CHARLOTTE, N.C. – No. 9 Penn State men’s lacrosse fell in a 10-8 slugfest Saturday evening to No. 5 Carolina at American Legion Memorial Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina. In addition to missing six clears, the Nittany Lions lost the faceoff battle for the first time this season, leading to fewer offensive possessions. Still, the Nittany Lion defense held its own, allowing just 10 goals on a season-low 37 shots from the Tar Heels. PSU dropped to 4-3 on the season, while UNC improves to 7-1.
The PSU offense saw a trio of multi-goal scorers in freshman Jack Iannantuono, sophomore Chase Robertson, and redshirt-freshman Andrew Beard. All three tallied two goals apiece. Beard also tallied an assist to lead all point scorers. Redshirt-sophomore Liam Matthews and graduate student John Jude Considine rounded out the goal scorers with one each. Redshirt-senior Michael Faraone and junior Kyle Lehman posted an assist to finish out the score sheet.
Freshman netminder Preston Hawkins made eight stops in the contest where neither goalkeeper posted a save percentage about .500. His defensive unit helped force 19 UNC turnovers, 12 by direct cause. Senior Alex Ross caused a trio of turnovers and scooped 3 groundballs, while senior Will Costin vacuumed five groundballs on the day. Penn State’s faceoff unit of Colby Baldwin and Reid Gills won eight of the 22 spins, forcing Brady Wambach to his third fewest faceoff wins all season.
FIRST QUARTER – 3-3
- Penn State won the opening faceoff, an impressive feat against the nation’s top faceoff man analytically. However, a quick turnover on the Nittany Lions’ first possession sent he Heels the other way. The teams traded possessions once more before UNC found the back of the net to take a 1-0 lead less than three minutes into the contest.
- PSU had the answer less than a minute and a half later, to knot things up on an unassisted left to right dodge.
- UNC scored 49 seconds later to retake the lead, before a goal at 7:08 pushed the Tar Heels’ lead to two.
- Liam Matthews and Jack Iannantuono scored less than a minute apart to knot things at three before the end of the quarter.
SECOND QUARTER – 6-4, North Carolina
- Both teams faced a drought in the second quarter, with UNC going over 15 minutes without a goal. They team from Chapel Hill finally broke through with back-t-back tallies to build the lead back out to two.
- Cornell finally found the net with 10:22 to go in the first half, but a pair of PSU goals built the lead out to nine.
- PSU did not score again until over 18 minutes of game clock passed, but the Tar Heels put up one last tally before half to lead 6-4 at the break.
THIRD QUARTER – 7-6, North Carolina
- The Nittany Lions had the spark coming out of the locker room, tying the game at six in the ninth sixth minute of the third stanza. The Tar Heels refused to give up the lead though, scoring at 4:40 and maintaining the one goal lead headed into the last quarter.
FOURTH QUARTER – 10-8, North Carolina
- UNC looked to be shifting momentum its way with an early score in the fourth, followed by another with 11:39 to go. Penn State’s Andrew Beard and Chase Robertson held the line though, making it a one-goal game with 5:37 remaining.
- After the final PSU tally, the Nittany Lions struggled to get a quality offensive looks. The Tar Heels were able to sulk away the final few minutes and even tagged on one more for good measure before the final whistle blew.
POST GAME NOTES
- Ross tallied his 100th groundball in the outing.
- Penn State remains defeated all-time against the Tar Heels (0-11).
UP NEXT
Penn State returns home next weekend to open up conference play against Maryland at Panzer Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania on Saturday, March 21. Faceoff is set for 3 p.m. on the Big Ten Network.
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.