UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Matt Traynor’s seven-point outing drove the No. 12 Penn State men’s lacrosse team (1-0-0, 0-0-0 B1G) to a 14-9 victory over Colgate (0-1-0, 0-0-0 Patriot) in the team’s season opener on Saturday afternoon.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Kyle Lehman scored the opening goal of the 2025 season as he fired a goal from behind the crease to put Penn State ahead 1-0 with 13:45 left in the opening quarter.
- Matt Traynor tallied his first goal of the year as he launched his shot from the top of the point to put Penn State ahead 2-0 with 3:56 left in the quarter.
- Colgate scored their first goal of the game with 2:13 left in the quarter as Jack Turner ripped a shot from the top corner to narrow the Penn State lead to 2-1.
- With 2:07 remaining in the first quarter, Kyle Rummel ran off after he won the faceoff, past the clearing line and scored a goal to tie the game at 2-2.
- The Nittany Lions scored eight goals in the second quarter, which started with a behind the back goal from Liam Matthews on the right side of the net to put Penn State ahead 3-2 with 14:18 left in the second quarter.
- Hunter Aquino received a feed from Will Peden from the top of the point and recorded his first collegiate goal to put Penn State ahead 4-2 with 11:08 left in the quarter.
- Turner then answered for Colgate as he ripped a shot from the center of the offensive zone to narrow the Penn State lead to 4-3 with 10:07 left in the half.
- Traynor potted his second goal of the game with 9:55 left in the quarter as he received a pass from Kyle Aldridge on the left side and found the back of the net to put Penn State ahead 5-3.
- Traynor then hit the hat-trick with 9:24 left in the half as he ran towards the goalie and banked a goal to put Penn State ahead 6-3.
- With 6:37 left in the half, Rory Connor shot the ball while running and it went into the back of the net to cut the Penn State lead to 6-4.
- Ryan DiRocco answered for the Nittany Lions with his first career goal off a feed by Will Peden in front of the goalie to put Penn State ahead 7-4 with 4:56 left in the half.
- Aquino ripped his second goal of the game from the left side shortly after to put Penn State ahead 8-4 with 3:35 left in the second quarter.
- Colgate then scored a goal off the stick of Liam Connor, with 2:44 remaining in the half as he swung around the goalie net and scored to narrow the Penn State lead to 8-5.
- Jack Aimone then hurled the ball from the left side into the net for his first goal as a Nittany Lion with 1:06 left in the frame to put the Nittany Lions ahead 9-5.
- Matthews capped off the half with one second left as he found the back of the net from the right side to put Penn State up 10-5 at the half.
- Aimone opened the second half with a goal coming with 13:09 left in the third quarter as a pass from Traynor landed in his stick and Aimone flew the ball into the net to put Penn State ahead 11-5.
- Hunter Drouin scored the lone goal for the Raiders in the third quarter as he leaped over the Penn State goalie and scored to cut the Penn State lead to 11-6 with 12:21 left in the quarter.
- Traynor capped off the quarter with a pair of goals coming with 8:09, and 4:35 remaining in the quarter to put Penn State ahead 13-6.
- Lehman scored the only goal for Penn State in the fourth quarter which came with 12:16 remaining as he scored while diving onto the ground to put Penn State ahead 14-6.
- Colgate capped off the game with three answered goals including two by Drouin to give Penn State the 14-9 victory.
GOALTENDERS
- Junior goalie Jack Fracyon tallied 13 saves on 22 shots attempted. This is the 22nd time in his career he’s let up less than 10 goals in a single game. His record improves to 1-0 on the year.
- Colgate goalie Matt LaCombe recorded 13 saves on 27 shots attempted. His record dropped to 0-1 on the year.
STATS AND NOTES
- Penn State captured their 579th victory in program history.
- Traynor tallied his second seven-point plus game of his career with five goals and two assists on the day.
- He sits at 99 career points on 83 goals and 16 assists.
- Aquino registered his first collegiate goal and first multi-goal game of his career with two on the day.
- Aimone scored his first goal as a Nittany Lion.
- DiRocco also scored his first collegiate goal with one on the day.
- Penn State out-shot the Raiders 44-33.
- Colby Baldwin won 15 of 24 faceoffs taken which is tied for a career-high in faceoff wins in a single game.
- Penn State leads the all-time series 15-10.
UP NEXT
- Penn State returns to action on Sunday February 9, when they travel to face Villanova. The game will begin at noon.