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Penn State's Superb Lacrosse Seasons Continue at NCAA Tournaments

Both the Penn State men and women's lacrosse teams qualified for the NCAA Lacrosse Tournaments.
Mark Wogenrich|
Members of the Penn State Nittany Lions men's lacrosse team arrive at Gillette Stadium for the NCAA Tournament semifinals.
Members of the Penn State Nittany Lions men's lacrosse team arrive at Gillette Stadium for the NCAA Tournament semifinals. | Eric Canha-Imagn Images

Penn State will host Army West Point in the first round of the NCAA Men's Lacrosse Tournament, making its fourth straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Nittany Lions look to build on the momentum of their Big Ten Tournament title and make a repeat run to the NCAA semifinals.

Meanwhile, the Penn State women's lacrosse team earned an at-large NCAA Tournament bid under first-year coach Kayla Trainor, facing Stanford in the first round at the University of Michigan. The Penn State women play Stanford on Friday, May, 8, and the men's team will host Army on May 9.

The Penn State men on Saturday won their first Big Ten Tournament title in seven years, racing past top-seeded Johns Hopkins in the second half for a 16-8 win in the title game at Rutgers. The teams were tied 6-6 in the third period, when the Nittany Lions scored five unanswered goals en route to its first tournament title sine 2019. That year, Penn State also defeated Johns Hopkins in the championship final at Rutgers.

Penn State (9-5) is ranked ninth nationally in the latest NCAA Men's Lacrosse RPI poll. The Nittany Lions were the No. 2 seed of the Big Ten Tournament and avenged an 11-10 regular-season loss to Johns Hopkins in the tournament final.

The Nittany Lions, coached by Jeff Tambroni, enter the NCAA Tournament on a three-game winning streak, having beaten ranked teams in Rutgers, Maryland and Johns Hopkins. Penn State is making its fourth straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament and ninth overall.

Hunter Aquino, a sophomore from Easton, Pennsylvania, was named the Big Ten Tournament's Most Ouststanding Player after scoring four points in the title game. Aquino scored a hat trick in the Nittany Lions' semifinal win over Maryland.

In the title game, junior Kyle Lehman contributed his fourth hat trick of the season, while Liam Matthews and Chase Robertson scored two goals apiece. After Johns Hopkins scored twice to tie the game 6-6 in the third period, Penn State ralled to score 10 of the next 12 goals.

With the victory, Penn State earned the No. 8 seed in the NCAA Men's Lacrosse Tournament. The Nittany Lions host Army in a 2:30 p.m. ET game May 9 at Panzer Stadium in State College. Penn State is making its ninth NCAA Tournament appearance since 2003.

The Nittany Lions reached the Final Four twice in the past three seasons and made the championship game in 2019. Penn State lost to Duke 16-15 in a controversial final that led the NCAA to expand the use of replay in men's lacrosse.

In her first season as Penn State's coach, Trainor led the women's lacrosse team to an at-large NCAA bid. The Nittany Lions (12-6) won 12 games for the first time since 2017. Under Trainor, the team scored 53 percent more goals than last season and led the Big Ten in shooting percentage (50.1 percent).

Rocquette Allen, who tied for the team lead with 45 goals, was named the Big Ten freshman of the year. Delaney Radin earned first-team all-Big Ten honors after leading Penn State with 82 points.

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Mark Wogenrich
MARK WOGENRICH

Mark Wogenrich is the editor and publisher of Penn State on SI, the site for Nittany Lions sports on the Sports Illustrated network. He has covered Penn State sports for more than two decades across three coaching staffs, three Rose Bowls and one College Football Playoff appearance.

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