Penn State Men’s Lacrosse Preview: UPenn
Two heavily respected Pennsylvania lacrosse programs are set to square off in one of the premier lacrosse events of the year.
It’s a game with repercussions way beyond Pennsylvania bragging rights as both teams are coming off monster wins and preparing to enter conference play in the next few weeks.
Saturday afternoon, the Penn State Nittany Lions will look to score another upset against an Ivy League program as they prepare to take on No. 6 UPenn in the third game of the 2022 Crown Classic at American Legion Memorial Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The Nittany Lions have started the season at 2-3, with both wins coming at Panzer Stadium. Earlier in the season, the Nittany Lions took down Lafayette in a scoring onslaught, defeating them 20-15 behind fifth-year senior Jack Kelly and senior Jack Traynor each scoring four goals apiece.
From there, they lost three straight, dropping a nail biter to the Villanova Wildcats. They then lost to Vermont and another Pennsylvania opponent, Saint Josephs.
Tides may have turned this past Saturday though, as the team shut down No. 5 Yale in a defensive battle that saw the blue and white come away with a 10-6 upset win.
The Nittany Lions were led by redshirt freshman Jeb Brenfleck and freshman Will Peden as the two youngsters combined for five goals in the contest. Brenfleck’s performance won him the Big Ten freshman of the week honors.
The story however was redshirt junior goalie Aleric Fyock’s 21 save performance, which marked a career-high. Fyock’s performance earned him national recognition being named the USA Lacrosse Magazine’s Division I Player of the Week and Big Ten Co-Specialist of the Week.
Defender Brayden Peck also produced a standout performance in the upset, earning himself Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honors.
After an astounding upset, the pressure will be on for the Nittany Lions to replicate their performance on a big stage against another top-ranked Ivy League opponent.
This past Saturday the Quakers entered their second game of the season after dropping the first to No. 3 Georgetown.
Despite falling behind early, the Quakers rallied to take No. 7 Duke to overtime, where they eventually finished the job in a 14-13 win to bring their overall record to 1-1 on the season.
Senior captain Dylan Gergar was named Ivy League Player of the Week after scoring six goals and posting three GB in the come from behind win.
The Quakers are led by Gergar, graduate student Ben Bedard, who also added two goals in Saturday’s contest and senior goalkeeper Patrick Burkinshaw.
The Ivy League powerhouse will look to handle business and stave off a potential upset from the Nittany Lions.
Dylan Price is a first-year majoring in journalism. To contact him, email dvp5625@psu.edu.
