UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.- No. 4 Penn State men’s lacrosse drops Big Ten opener to no. 9 Ohio State with a 13-9 final score. The Nittany Lions fall to 6-2, 0-1 Big Ten while the Buckeyes improve to 9-1, 1-0 Big Ten.
Despite seven different goal scorers including three with multiple points, Ohio State’s saves between the pipes and faceoff efficiency proved to be the difference makers. Liam Matthews, Ethan Long and Luke Walstrum all tallied two goals apiece. Traynor also added four assists to lead PSU in points while also scooping three ground balls. Defensively, Alex Ross put forth another strong outing with four ground balls and one caused turnover. Kevin Parnham was also effective on defense, gathering two ground balls and causing three turnovers.
FIRST QUARTER - 3-1 Penn State
- Penn State got out to any early 2-0 lead with goals from Walstrum and Matthews.
- After holding OSU scoreless for eight minutes of play, the Buckeyes finally found the back of the net at the 6:45 mark.
- The Nittany Lions had the final word of the stanza with a goal from Traynor.
SECOND QUARTER – 5-5 Penn State
- Walstrum found his second goal of the day off a feed from Long to extend the advantage to 4-1.
- OSU went on a 4-0 run to take its first lead of the game over a six-minute stretch.
- Kyle Aldridge knotted the score at 5-5 off a pass from Traynor with 2:57 on the clock. Neither team put a point across for the remaining time.
THIRD QUARTER – 10-7 Ohio State
- The Buckeyes engaged in another stretch of four unanswered goals to take a 9-5 lead.
- Matthews broke up the Buckeyes scoring run with a goal off another assist from Traynor.
- Ohio State added one more goal but PSU had the final word of the quarter off the stick of Long.
FOURTH QUARTER – 13-9
- The Nittany Lions opened the scoring early on with another goal from Long, 30 seconds into the quarter.
- OSU put up three consecutive goals, spilling into the final two minutes of play.
- Penn State’s Jon King added his second career goal in the final :50 seconds of the game to bring the final score to 13-9.
POSTGAME NOTES
- Penn State had three, multiple goal scorers in Matthews, Long and Walstrum with two apiece.
- Traynor made his return to the lineup for the first time in two games and lead the team in points with one goal and four assists.
- Ross, Colby Baldwin and Lucca DiBartolomeo all collected four ground balls, a career best for DiBartolomeo.
- Kyle Lehman and Parnham led the caused turnover charge with three each.
- Penn State outshot Ohio State 40-29.
- The Nittany Lions forced more turnovers on the Buckeyes, causing 22 miscues on the defensive end, a season high for PSU.
UP NEXT
The Nittany Lions head to Maryland on Saturday, March 29 to take on the Terrapins in another nationally televised matchup. Game time is slotted for noon.