Penn State Stuns Notre Dame, Advances to NCAA Men's Lacrosse Semifinals

The Nittany Lions stage a huge second-half rally to eliminate the two-time defending NCAA champion Fighting Irish.

Penn State midfielder Matt Traynor, pictured in the 2023 NCAA men's lacrosse tournament, led the Nittany Lions back to the semifinals with a win over Notre Dame. / Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

Penn State men's lacrosse staged a relentless rally Sunday, erasing a six-goal deficit by scoring eight unanswered goals to defeat Notre Dame 14-12 in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship. By eliminating the two-time defending NCAA champion, Penn State advanced to the NCAA semifinals for the second time in three years.

The fifth-seeded Nittany Lions (12-4) will meet top-seeded Cornell in the NCAA semifinals, set for May 24 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. Penn State is the only team to beat Cornell this season, winning 13-12 in overtime on the road in March.

Penn State made the semis with one of its best quarters of the season, led by senior captain Matt Traynor, at precisely the right time. The Nittany Lions held Notre Dame (9-5) scoreless for nearly 21 minutes, including the entire fourth quarter when Notre Dame didn't get a shot on goal. Penn State coach Jeff Tambroni said "it took everything" for the Nittany Lions to rally for the win.

"I felt like in the first half we were just hoping things would open up, and then in the second half I thought we did a much better job of committing to our dodges, committing to our shots, committing to our offense," Tambroni said in an interview with ESPN after the game.

The Fighting Irish scored with 5:56 left in the third quarter, their third goal in 75 seconds, to take a 12-6 lead. After that, the Nittany Lions scored the game's final eight goals, including five in a shutout fourth quarter.

An 8-0 run to close out the game and punch a ticket to the @NCAALAX Final Four 🔥

Nittany Nation is rocking 🤘#B1GMLax x @PennStateMLAX pic.twitter.com/NPOq8zshhu

— Big Ten Lacrosse (@B1GLacrosse) May 18, 2025

Penn State turned the game in its favor with 12 seconds left in the third quarter, when Traynor circled the cage to score, cutting Notre Dame's lead to 12-9. Traynor, a senior captain and the Big Ten offensive player of the year, had a huge game. He scored six goals, including what proved to be the tying and winning goals in the fourth quarter.

Kyle Lehman and Ethan Long scored three goals apiece for the Nittany Lions, who absolutely controlled the entire fourth quarter. Notre Dame took 10 shots in the fourth but could not get one on net against goalkeeper Jack Fracyon. Meanwhile, Penn State scored 11 goals on 16 second-half shots after hitting on just three of 22 attempts in the first half.

Traynor tied the game with 8:34 remaining and gave the Nittany Lions the lead for good 1:07 later. Traynor's tying goal was a gem, as he split Notre Dame's defense and rifled one to the top-left corner of the net.

4th | 8:34 WHO ELSE TO TIE US UP?

Matt Traynor.

12-12 pic.twitter.com/4H2TdqEU6Z

— Penn State Men’s Lacrosse (@PennStateMLAX) May 18, 2025

Penn State returns to the NCAA semifinals for the second time in three years. The Nittany Lions lost a heartbreaking, and controversial, overtime decision to Duke in the 2023 semifinals, when the Blue Devils scored a game-winning goal that should not have counted.

Penn State already has a win this season over top-seeded Cornell, also via a fiery comeback. The Nittany Lions trailed Cornell 12-8 on the road with less than 3 minutes remaining in regulation but scored the final four goals to force overtime. Long scored the game-winner in overtime, lifting the Nittany Lions over then third-ranked Cornell.

Cornell (16-1) has won 12 straight games since that loss, including NCAA Tournament wins over Albany (15-6) and Richmond (13-12). Cornell is making its 15th appearance in the NCAA semifinals.

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