We Are the Champions; Men's Lacrosse Downs Johns Hopkins in B1G Title GameWe Are the Champions; Men's Lacrosse Downs Johns Hopkins in B1G Title Game

We Are the Champions; Men's Lacrosse Downs Johns Hopkins in B1G Title Game

Nittany Lions secure second program Big Ten Tournament Championship

PISCATAWAY, N.J.- Second-seeded Penn State men’s lacrosse upset top-seeded Johns Hopkins in commanding 16-8 victory for the Big Ten Tournament Championship. The trophy marks the Nittany Lions’ second program Big Ten Tournament crown and first since 2019. History repeated itself inside SHI Stadium, where Penn State defeated Johns Hopkins in the conference tournament in 2019 and duplicated the championship seven years later in 2026.

Big Ten Tournament Most Ouststanding Player Hunter Aquino delivered on the big stage once again for the Nittany Lions, leading his squad with four points on two goals and two assists. Junior Kyle Lehman contributed his fourth hat trick of the season to lead PSU in tallies. Redshirt sophomore Liam Matthews and sophomore Chase Robertson were the other multi-goal scorers for the Blue & White. Freshman Jack Iananntuono, redshirt freshman Andrew Beard, redshirt senior Luke Walstrum, redshirt senior Michael Faraone, graduate student John Jude Considine, junior Ryan DiRocco and redshirt junior Wesley Scurci all contributed a goal to the Penn State total of 16 scores.

Freshman goaltender Preston Hawkins posted six saves in addition to five ground balls while only letting in eight goals.

Junior Colby Baldwin paced Penn State at the faceoff dot, winning 11 of his 15 attempts.

FIRST QUARTER – 3-2 Johns Hopkins

  • Aquino found himself with a double team in front of the net but was not deterred, striking first for the Nittany Lions in the opening stanza.
  • After a lengthy Penn State offensive possession that came up short, Johns Hopkins converted its first goal of the contest to knot the score at ones.
  • DiRocco went top shelf on a shot that whistled passed the Hopkins netminder off a feed from Aquino.
  • The Blue Jays had an answer on their next trip down the field to level the score once again.
  • Hopkins strung together back-to-back goals to take its first lead of the day.

SECOND QUARTER – 6-4 Penn State

  • Walstrum found an open Matthews waiting on the crease who put the ball away for PSU’s third goal of the game.
  • JHU responded with a tally to pull ahead by one near the 11-minute mark.
  • A big forced turnover from Aquino in a Hopkins clear gave Penn State another offensive opportunity that Robertson converted to a goal tying the score at 4-4.
  • Consecutive goals for the Nittany Lions gave PSU a one goal edge following a laser from Lehman cutting in front of the net. Aquino was the playmaker, drawing his defender with him and dishing it to Lehman.
  • Matthews widened the Penn State lead to 6-4 going one-on-one with his defender to find the back of the net for the second time in the contest.

THIRD QUARTER – 11-6 Penn State

  • The Blue Jays struck first with two consecutive goals to tie the score at 6-6.
  • Walstrum took a wide-open lane to the goal from x to get Penn State back in the lead.
  • Beard turned defense into offense after the Nittany Lions forced a turnover in the JHU clear. Beard dodged his defender and whipped the ball to the back of the net.
  • A diving effort from Iannantuono gave Penn State a three-goal advantage.
  • Head coach Jeff Tambroni utilized a successful video replay request to give Robertson his second tally of the afternoon. Robertson seared the ball underneath the crossbar that was originally called off but was ruled a goal after review.
  • Aquino fired a missile passed the Hopkins goalie to balloon the PSU lead to five goals at the one-minute mark in the third quarter.
  • Hawkins made a crucial save to close the stanza with an 11-6 advantage for his squad.

FOURTH QUARTER – 16-8 Penn State

  • Hopkins ended the PSU scoring run with a goal to open the final quarter.
  • Faraone got in on the action for the Nittany Lions in an extra-man sequence, staying low off a pass from Iannantuono.
  • Lehman split his defenders and sailed a shot to the lower shelf to widen the margin to six goals at the seven-minute mark in the final frame. He followed that up with another tally on a scoop and score off a shot rebound.
  • Considine extended the PSU run to four goals with just under four minutes remaining in the contest.
  • Hopkins ended the Penn State run with just over two minutes to play with a goal.
  • Scurci made noise off the bench, hammering the top corner of the net.
  • Penn State tallied 10 of the last 12 goals of the game to earn the victory.

POSTGAME NOTES

  • Aquino tallied his ninth multi-point outing of the season, producing at least two points in every one of his appearances this campaign.
  • Matthews posted his fifth multi-goal year.
  • Walstrum contributed his eighth multi-point outing of the campaign.
  • Robertson had his sixth multi-goal outing and nine multi-point performance of the season.
  • Iannantuono produced his 10th multi-point game of the year.
  • Lehman posted his fourth hat trick of the season in his sixth multi-goal and eighth multi-point performance of the campaign.
  • The win marks Penn State’s second Big Ten Tournament title and first since 2019. Out of their three championship game appearances, the Nittany Lions have won two out of the three contests.
  • The Nittany Lions split the regular season conference title but prevailed as tournament champions.

UP NEXT

Penn State knows its name will be called, the team just waits to hear when. The 2026 NCAA Selection Show is scheduled for 9:30 p.m. on Sunday, May 3 with coverage on ESPNU.