Posted March 24, 2024 | Article by Jack Kiefer | Photo by Emmy Vitali
No. 7 Penn State defeated the Ohio State Buckeyes 12-9 in Columbus on Sunday afternoon.
This was the first time the Nittany Lions played in the Buckeyes’ new home, the Ohio State Lacrosse Stadium, which opened at the beginning of the 2023 season.
It was the seventh straight win for Jeff Tambroni’s squad and was a huge road win to start conference play. It is the first time since 2019 that Penn State won its first Big Ten game of the season.
The Nittany Lions got off to a slow start against the Buckeyes. After Mac Costin scored the first goal of the game for Penn State with about six minutes left in the first frame, Ohio State went on a run. The Buckeyes scored six unanswered goals.
Alex Mariner started the party by getting the Buckeyes on the board during the man-up capitalizing off a rare Alex Ross penalty. Ed Shean, the Buckeyes’ leading scorer, had two big goals during this run.
The Nittany Lions were not going down without a fight. Luke Mercer ended the Ohio State run, and TJ Malone got himself on the score sheet under a minute later.
After another quick goal from Luke Walstrum, Penn State scored three straight goals in under three minutes during the middle of the second quarter, the Buckeyes held a 7-4 lead going into the half.
Freshman sensation Caleb “Big Tasty” Fyock played lights out for the Buckeyes during that first half, making eight of his 12 saves in the first two quarters.
The Nittany Lions came out of the locker room ready to play as they scored the only three goals of the third quarter. Matt Traynor scored two in the quarter, including a beautiful shot where he stung the top right corner.
Costin tied the game at seven in the waning seconds of the third quarter. The Nittany Lions took their first lead since the first quarter after TJ Malone slotted his second of the day to make it 8-7. Malone added two assists as he finished the day with a team-leading four points.
Ohio State showed some light as Shean capped off his hat-trick to knot the game at nine with under six minutes remaining. It didn’t take long for Penn State to answer, as Jake Morin notched his first of the game just 25 seconds later.
That goal would start a four-unanswered goal run for the Nittany Lions. Grant Haus tallied his first goal of the season in what seemed to be the dagger. Traynor completed his eighth hat-trick of the season, while Costin notched his third.
Despite the shaky start, the Penn State defense played lockdown in the second half, only allowing two goals in the final 30 minutes of play. Netminder Jack Fracyon struggled at parts during this game but showed up big down the stretch for the blue and white.
Penn State returns to Panzer Stadium next weekend to host the Maryland Terrapins on March 31, at 7 p.m. EST.
Jack Kiefer is a third-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email jak6707@psu.edu.
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