PISCATAWAY, N.J.- Second-seeded Penn State men’s lacrosse downs third-seeded Maryland 8-6 to advance to Big Ten Tournament Championship for the third time in program history. The Nittany Lions improve to 8-5, 3-2 Big Ten while Maryland falls to 7-6, 3-2 Big Ten. Penn State will face top-seeded Johns Hopkins in the championship game on Saturday, May 2.
Sophomore phenom Hunter Aquino paced the Nittany Lions offensively with three goals in addition to one caused turnover. Five other Nittany Lions tallied a goal in the defensive battle. Andrew Beard, Will Costin, Liam Matthews, Michael Faraone and Jon King all found the back of the net in the win.
Defensively, Penn State forced seven turnovers including four in the clear. Senior defenseman Costin tallied his second goal of the season while also producing one caused turnover and scooping one ground ball. In addition to his goal, King also collected four ground balls in the contest.
Freshman netminder Preston Hawkins had another outstanding performance between the pipes, tallying eight saves, four ground balls and one caused turnover.
The Nittany Lions won the face off clash, earning 11-of-18 battles at the x. Colby Baldwin posted six wins while Reid Gills secured five.
FIRST QUARTER – 2-1 Penn State
- Maryland drew first blood, sending a shot passed Hawkins from the alley.
- Faraone got the Nittany Lions going as the shot clock was due to expire at the 4:57 mark. Off a feed from Ianntuano, Faraone had a quick catch-and-shoot goal at the doorstep.
- Aquino took matters into his own hands for PSU’s next goal, maneuvering from x and curling across the crease to give Penn State a 2-1 advantage.
- The Nittany Lion defense fended off the Terps’ offense over the final minutes of the first stanza.
SECOND QUARTER – 3-1 Penn State
- Defense was the theme of the second stanza as Penn State only put up one goal and Maryland continued a nearly 28-minute scoring drought. Hawkins finished the first half with five saves behind a defense that caused four turnovers across the first 30 minutes of game action.
- Aquino came up with the tally for Penn State, after John Jude Considine found him darting from behind the net.
THIRD QUARTER – 5-3 Penn State
- An extra-man opportunity when Maryland had two extra players on the field, allowed the Terps to break their 29-minute scoring drought.
- Costin used an open lane in the clear to laser one past the Maryland netminder to create a two-goal edge for Penn State.
- Aquino found the back of the net for the third time off a helper from Chase Robertson 10 yards out.
- Maryland added a third to its total at the 5:37 mark in the third quarter.
FOURTH QUARTER – 8-6 Penn State
- Penn State utilized a man-up opportunity to extend its lead to three goals. Luke Walstrum dished the ball to Matthews on the doorstep for a catch-and-shoot score.
- The Terps tallied two-straight goals in response to decrease the margin to one with just over six minutes remaining in the contest.
- King made quick work off a faceoff, whistling the ball past the Maryland keeper for PSU’s seventh tally. King’s point proved to be the eventual game-winning goal.
- Mayland added another point to its total at the 2:41 mark in the fourth stanza to make it a one-goal game.
- Beard used an open lane to notch his first goal of the game, curling from behind the cage and slipping it in the net.
- Hawkins made one final save in the last minute to seal the victory for Penn State.
POSTGAME NOTES
- Aquino notched his fifth hat trick of the season and sixth multi-goal game of the year.
- Costin’s goal is the third goal by a PSU defenseman this season.
- King has scored a goal in three of his last four outings.
- Penn State blanked Maryland in the second quarter enroute to a nearly 30-minute scoring draught for the Terrapins.
- The Nittany Lions downed Maryland twice this season, with the first win coming in the regular season at Panzer Stadium.
- PSU advances to the championship game in the Big Ten Tournament for the second time in three seasons and third time in program history.
- Penn State will face Johns Hopkins in the Big Ten Championship for the first time since 2019, when PSU defeated JHU 18-17 also in Piscataway at SHI Stadium.
UP NEXT
Penn State is set to face top-seeded Johns Hopkins in the Big Ten Tournament Championship on Saturday, May 2. First faceoff is slated for noon with coverage on the Big Ten Network.