The Penn State lacrosse program has been scratching at the door of a national championship appearance for a number of years now. There is nothing in the world this team would want more than finally making it over the hump and playing on Memorial Day. The Big Ten was a gauntlet this year, and that gauntlet did not treat Penn State kindly. However, despite the unforeseen circumstances, Penn State is starting to live up to their talent, which has led them to another Championship Weekend appearance. The real question is how exactly did they get here, and do they have a chance of making it all the way? Let’s take a look at the Penn State lacrosse 2025 season to grasp how they have made it to this point.
Penn State has been a weird team all season long. With high expectations and a talented roster, the team was certainly expected to go far. However, when I sit here looking back at the regular season, they have very little to be excited about in terms of their performance. Their biggest win of the year was against Cornell in overtime, which was definitely massive—especially now, considering that Cornell is outright the best team in the country. Other than that, though, Penn State has no real wins over a quality opponent. The closest crumb I could give them was being able to handle their business against Michigan. They ended the regular season with three losses, all in their biggest games—against Princeton, Ohio State, and Maryland. Only having three losses coming out of the regular season is certainly not a bad thing, but I’m sure the team would have wanted to put up a better fight against their ranked opponents.
Heading into the Big Ten quarterfinals, Penn State struggled against a mentally defeated Johns Hopkins team. The game came down to the wire, with the Nittany Lions coming out on top 13–12. I believe this was a testament to Penn State not being as battle-ready due to the lack of strong wins this season. Then the Big Ten semifinals rolled around, and Penn State came up just short against Maryland, losing 8–10. Expectations were still high for the Nittany Lions as they were well-coached and very talented, but they left the 2025 Big Ten season with no hardware to show for it.
The Penn State lacrosse program has made the most of their NCAA tournament run so far, taking down an impressive Colgate team in a 13–11 win. The biggest test was ahead, though, as they had to go up against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, who were going to leave it all on the table to make it back to Championship Weekend. Notre Dame had the advantage for about 80% of the game, coming in with experience and confidence that Penn State just didn’t have for the first three quarters. However, with some quick coaching adjustments, Penn State was able to rally and fight down the stretch. Finishing the game on an 8–0 run to secure the victory and make it back to Championship Weekend was certainly an experience that none of these young men will ever forget, and it gives the Nittany Lions a good boost of confidence going into Boston.
Statistics normally tell a story on how a team’s season is going. Penn State has been pretty consistent, hovering around the top 10 in just about every statistical category this season. Their scoring offense averages 12.5 goals per game, which places them 16th in the country. That pairs nicely with their defense, which is only allowing 9.2 goals per game, slotting them at 11th. This puts them at an average scoring margin of +3.25 per game, which is certainly respectable. The offense has had some downbeats this season, but the one main consistent is that the defense has always held strong. They certainly will be up for a test going against the number one offense in the country in the Cornell Big Red. Clearing and face-offs shouldn’t be an issue, as the team is clearing the ball at an 89.4% rate and facing off at 56%, both top 10 in the country.
When it comes to star players, Matt Traynor is the number one guy on your scouting report. Traynor has notched 59 points this season on 42 goals and 17 assists. While Penn State certainly has other talented offensive players that like to spread the rock, I’m concerned about what this offense looks like if Traynor is slowed down. Even though the Nittany Lions play a fairly selfless version of lacrosse, in games like this you need your best players to step up. He was able to do that in the quarterfinals, but now the question is—can he repeat that performance against one of the best defenses in the country?
Penn State has been knocking on the door for this opportunity for a number of years now. Their controversial loss to Duke just a few years back, which prevented them from making a national championship appearance, certainly still rings within the locker room. With the opportunity to compete for a national championship, I’m certain the Nittany Lions will leave everything on the table.
