UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The No. 15 Penn State men's lacrosse team captured its first win of the season on Saturday afternoon as they defeated in-state rival Villanova 18-10.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Penn State scored two straight goals to open the first quarter as Ethan Long and TJ Malone scored back-to-back goals with 14:03 and 12:07 remaining to put Penn State ahead 2-0.
- Villanova answered with 10:14 remaining in the quarter as Colin Michener found the back of the net to tight the Penn State lead to 2-1.
- The Nittany Lions then scored four unanswered goals to close out the quarter off a pair of goals by TJ Malone and Kyle Lehman to put Penn State ahead 6-1 at the end of the first quarter.
- Penn State began the scoring in the second quarter off a pair of goals by Matt Traynor and Jake Moring to put the Nittany Lions ahead 8-1 with 12:56 remaining in the half.
- Villanova's Nicholas Lucchesi found the back of the net with 10:29 left in the quarter to cut the Penn State lead to 8-2.
- The Nittany Lions closed out the half with a pair of goals by Lehman and Mac Costin to put the Nittany Lions in a comfortable 10-2 lead.
- Penn State fired three unanswered goals to open the third quarter off goals by Jake Morin, Matt Traynor, and Chris Jordan to put Penn State ahead 13-2.
- Villanova countered with three straight goals off the sticks of Michener, Thomas McIntire and Luke Raymond to cut the Penn State lead to 13-5.
- Penn State added one more goal in the third quarter off the stick of Luke Walstrum to put the Nittany Lions ahead 14-5 with 4:35 left in the quarter.
- Villanova closed the third with a goal by Dan Martin to make the score 14-6 heading into the final quarter.
- After Penn State scored a goal with 14:00 remaining off the stick of Matt Traynor, the Wildcats followed with three goals to cut the Penn State lead to 15-9 with 9:20 left in the fourth quarter.
- Penn State followed with the same off three straight goals by Matt Traynor to put the Nittany Lions ahead 18-9.
- Villanova scored the final goal of the game with 2:41 left but wasn't enough as the Nittany Lions secured the 18-10 victory.
GOALTENDERS
- Goalie Jack Fracyon tallied 13 saves to pick up his first win on the season.
STATS AND NOTES
- Penn State's record moves to 1-1-0 on the year.
- Luke Walstrum scored his first collegiate goal.
- TJ Malone, Kyle Lehman, and Matt Traynor each recorded hat-tricks.
- Traynor tallied a career-high six goals.
- This is Penn State's first win against Villanova since Feb. 8, 2020, when the Nittany Lions won 19-10.
- Lehman tallied his second straight hat-trick of the year.
UP NEXT
- Penn State returns to action on Saturday, Feb. 17 when they travel to face Stony Brook. Game-time is set for noon.