Penn State Men’s Lacrosse Preview Vs. Yale
Two teams that squared off in the 2019 NCAA Semifinals are set to rematch this weekend.
Penn State will take on No. 6 Yale at Panzer Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The contest marks the Bulldogs' first road game since Feb. 29, 2020, after last year's campaign was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Nittany Lions haven’t gotten off to a strong start this season with a 1-3 record while Yale is 1-0 after defeating Villanova 17-14. Penn State fell against Villanova earlier this year 13-12.
Its loss against Villanova marked the first of three consecutive losses for the blue and white, who will look to snap that streak on Saturday.
Leading the way for Penn State offensively is senior attacker Jack Traynor and freshman attacker Will Peden. Traynor leads the team in goals and points with 13 and 21, respectively, while Peden has a team-high 10 assists.
Alongside Traynor and Peden are fifth-year senior midfielder Jack Kelly and redshirt senior midfielder Dan Reaume. The duo of Kelly and Reaume have combined for 17 goals on the young season.
Taking the faceoff for the Nittany Lions is redshirt freshman Hudson Bohn, who is looking to improve his .417 faceoff average for this season.
A major area of concern in this campaign for the blue and white has been its defense allowing 112 shots on goal.
In the opening four games of the season, teams are averaging 14.75 goals per game against Penn State, which is something coach Jeff Tambroni wants to see improved.
The defense is anchored by fifth-year senior Brayden Peck and senior Brett Funk. The pair of defenders are tied for the team lead with five caused turnovers each.
Junior midfielder Grant Haus also has five caused turnovers this year and will look to play a big role in slowing down the potent Yale offensive attack.
Starting in goal for the Nittany Lions is junior goalie Aleric Fyock. Fyock has an 0-3 record with a .459 save percentage and 15.76 goals against average.
Despite the Bowie, Maryland, native not having the best numbers, he has made 15 saves in his last two games.
As for Yale, it features an explosive offensive attack with four players recording two goals or more.
Junior attacker Matt Brandau tallied five goals in the victory and will look to continue his success over Penn State as he tallied seven goals in the 2019 semifinals game.
Pairing up with Brandau are freshman attacker Leo Johnson, junior midfielder Will Cabrera and freshman attacker Brad Sharp. The trio found the back of the net seven times in the win over Villanova.
Taking faceoffs for Yale are fogo's Nicholas Ramsey and Machado Rodriguez who won 17-34 draws last weekend.
The Bulldogs boast a strong defensive unit led by senior defender Chris Fake who was named to the Tewaaraton Award Watch List back in 2019.
Alongside Fake are junior defender Bryce De Muth and sophomore defender Jack Stuzin. De Muth had five ground balls and two caused turnovers in the opening game while Stuzin recorded five ground balls and five caused turnovers.
The defensive core will look to protect sophomore goalie Jared Paquette. Paquette saved just 39.1 percent of the shots he faced against the Wildcats.
Penn State has four games left on its schedule before it begins conference play, and a win over Yale would provide a big momentum boost before heading into Big Ten play.
Molly White is a second-year majoring in Kinesiology. To contact her, email mkw5766@psu.edu.
