Penn State takes down Rutgers and secures second-ever Big Ten regular season championship
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- The No. 5 ranked Nittany Lions (8-3, 3-1), who have been perfect at home, welcomed the No. 11 Rutgers Scarlet Knights to Panzer Stadium for their annual “Senior Night.”
Penn State, seeking their fourth straight win, last fended off No. 15 Michigan 11-9 in Ann Arbor, thanks to a six-goal effort from attacker Jack Traynor and a four-assist night from midfielder Ethan Long.
The lights shined bright on the field while clouds filled the Happy Valley sky, but that didn’t stop attacker TJ Malone from glowing bright like the sun in the first half, assisting three Nittany Lion goals through two quarters.
Penn State came out firing in the first, flexing their goal-scoring depth, finding the back of the net five different times from five different scorers. Rutgers would not respond until 28 seconds were left in the quarter.
“We were disappointed coming out of the Michigan game with the way we played offensively,” Penn State head coach Jeff Tambroni said. “I think we have a lot of firepower out there, but we just didn’t play very well. It was really nice to see some of these guys like Mac Hobbs and Luke Mercer step up and contribute the way they did.”
Rutgers, looking to claw back from four goals down, notched two quick ones early into the second, cutting the lead to three, but it was all Nittany Lions to close out the first half, entering the locker room up 7-3.
In the first minute of action in the second half, TJ Malone set the tone for the Nittany Lions, increasing their lead back to five, earning his fourth point of the evening. Malone now is within three goals of reaching the 100-goal milestone in his career.
Rutgers, refusing to give up hope, tickled the twine twice more, but the Nittany Lions held their ground and jousted for six more goals before the final buzzer.
Malone made it clear that personal milestones don’t matter to him, claiming he’s happy to secure the win, but the job is not finished.
“I had no idea, pretty cool, I guess,” he said. “As long as we win the Big 10 tournament and the national championship, I don’t care.”
Kevin Winkoff finished the night with a hat trick, putting up three goals and one assist for the Nittany Lions, while Luke Mercer and Ethan Long both added two goals and combined for three assists.
Freshman Mac Hobbs scored his first career goal and goalie Jack Fracyon held down the fort with 17 saves.
The 14-5 win over Rutgers earned Penn State its second Big Ten regular season championship in program history and brought home the Friendship Cup for the first time since 2019.
Owen Gelber is a first-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email omg5144@psu.edu
