No. 9 Men's Lacrosse Set for Top 10 Matchup at No. 3 Cornell

HISTORY

• Penn State leads the all-time series by a narrow 24-23 margin.
• The series dates back to 1923.
• Penn State has won the most recent two contests in 2024 and 2023.

SCOUTING CORNELL

• Cornell is one of four teams that remain unbeaten through the 2025 season. The Big Red have played two ranked opponents this season, no. 13 Denver and no. 12 Richmond.
• CJ Kirst leads the nation in goals per game (5.25), points per game (7.5) and shot percentage (.628). He was named USA Lacorsse’s Preseason Player of the Year. Kirst was also tabbed a USILA Preseason All-American and a Tewaaraton Watch List member. He has secured two Ivy League Player of the week nods. The first, after posting six goals on six shot attempts while adding two assists in Cornell’s win over no. 13 Denver. The second came this week after tallying nine goals and seven assists against Hobart and posting three goals against no. 12 Richmond.
• Wyatt Knust garnered Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week honors this week after two wins between the pipes last week. He recorded 10.19 goals against average with 30 saves and a .600 save percentage.
• Along with Kirst, Michael Long, Willem Firth, Jayson Singer and Wyatt Knust were named to USILA Preseason All-American teams.
• Long and Hugh Kelleher were also selected to the Tewaaraton Watch List.
• As a team, the Big Red lead the country in assists per game (11.0) and man-up offense (.750). They also average the second most points per game (27.75) and have the second highest scoring offense, clipping 16.75 goals per contest.

LAST TIME VS. CORNELL

• Penn State scored the first four goals before Cornell could put a point on the board. The Nittany Lions never trailed after that, holding the no. 8 team in the country to just nine goals for a 20-9 final score at Panzer Stadium.
• TJ Malone recorded his 200th career point in the contest.
• Matt Traynor tallied a career high seven goals to total a person best eight points.
• Jack Fracyon earned the win between the pipes, securing 14 saves.

 

 

LAST TIME OUT

• Penn State defeated Yale on the road 15-9 on Saturday, March 1. The Nittany Lions never trailed in the contest, getting out to an early 3-0 advantage.
• Hunter Aquino tallied a career best seven points on two goals and five assists.
• Kyle Lehman also notched a personal best five goals.
• Jack Aimone recorded his second consecutive hat-trick to go along with one assist to total four points.
• Colby Baldwin was dominant at the face-off x, winning 17-26 of face-offs while also scoring a goal and dishing out an assist.
• Jack Fracyon almost reached his career best saves with 18 on the day while only letting nine goals go past.

LIONS IN THE RANKS

• Matt Traynor leads the conference in goals per game (3.2). He also sits at the top of the Big Ten in points per game (4.6), ranking eighth nationally.
• Kevin Parnham and Alex Ross rank 14th across the nation in caused turnovers per game (2.2) which is second in the Big Ten.
• As a team, PSU is second in the country in CTOs per game (12.25), good for first in the country.
• Colby Baldwin has the sixth-best face-off winning percentage (638) and is 15th in ground balls per game (6.4)
• Hunter Aquino is fourth in the Big Ten in points per game (3.6) and leads the  conference in shot percentage (.600), which ranks third nationally.
• The Nittany Lions cause 11.2 turnovers per game which sits seventh in the nation and second in the B1G. They also clear the ball at the fifth-best rate (.911).

B1G HONORS

• Jack Fracyon was named the Big Ten Specialist of the Week following a strong performance against Villanova. He tallied 10 saves on 15 shot attempts. He also allowed just five goals, the third lowest number of goals allowed in his career.
• Hunter Aquino earned Big Ten Freshman of the Week after his first career hat-trick and two assists to total five points against no. 8 Princeton.
• Hunter Aquino notched his second Big Ten weekly honor, being tabbed the Big Ten Freshman of the Week this week (3/4) after a seven-point (two goals, five assists) performance against Yale.
• Colby Balwin was named the Big Ten Specialist of the Week this week (3/4) following a dominant 17-of-26 performance at the face-off x against Yale while adding a goal and an assist.