UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Luke Walstrum’s five points drove the No. 10 Penn State men’s lacrosse team (3-1-0, 0-0-0 B1G) to a 13-7 victory over Navy (3-1-0, 0-0-0 Patriot), Saturday afternoon.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Nittany Lions opened the scoring with a goal by Liam Matthews, while the team was on the man advantage to put Penn State ahead 1-0 with 9:39 left in the opening quarter.
- Navy answered less than a minute later with a goal by Jack Nichtern with 8:49 remaining in the quarter to even the score at 1-1.
- Jack Aimone joined the scoring with a man up goal coming with 7:12 left in the quarter to put Penn State ahead 2-1.
- The Midshipmen countered with a goal by Roman LaRocco with 6:24 left in the quarter to tie the game at 2-2.
- With 2:07 remaining in the quarter, Kyle Lehman punched a goal in front of the Navy netminder to give the Nittany Lions a 3-2 lead.
- Navy closed the quarter with a goal by Evan Conway to make the score tied at 3-3.
- The Midshipmen began the second quarter with another goal by Conway, with 11:33 left in the half to take a 4-3 lead.
- Matt Traynor responded with his first goal of the game coming with 9:06 left in the half as he fired his shot over the netminders’ stick to tie the game at 4-4.
- Aimone would score his second goal of the game with 5:55 left in the half as he launched his shot from long distance to put Penn State ahead 5-4.
- Luke Walstrum followed with a goal that went between the legs of the goalie with 5:12 left in the half, putting the Nittany Lions ahead 6-4.
- Aimone then banked his third goal of the game with 4:18 left in the half while on the man up to put Penn State ahead 7-4.
- Navy answered with a pair of goals by Jack Ponzio and Conway with 1:44 left to cut the Penn State lead to 7-6.
- The Nittany Lions closed the half with a goal by Walstrum on a spin move shot to put Penn State ahead 8-6 at the half.
- The Nittany Lions continued their offensive push in the third quarter with a goal by Will Peden with 12:24 left in the quarter as he ripped a shot from the slot to put Penn State ahead 9-6.
- With 4:24 left in the quarter, Matthews scored his second goal of the game from the bottom corner to put Penn State ahead 10-6.
- Navy ended the quarter with a goal by Jack Flaherty with six seconds left on the clock to narrow the Penn State lead to 10-7.
- The Nittany Lions dominated the last quarter, scoring three goals while holding Navy to zero.
- Traynor starting things off in the fourth with a goal coming with 10:33 left in the game to put the Nittany Lions ahead 11-7.
- Lehman followed suit with 6:28 remaining off an unassisted goal to put Penn State ahead 12-7.
- While the net was empty, Hunter Aquino found the back of the net to cap the 13-7 victory for Penn State, with 2:07 remaining in the quarter.
GOALTENDERS
- Jack Fracyon tallied six saves and allowed just seven goals. His record improves to 3-1-0 on the year.
- Navy goaltender Dan Daly stopped 19 shots and allowed 13 goals. His record drops to 3-1-0 on the year.
STATS AND NOTES
- Penn State captured their fourth win over Navy in program history.
- Walstrum recorded his first career five-point game with two goals and three assists.
- The Nittany Lions went a perfect 21-21 on clear attempts.
- Aimone tallied his first hat-trick as a Nittany Lion.
- Kevin Parnham tallied a career-high four caused turnovers.
- The Nittany Lions went 5-8 on the man advantage, which is the most man-up goals scored this season.
- Seven Nittany Lions tallied at least one goal.
- Peden scored his first goal of the season.
UP NEXT
- Penn State returns to action on Saturday, March 1, when they travel to face Yale. The game starts at noon.