No. 7 Penn State Surges into National Quarterfinals with 10-6 Win Over No. 12 Army West Point

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Powered by a hat trick and four-point performance from sophomore attackman Hunter Aquino, the eighth-seeded and seventh-ranked Penn State men’s lacrosse team published a 10-6 win over the 12th-ranked Army West Point Black Knights in the opening round of the 2026 NCAA DI Men’s Lacrosse Championship from Panzer Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

The Blue & White celebrated an opening round victory for the second season in a row, punching the program’s ticket to the national quarterfinals for the second year in a row. Penn State has now booked consecutive bids to the national quarterfinals for the first time in program history. The Nittany Lions also surged to 10-5 overall on the year, securing PSU’s third double-digit winning campaign in the last four years and sixth 10-plus win season under the leadership of 16-year head coaching veteran Jeff Tambroni.

Aquino, a native of Easton, Pennsylvania, headlined the Penn Staters on the box score with three goals and an assist to round out a four-point showing. The second-year sensation secured his sixth hat trick of the season and saw three goals find the back of the net for the first time since dropping three on Maryland in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals on April 30. Redshirt freshman midfielder Andrew Beard and redshirt senior midfielder Michael Faraone both tallied a pair of goals apiece, while junior short-stick defensive midfielder Brendan Leary, junior attackman Kyle Lehman and redshirt senior midfielder Luke Walstrum added one goal each. In the assist column, Penn State tallied a quartet of helpers with Beard and Aquino being joined by freshman attackman Jack Iannantuono and junior midfielder Mark Watters.

Defensively, the Blue & White forced 13 Black Knight turnovers and utilized a stellar ride to force four failed clears. Aquino and Beard both booked a pair of caused turnovers to lead all Nittany Lions, while sophomore faceoff specialist Reid Gillis and sophomore long-stick midfielder Lucca DiBartolomeo led the Nittany Lions with four groundballs each. PSU held Army West Point to 29 total shot attempts and just 18 on goal, with the Nittany Lions booking a domineering 55 shots with 30 of those going on frame. At the X, Penn State was sensational, winning 16 of the game’s 20 faceoffs with junior Colby Baldwin finishing the day 9-for-11, while Gillis went 7-for-9 in his opportunities.

Between the pipes, freshman goaltender Preston Hawkins turned in an outstanding showing, yielding just six tallies with 12 saves, three ground balls and a caused turnover. The Powell, Ohio, native Hawkins cracked double digits in the save column for the fifth time this season and first time since registering 10 at Rutgers on April 17. Hawkins fell just two saves shy of his career-high in the category when he booked 14 against Maryland on March 21 of this year.

FIRST QUARTER - 3-1 Penn State

• The Nittany Lions took advantage of a Black Knight turnover to draw first blood, with Aquino working on the right side of the cage and utilizing a friendly bouncing shot to beat Byrne for the opening tally.
• Army snapped right back moments later, with Evan Plunkett taking control of the possession beyond the Big Ten logo and rushing centrally toward the crease. The Black Knights sent a quick shot into the top left corner of the net to even the score at one apiece.
• Under the nine minute mark, Aquino set a pick for Beard, with the latter finding the former on his own toward the left side of the field with a clear view at the net. Aquino powered a shot into the top right corner of the goal to give the Blue & White the lead once again, with Beard booking the helper.
• The next few minutes passed without incident, but Faraone was able to extend the Penn State lead to 3-1 at the 2:21 mark of the opening period. Iannantuono worked from X and slotted a pristine pass forward to a cutting Faraone, who found the far side of the cage to register the score.

SECOND QUARTER – 6-3 Penn State

• Turnovers plagued both squads as the second quarter of action got underway, with Penn State clinging to its two-goal lead nearly six minutes into the frame.
• Beard kept the scoring coming for the Nittany Lions, with PSU booking its third-straight score to go ahead by a 4-1 margin. The Penn Stater took control just beyond the midfield line and charged straight toward the Army net, rocketing a shot five-hole to extend the Nittany Lion edge.
• The Black Knights battled back with a score their next trip down the field, with Evan Plunkett working down the right flank and slotting a center-seeking pass toward Brayden Fountain, who found the back of the net on his way to the ground just outside the crease.
• Army made it back-to-back scores and pulled back within one on an unassisted tally from Hill Plunkett, who weaved through the Nittany Lion defense to find a brief clearing for a shot on the left side.
• Out of a Black Knight timeout, the momentum pendulum swung back in Penn State’s direction with Beard registering his third point and second goal of the contest at the 3:40 mark of the second period. The Nittany Lion sprinted down the left side of the field, spun off his defender and doubled back to swing a successful shot into the top right corner.
• Moments later, Luke Walstrum attacked the goal from X, worked along the edge of the crease and bounced a shot in front of Byrne’s feet into the back of the cage to make it a three-goal game at the 1:19 mark. From there, Penn State rode some solid defending into a 6-3 advantage at the halftime intermission.

