No. 9 Men's Lacrosse Downs No. 7/8 Maryland 19-9 to Advance to Big Ten Championship GameNo. 9 Men's Lacrosse Downs No. 7/8 Maryland 19-9 to Advance to Big Ten Championship Game
Ricky Bassman

No. 9 Men's Lacrosse Downs No. 7/8 Maryland 19-9 to Advance to Big Ten Championship Game

COLUMBUS, Ohio - For the first time since 2019, the No. 9 Penn State men's lacrosse team is advancing to the Big Ten tournament championship game after a 19-9 victory over No. 7/8 Maryland on Thursday night.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

  • Penn State opened the game with three unanswered goals coming with 13:03, 6:29, and 4:04 remaining in the first quarter off the sticks of Matt Traynor, TJ Malone, and Mac Costin to put the Nittany Lion ahead 3-0.
  • Both sides exchanged goals to close the quarter which included a goal by Kyle Lehman to put Penn State ahead 4-1 after one.
  • The Nittany Lions opened the second quarter just like the first as they fired three unanswered goals off the sticks of Malone, Luke Mercer, and Lehman to put Penn State ahead 7-1 with 10:31 remaining in the half.
  • Maryland scored his second goal of the game with 9:52 remaining in the half off the stick of Eric Spanos to cut the Penn State lead to 7-2.
  • But Penn State heavily responded with four unanswered goals including two by Mac Costin to put the Nittany Lions ahead 11-2 with 2:27 remaining in the first half.
  • Maryland closed the half with a goal with nine seconds left off the stick of Owen Murphy to send the game into halftime with Penn State ahead 11-3.
  • TJ Malone opened the second half with a goal coming with 11:36 left in the third quarter to put Penn State ahead 12-3.
  • Maryland then scored four unanswered goals to narrow the Penn State lead to 12-7 with 4:30 left in the quarter.
  • Penn State countered shortly later with three goals to close the quarter off a goal by Luke Mercer and two goals by Matt Traynor to give the Nittany Lions a 15-7 lead.
  • Traynor added two goals to open the fourth quarter to put Penn State ahead 17-7 with 8:57 left in the game.
  • Maryland scored a goal from Spanos with 8:15 to halt the Penn State attack making the score 17-8.
  • Then James Dalimonte scored his first goal as a Nittany Lion with 4:07 left to put Penn State ahead 18-8.
  • Chris Jordan soon followed suit with a goal coming with 3:35 remaining in the game to increase the Penn State lead to 19-8.
  • Maryland scored the final goal of the game with 51 seconds left in the quarter to secure the 19-9 victory for Penn State.

GOALTENDERS

  • Junior goalie Jack Fracyon made ten saves and allowed just eight goals for his 11th win of the season.  
  • Freshman Ben Johnson came in the game in the final four minutes and made one save.

STATS AND NOTES

  • Penn State advances to the Big Ten tournament championship game for the first time since 2019
  • This is Penn State's first victory over Maryland since the 2019 season.
  • The Nittany Lions scored 19 goals which set a program record for most team goals in a Big Ten tournament game.
  • James Dalimonte scored his first goal at Penn State.
  • This is the 10th time the Nittany Lions have held a team to under 10 goals this season.
  • Matt Traynor tallied his third five goal plus game this season.

UP NEXT

  • Penn State will face No. 17/18 Michigan on Saturday, May 4 in the Big Ten tournament championship game. Game-time is set for 8 p.m.