(Photo Courtesy of Bucknell Athletics)
With 2.3 seconds remaining, Reid Delanois deflected a Penn State pass to end any last-second effort the Nittany Lions may have had in them and securing the 12-11 Bucknell victory.
Down 11-7 early in the fourth quarter and having been outscored 8-3 in the previous two frames and some change, Penn State stepped up late and ended the contest on a 4-1 run. That included a three-goal spurt that started with a man-up score from Jack Kelly before Canyon Birch put out away the final two goals of the contest.
In wake of that late-game spurt from the Nittany Lions, the Bison defense was able to hold the line and finish strong with Delanois’ pass deflection eventually sealing the deal. The Bison also had two other big stops in the final 3:53 before Birch’s final goal that helped to slow the Penn State effort. Drew Wellington caused a turnover with 2:48 left, forcing Jack Kelly to lose possession after receiving a pass right on the crease that could’ve turned into an easy goal. On the very next Penn State possession, Travis Talarico then intercepted a Luke Mercer pass intended for a cutting Mac Costin on the back-side pipe.
Before those final few stands amidst to help slow down the Nittany Lions late-game run, Bucknell held their opposition scoreless for a nearly 15 minute stretch that lasted from the 11:42 mark in the third until the 11:47 mark in the fourth.
When the final buzzer sounded, Bucknell had caused 13 of the Nittany Lions’ 25 turnovers and held them to 11-of-40 in shooting (4-17 in the second half). That Bison defensive effort was anchored by a 10-save effort in cage for Rich O’Halloran. The freshman came in at the 7:50 mark of the first quarter to replace fellow freshman Max Nolan, who has started every game thus far, following a three-goal run in the first quarter that put the Nittany Lions up 3-2.
Delanois led the way out in front of the cage with three caused turnovers and three ground balls in what was his second start at close of the season.
Getting bumped down and starting at close for the first time since 2020, Penn State’s Sam Sweeney drew the Connor Davis matchup and helped hold the Bison’s leading-scorer to a season-low of two goals. The freshman would get his first with just 19 seconds left in the half off a faceoff sequence and his second off a little question mark dodge from behind the cage on a short-stick matchup.
But while Davis might have been slowed down a bit from his 4.28 goals per game average, the Bison offense, as a whole, was still able to get going.
After an even 4-4 first quarter, Bucknell outscored the Nittany Lions 6-3 in the second and third quarters alone to help them jump ahead 10-7 heading into the fourth quarter of play. Alston Terry had a hat trick to lead the Bison offensive effort while Harry Wellford had two goals.
Nick Crovatto went 11-for-23 (47%) at the faceoff dot for the Bison, but despite going under 50% for just the third time this season was able to help spark early offense at times. He assisted Frankie Higgins on the second goal of the game, which came right off the faceoff following Wellford’s game-opening score. He also assisted on a Dutch Furlong score early in the third quarter.
Penn State was led by a hat trick from Jack Kelly. Hudson Bohn went 14-for-26 (53%) at the dot. Aleric Fyock and Jack Fracyon split time in cage with Fyock playing the first half and making seven saves while Fracyon played the second half and made six saves.
Rutgers Blows Past Lafayette
The Rutgers Scarlet Knights are back in the win column after suffering their first loss of the season against rival Princeton last Friday.
Following a first quarter in which the Scarlet Knights found themselves only up 4-3, they turned on the jets and outscored the Leopards of Lafayette 18-7 in the final three quarters to seal the deal and earn the 22-10 victory.
Ross Scott had a first-quarter hat trick and then added one more in the second to get his fourth of the day. The attackman also dished out three assists for a game-high seven points. Ronan Jacoby also had four goals and Brian Cameron had four points (2G/2A).
LSM Ethan Rall grabbed four ground balls and caused the same number of turnovers to lead the Rutgers defensive effort out in front. Colin Kirst made 10 saves in cage during the 41:34 minutes of action he saw before Toby Burgdorf and Stephen Russo each got their shot in between the pipes.
At the faceoff dot, Jonathan Dugenio went 14-for-19 (73%).
Kalman Kraham had a hat trick to lead the Leopards offense while Peter Lehman had one goal and two assists for three points.
Monmouth Tops VMI, 11-8
Consecutive goals from Hartley Jordan and Scout Ripley gave VMI the 2-1 lead midway through the first quarter, but it would be the only lead and multi-goal run the Keydets would see the rest of the contest. A four-goal run that lasted from late in the first frame through the second helped Monmouth get ahead 5-2 at the half.
The Keydets were twice able to get the Haws’ lead back down to two goals in the third quarter, but another four-goal run would be the end of this one as it helped Monmouth get up 10-4 with 6:32 remaining. Max Brooks had three of those goals to help him end the game with four points (3G/1A). Connor Macrae had the same stat line.
Matt Soutar dominated the faceoff dot, going 14-for-19 (73%) and Noah Lode made eight saves in cage.
Hartley Jordan led VMI with a hat trick while Scout Ripley had two goals. SSDM Trejan Cannon had a strong performance, grabbing four ground balls and causing three turnovers.
Monmouth held VMI to 14-of-20 in clearing and twice scored off failed Keydet clears in the second half to help tack on to their lead.
Lacrosse Bucket 