NEWARK, Del. – Eight seed Penn State men’s lacrosse dropped a 14-10 decision to one seed Princeton on Sunday afternoon, concluding the Nittany Lion’s season in the NCAA Quarterfinals. A back-and-forth affair until the latter half of the final frame, Penn State went blow for blow with the nation’s top team in a game that had a 112 degree feel on the surface of Delaware Stadium.
The PSU offense put up 14 points with seven different Nittany Lions tallying a goal. The Blue & White attack was led by sophomore Utah transfer Chase Robertson. No. 22 scored a hat trick on seven shots while also scooping a pair of groundballs. Junior Kyle Lehman posted three points on a pair of goals and an assist. The attackman grabbed a pair of groundballs and caused a turnover in his outing. Liam Matthews was the final Nittany Lion to have a multi-point outing scoring a goal and dishing an assist.
Freshman netminder Preston Hawkins had a career day, making 17 saves and going off for a 54.8 save percentage. Senior defender Will Costin had a team-high three caused turnovers and secured five groundballs. Senior Alex Ross caused two turnovers and vacuumed four groundballs while also helping to hold Tewaaraton finalist Nate Kabiri to just two points on a pair of apples. An off day at the faceoff, PSU won just eight of the 27 pulls.
FIRST QUARTER – 2-1, Penn State
- Balwin violated on the opening faceoff giving the Tigers the first look on offense. Hawkins stood tall in his first NCAA Tournament quarterfinals to make the save and send PSU on the attack.
- Ross joined the rope unit in transition after Brendan Leary completed the clear. Leary dished to Lehman, who spotted a striking Ross up the alley. The defenseman let it rip for his second goal of the season.
- The Nittany Lions used their second offensive opportunity to take a two-goal lead. Luke Walstrum’s left-side dodge opened up Lehman in the alley, who buried his shot to get his second point of the afternoon.
- After ringing the crossbar and posts several times, Princeton got its first goal of the afternoon at the 7:21 mark.
- Both teams carried empty possessions to close out the opening quarter, committing a combined four turnovers.
SECOND QUARTER – 6-6
- After Jack Iannantuono forced a Tiger’s turnover on the ride following PSU’s opening possession, Robertson made the extra possession count, taking the rock straight down the alley. With no slide coming, he buried the shot himself to push the Nittany Lions to a two-goal lead.
- Princeton had a near immediate answer, scoring less than a minute later and tacking on another with 10:49 to go in the opening half after a picked PSU led to quick Tigers offense with a numbers advantage.
- John Jude Considine fought through four different Princeton defenders for Penn State’s fourth goal of the day, getting the Nittany Lions back out in front, 4-3.
- Three-straight Tiger goals from 5:04 to 3:11 gave Princeton its first lead of the game and add insurance, but Robertson’s second score of the day and a long-range strike from Andrew Beard ensured a tied score at the break.
THIRD QUARTER – 9-9
- Princeton continued its dominant day at the faceoff dot and quickly attacked the Penn State net, but Hawkins’s got his stick down to protect five-hole and send PSU on the attack.
- Lehman took Iannantuono’s feed from X and added a question mark dodge for good measure to take an 8-6 lead.
- Iannantuono again feed from X on the following Penn State possession, this time connecting with Watters to take a two-goal edge.
- Princeton tacked on back-to-back score to level the game at eight by the nine-minute mark.
- A scoring drought ensued with both teams coming up empty for nearly seven minutes before the Tigers regained the lead with 2:43 left in the third.
- Matthews leveled the game again at nine to close the third with his solo score with just 45 seconds remaining in the frame.
FOURTH QUARTER – 14-10, Princeton
- Roberston took to the first minute of the fourth as an opportunity to complete his hat trick and put PSU back in front, but four consecutive scores by the Tigers had Princeton up 13-10 with just over five left in the game.
- PU tagged on one more score for insurance on an open net as Penn State looked to force a turnover on defense, sending the Tigers on to Championship Weekend.
POST GAME NOTES
- Preston Hawkins made a career-high 17 saves in the outing.
- Robertson posted his second hat trick as a Nittany Lion.
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.