In another enthralling and close matchup between Penn State and Maryland, defense yet again ruled the day, with the same result: in favor of the Nittany Lions. The 15th ranked and second seeded Nittany Lions took down the Terps for the second time this season, this time with a Big Ten tournament finals berth on the line. It was an 8-6 result that saw another brilliant defensive performance, with a new star leading the charge.
Sophomore Hunter Aquino was excellent as always, scoring three goals to lead the team. However, the charge was led by a defensive unit that forced seven turnovers on the night and saw freshman goalie Preston Hawkins have yet another fantastic performance in net, recording eight saves. While Penn State went down early in the first quarter, Aquino made sure they had the lead headed into the second. From there, the defense held Maryland goalless for a 28 minute stretch in the second quarter.
Another shocking development that helped the Blue and White was in the faceoff dot. Of the 18 faceoffs throughout the game, the Nittany Lions won eleven of them, which was no mean feat going up against one of the country’s most dominant faceoff winners in Maryland’s Henry Dodge.
The Nittany Lions will now go on to face the top-seeded Johns Hopkins Blue Jays in the championship match tomorrow at noon ET. Coverage will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network.
This article originally appeared on Nittany Lions Wire: Penn State lacrosse bests Maryland in Big Ten semifinal