Penn State men’s lacrosse defeated No. 19 Rutgers, 16-8, in the regular season finale on Apr. 18, earning its fourth consecutive Friendship Cup victory and securing the second seed in the upcoming Big Ten Tournament. The win improved Penn State’s record to 7-5 overall and 3-2 in conference play, while Rutgers dropped to 8-6 (1-4 B1G).
The result ensures that Penn State will receive a first-round bye and advance directly to the tournament semifinals at SHI Stadium on Thursday, April 30. This positioning gives the Nittany Lions an advantage as they prepare for postseason competition.
Sophomore Hunter Aquino led Penn State’s offense with four goals and one assist. Redshirt freshman Andrew Beard contributed five points with two goals and three assists. Junior Kyle Lehman and redshirt sophomore Liam Matthews each recorded hat tricks, while freshman Jack Iannatuono added a goal and two assists. Additional multi-point efforts came from Patrick Carragher and Chase Robertson.
Freshman goalkeeper Preston Hawkins anchored the defense with ten saves for a save percentage of 62.5%. The defensive unit forced sixteen turnovers by Rutgers, including six caused turnovers directly credited to individual players. Senior Alex Ross accounted for two caused turnovers after being drafted eighth overall by the New York Atlas earlier in the week.
Head coach Jeff Tambroni now holds a career record of ten wins and five losses against Rutgers.
Looking ahead, Penn State will have a bye next weekend before returning to SHI Stadium on April 30 for their semifinal matchup against either the third or sixth seed from next Saturday’s game.
