The Penn State men’s lacrosse team improved to 2-0 in Big Ten play with a 13-6 victory over Ohio State at the Ohio State Lacrosse Stadium on March 28. The win marks the first time since 2019 that Penn State has started conference play with two straight wins.
This result is significant for Penn State, as their last perfect start in conference games led to a Big Ten regular season title. The Nittany Lions built an early lead, scoring four unanswered goals before Ohio State found the net and never allowed their opponent within fewer than two goals for the rest of the game.
Four different Penn State players scored twice, with freshman Jack Iannantuono leading the way by adding two assists and collecting two groundballs. Redshirt sophomore Liam Matthews and sophomore Chase Robertson each contributed two goals and one assist, while redshirt senior Michael Faraone also scored twice. Other goal scorers included Luke Walstrum, John Jude Considine, Kyle Lehman, Jon King, and Mark Watters.
Freshman goalkeeper Preston Hawkins made ten saves for a save percentage of 62.5 percent during his homecoming game. Defensively, Peri DiBartolomeo caused three turnovers—a career high—while Lucca and Roman DiBartolomeo forced two turnovers each. Although Penn State lost the faceoff battle for only the second time this season, they outperformed Ohio State in groundballs and forced a total of 23 turnovers from their opponents.
With this victory—their fourth against top-15 opponents this season—Penn State now holds a 22-8 all-time record against Ohio State under Coach Tambroni’s leadership (12-6). Next week, Penn State will travel to face No. 11 Johns Hopkins in another ranked matchup scheduled for April 4.
