ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- No. 10 Penn State men’s lacrosse dropped a 12-11 decision to Navy on Saturday afternoon at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. Penn State fell to 2-2 with the loss, while Navy improved to 3-1 on the season.
Penn States attack was held to its fewest goal total this season, putting away just 11 goals. Kyle Lehman was the leader of the offense, putting up four points on two goals and two assists. Liam Matthews and Patrick Carragher followed, both adding a pair of goals and an assist, each. Luke Walstrum dished two apples and scored once for three points. Hunter Aquino rounded out multi-point Penn Staters with a goal and an assist.
Freshman goalkeeper Preston Hawkins made nine stops in the game while scooping one groundball. The defensive unit was active on the scoresheet despite the result, with defender Patrick Keenan dishing an assist and scooping four groundballs, short-stick defensive midfielder Jon King long-stick midfielder Lucca DiBartolomeo each scoring a goal and causing a turnover, and defender Alex Ross vacuuming three groundballs.
Penn State’s faceoff unit won the draw, with Colby Baldwin and Reid Gills combining for 15 wins on 26 starts.
FIRST QUARTER – 4-4
- Penn State’s opening faceoff win ended in an empty possession, and the Mids first offensive look found the back of the net to take a 1-0 lead.
- A rare mistake by the Midshipmen on their next clear gave PSU and extra chance on offense. PSU capitalized with a high-to-high missile from Lehman off the feed from Considine.
- The next goal came less than two minutes later. Patrick Keenan pushed the pace of the Nittany Lion clear to find Lehman, who scored from distance.
- Penn State outscored Navy 2-1 to take a 4-2 lead with just over four minutes left, but the Mids rattled off a pair of scores in the closing two minutes of the first frame, including one with 19 seconds to go on an extra-man advantage, to tie things up.
SECOND QUARTER – 7-6, Navy
- Navy again got the first score of the quarter despite Penn State winning the opening faceoff.
- The Mids added to their lead at the 11:09 mark, pushing its lead to two, the largest of the day.
- Matthews helped right the ship, scooping a bounce pass from Lehman on the Navy doorstep and getting the Nittany Lions back within one at the 8:58 mark.
- After over five scoreless minutes, Robertson took the ball down the alley on a dish from Matthews, leveling the teams at six.
- Navy took the lead with 43 seconds left in the half, but Penn State won the ensuing faceoff and used a timeout to draw up a play in the closing seconds, but the Mids active defense forced its eighth turnover of the half to keep the Nittany Lions off the boards.
THIRD QUARTER – 9-8, Penn State
- King put away a top-shelf score just 27 ticks into the second half to get Penn State back level. It was Aquino’s tally on the extra-man opportunity though that gave Penn State its first lead since the 20 second mark in the first quarter.
- Navy continued to fight, scoring with 6:46 left in the third to bring the scoreline back even.
- PSU took a one goal edge heading into the final frame, when Matthews camped the backdoor of the crease, and Walstrum found him from the opposite side to push the lead back to the Blue & White.
FOURTH QUARTER – 12-11, Navy
- Both defenses stood strong for nearly half of the final frame. The first goal came at the 8:34 from the home team, but a PSU answer less than a minute later kept Penn State in front.
- The Midshipmen put away three more goals down the stretch, and Penn State’s last score in the closing two minutes was too little, too late as Navy’s defense held on for the win.
POST GAME NOTES
- Navy extended its lead in the all-time series to 37-4.
- Penn State falls to 1-1 on the road.
UP NEXT
Penn State returns home to University Park, Pennsylvania, to host Yale on Saturday, February 28 as the team celebrates Military Appreciation Day. Faceoff is set for 1 p.m. on B1G+.
FOLLOW THE NITTANY LIONS
Visit GoPSUSports.com for more information on Penn State men’s lacrosse. Fans can keep up to date with the Nittany Lion men’s lacrosse team on X and Instagram @PennStateMLAX, in addition to the team’s Facebook page at /PennStateMensLacrosse.