No. 9 Men's Lacrosse Set for Big Ten Semifinal Match-Up Against No. 7/8 MarylandNo. 9 Men's Lacrosse Set for Big Ten Semifinal Match-Up Against No. 7/8 Maryland
Steven Walter

No. 9 Men's Lacrosse Set for Big Ten Semifinal Match-Up Against No. 7/8 Maryland

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The No. 9 Penn State men's lacrosse team continues Big Ten tournament play as they face No. 7/8 Maryland in the Big Ten tournament semifinals on Thursday, May 2 at 8:30 p.m. The game will be played at the Ohio State Lacrosse Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.
 
FOLLOW THE ACTION
 
Date: Thursday, May 2
Time: 8:30 p.m.
Place: Columbus, Ohio
Live Statistics: Thursday
Watch: Big Ten Network
Game-Notes: Penn State (PDF)
 
SERIES HISTORY

  • This is the 49th meeting between Maryland and Penn State.
  • Maryland leads the series 45-3 with the last match-up coming on Sunday, March 31 where the Nittany Lions fell to the Terrapins 13-11 . 

SCOUTING MARYLAND

  • Maryland enters Thursday with a 8-4 overall record and 3-2 record in Big Ten play. 
  • Leading the offense is Braden Erksa who leads the team with 35 points off 22 goals and 13 assists. 
  • In net, sits goalie Logan McNaney who tallies a 8-4 record, GAA of 9.77 and save percentage of .526. 

IN THE POLLS

  • Following Penn State's win over Rutgers, the Nittany Lions moved up to nine in the latest USILA poll announcement on Monday.
  • The Nittany Lions also bumped up to the nine slot in the Inside Lacrosse media poll and moved in the five spot in the USA Lacrosse poll. 

WE'VE BEEN HERE BEFORE

  • For the second straight year, Penn State has made the Big Ten Tournament semifinal game. 
  • Overall, the Nittany Lions are 1-3 in the Big Ten semifinal. But in championship games they are 1-0 which came in 2019.

DEFENSE HOLDING THE LINE

  • In the Nittany Lions 13 games they've played this season they have held opponents to under 10 goals a game in 10 games.  
  • Meanwhile, they are forcing a minimum of four turnovers per game against opponents as well.
  • There are three Nittany Lions tied with 11 caused turnovers on the year. 
  • Meanwhile, goalie Jack Fracyon has tallied a total of 180 saves, GAA of 9.35 and save percentage of .598. 

 UP NEXT 

  • With a win on Thursday, the Nittany Lions will advance to the Big Ten Tournament championship game against the winner of Johns Hopkins and Michigan on May 4.