated faceoffs, going 17-9 against the Blue Jays. The team almost had double the number of shots Hopkins had because the team controlled each battle for possession.
What’s Next?
Penn State has secured a top-8 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The game time and opponent are TBA, but will likely be played at Panzer Stadium.
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About the Author
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No. 15 Penn State Men’s Volleyball Falls To No. 6 UC Irvine 3-2 In Heartbreaking Five-Set Finish
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