THIRD QUARTER – 7-4 Penn State

• The second half got underway with a Nittany Lion faceoff win, but a quick turnover culminated in a scoring opportunity for Army moments later. An errant pass from X took a friendly roll to the feet of Gunnar Fellowes, who picked the ball up and sent a successful shot into the top of the net to bring Army back within two.
• A save from Byrne on PSU’s next trip down saw possession briefly change hands, but Aquino snagged the Black Knight outlet pass out of midair and rocketed a shot into the top of the net to bring the Nittany Lion lead back up to three at the 10:51 mark.
• Stingy defense and impressive goaltending on both sides of the field saw neither team book a score over the final 10-plus minutes of the quarter, culminating in a 7-4 Nittany Lion edge with 15 minutes left to play.

FOURTH QUARTER – 10-6 Penn State

• Penn State wasted little time building on its advantage, with Lehman taking control the possession around the Big Ten logo on the right side of the field, deking multiple defenders on his path to the cage. Lehman worked toward the center of the field and beat Byrne top-shelf from point-blank range to score his 25th goal of the 2026 campaign.
• A save from Hawkins sparked a lightning-quick clear for the Blue & White shortly thereafter, with the Blue & White shuttling the ball down the left side of the field. Aquino drew Army’s attention to the left, allowing the Penn Stater an open window to find a cutting Leary toward the middle of the field. Leary powered a shot into the top of the net from about five yards out to make it a 9-4 affair.
• At the 8:50 mark, Watters worked down the left flank and passed the ball back to Faraone, who promptly went BTB for his second goal of the game and fourth consecutive score for the Blue & White, powering the Nittany Lions to double figures in the scoring column.
• Army cut into the Penn State lead just under the five minute mark, with Fountain booking his second tally of the contest to make it a 10-5 PSU edge. The Black Knights won the ensuing faceoff and quickly added another score off the stick of Tyler Mathews to make it 10-6 PSU.
• The Blue & White called on stellar goaltending down the stretch from Hawkins to help close things out, with Penn State punching its ticket to the national quarterfinals with a 10-6 finish at Panzer Stadium.

POSTGAME NOTES

• Penn State improved to 10-5 overall on the 2026 campaign, securing the program’s third double-digit winning season in the last four years and sixth 10-plus win campaign under the direction of 16th-year head coach Jeff Tambroni.
• The Blue & White advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament for the second year in a row, marking the first instance of back-to-back NCAA quarterfinal appearances in program history.
• PSU picked up its fifth win over Army West Point in an all-time series that dates to the 1922 campaign. PSU is now 5-29 in the series following the 34th meeting. Tambroni improves to 8-1 all-time against Army and is 2-0 against the Black Knights since joining the Nittany Lions.
• Sophomore attackman Hunter Aquino mustered his sixth game with three goals or more on the 2026 campaign and his first since booking a hat trick in the Big Ten Tournament semifinal against Maryland on April 30. Aquino finished the game with four points split between three goals and an assist.
• Redshirt freshman midfielder Andrew Beard booked his fourth multi-goal outing of the year and first since scoring a pair at Rutgers on April 17.
• Redshirt senior midfielder Michael Faraone booked a pair of goals in the game, tallying his seventh multi-goal performance of the season and first since scoring two goals on April 4 at Johns Hopkins.
• Junior attackman Kyle Lehman reached the 25-goal threshold on the season with his tally in the fourth quarter.

UP NEXT

Eighth-seeded Penn State men’s lacrosse continues its run in the 2026 NCAA Tournament with a national quarterfinal matchup against the winner of the first round game between the top-seeded Princeton Tigers and Marist Red Foxes. Penn State’s quarterfinal opponent, date, time, location and broadcast designation will be released when available.

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