No. 10 Penn State prevails against Rutgers to advance to the Big Ten Semifinals

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Jeff Tambroni’s squad captured its first Big Ten tournament victory since 2019 after defeating Rutgers 14-8 Saturday afternoon.

The Scarlet Knights got the party started, scoring two goals in the first four minutes. Dante Kulas got them on the board just over a minute into the game, while Colin Kurdyla extended their lead. Kurdyla led the way for Rutgers, as he notched his third hat trick of the season.

The Nittany Lions responded with a run of their own to end the first quarter. Jake Morin and Kyle Lehman scored 46 seconds apart, as they tied up the game.

The two teams exchanged goals back and forth at the start of the second quarter. That quickly changed as Penn State went on a four-goal run, including capitalizing on two extra-man opportunities.

Luke Walstrum started the run, as he netted his first of two goals on the day. Walstrum drew a penalty on the play, which led to an Ethan Long man-up goal. Long had a season-high three goals in the contest.

Kyle Aldridge and Mac Costin scored their first goals of the game to continue the run before Rutgers’ John Sidorski scored with just two minutes left in the half. The Nittany Lions held an 8-5 lead going into halftime.

Walstrum got his second of the afternoon on a man-up opportunity to start the half. James Ringer responded with a goal of his own. From this point on, it was a back-and-forth contest, as both teams were delivering blows.

TJ Malone notched his third and fourth goals of the game in the final minutes of the third quarter, as the Nittany Lions held an 11-6 lead heading into the final 15 minutes of play.

Ross Scott got his first goal of the game to start the fourth. Scott and fellow first-team All-Big Ten selection Shane Knobloch struggled to get going in this outing. Knobloch was held to zero points for the first time all season.

“That is a compliment to the entire group,” said Tambroni. “He’s had a terrific career at Rutgers, but the guys stepped up and took away one of the absolute knowns…and that was a big key to today’s game.”

The Nittany Lions scored three goals in the final period of play, Sean Donnelly got his first goal as a member of the blue and white. Long and Malone scored the final two goals to secure the victory

“I mean it feels awesome,” said netminder Jack Fracyon. “ It’s awesome to give everyone that experience…it felt really good.”

Penn State’s specialists were a huge key to the team’s victory. Chase Mullins had one of his best performances of the season at the stripe. The former five-star recruit went 15 of 20 from the dot, which provided a spark to a faceoff unit that has struggled this season.

On the back end, Fracyon was spectacular between the pipes as he tied his career high in saves today with 18. Fracyon was lights out, after letting in two goals in the first few minutes. The junior netminder was instrumental to Penn State’s success with clearing the ball.

Penn State will hit the road and travel to Columbus, where they will face Maryland in the Big Ten Tournament semifinal this upcoming Thursday in Ohio State Lacrosse Stadium.

Jack Kiefer is a third-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email jak6707@psu.edu.