Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1535618
J U N E / J U L Y 2 0 2 5 9 OPENING SHOT UP TO HIS OLD TRICKS Senior midfielder Matt Traynor put together his fifth hat trick of the season when Penn State faced Colgate in the first round of the NCAA Men's Lacrosse Tournament. Traynor bookended the Nittany Lions' 13-11 victory by tallying the team's first and last goals on May 10 at Panzer Stadium. Traynor scored on an assist from senior mid- fielder Ethan Long with just under a minute gone in the second quarter to help seventh- ranked Penn State rally after spotting the 15th- ranked Raiders a 2-0 lead in the game's first nine minutes. He also scored an unassisted goal that es- sentially clinched the victory for Penn State, firing home an empty-netter with 33 seconds remaining to double the hosts' late lead. Named the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year in April, Traynor leads the conference and is tied for 10th nationally with an average of 3.0 goals per game. However, he wasn't the Nittany Lions' leading goal-scorer against Colgate. That distinction belonged to sophomore attackman Liam Matthews, who beat Raiders goalkeeper Matt LaCombe 4 times, including a pair of tal- lies during a 3-0 run in the game's final five minutes that allowed Penn State to erase the visitors' 11-10 lead and advance to the tourna- ment's quarterfinal round. Defensively, senior Kevin Parnham forced 4 of the 18 turnovers that Penn State caused. It was the most turnovers the Nittany Lions had ever forced in an NCAA Tournament contest, easily surpassing the 12 they amassed in a 21-17 loss to Yale in 2019. The victory was Penn State's second of the season over Colgate. PSU prevailed, 14-9, on Feb. 1 in its season opener, a game that also took place at Panzer Stadium. By capturing the hard-fought rematch, the Nittany Lions set up a clash with two-time defending national cham- pion Notre Dame in Annapolis, Md., the follow- ing week. PSU won that one, too, rallying for a 14-12 victory May 18. Traynor scored 6 goals against the Irish to help Penn State reach the Final Four for the third time in program history. — Matt Herb PHOTO BY MARK SELDERS/PENN STATE ATHLETICS