No. 18 Penn State comes away with a win against Ohio State
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No. 18 Penn State comes away with a win against Ohio State

There couldn’t have been a more fitting Big Ten opener for No. 18 Penn State (7-3, 1-0) than facing Ohio State (5-6, 0-1) this past Sunday on the road at Ohio Stadium. Players, coaches, and fans alike knew that this game would be a close contest, and their hypotheses proved right as the Lions and Buckeyes battled it out for all four quarters.

Within the first two minutes of the game, Dan Craig (Shelburne, Ont.) placed the Nittany Lions in the lead with a rocket to the back of the net. The game was soon tied as the Buckeyes grabbed a goal of their own. However, it was Nick Spillane (Franklin Square, N.Y.) who gave Penn State the 2-1 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Penn State dominated the second quarter. It was Nick Aponte (West Islip, N.Y.) scoring in the first minute of the second quarter that gave the Lions the momentum needed to have two unanswered goals, the second one by Mike Sutton (Sewell, N.J.).

legacy-ps-lacrosse-hat-c1aUp at halftime 4-1, the Nittany Lions knew the Buckeyes would come out hungry for some goals. The Buckeyes scored a fierce set of back-to-back goals in less than a minute in the third quarter, quickly making the game a tight 4-3. Penn Stater Brian Prestreau (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.) notched a single goal with a little over eight minutes left to go in the third, leaving it at 5-3 to start the fourth.

Ohio State once again gave their all in the fourth quarter in an attempt to thwart the Lions. However the Buckeyes’ efforts were to no avail, as Matt Florence (Greenwood Village, Colo.) secured the final goal of the game with less than two minutes to go in the game, granting the Nittany Lions a 6-5 final score and win over Ohio State.

Head coach Jeff Tambroni said that he was “extremely excited” to get the win, especially against a “team as competitive as Ohio State.”

Tambroni also noted that he believes the leadership skills and character built from the “emotional” win against Denver last week bolstered his team to new heights, which inevitably played a large part in the win against Ohio State.

Penn State continues its Big Ten play next weekend, Sunday, April 10, at home, against Maryland at 7 p.m.