Two weeks, two matchups, same opponent, different venue — this time it’s the postseason.
Penn State welcomed Rutgers to Panzer Stadium for the first round of the Big Ten Tournament. After defeating the Scarlet Knights 15-9 in Piscataway, New Jersey, the two teams were seeded for another battle.
The Nittany Lions punched their ticket to the semifinals with a 14-8 beat down over the Scarlet Nights.
“It was a challenge,” Jeff Tambroni said. “There was no innate motivation, like we lose a game and then you’re instantly motivated to play against someone.”
Another postseason run has begun for Penn State. In 2022, Penn State lost to Johns Hopkins in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament, but after last year’s appearance in the NCAA semifinals there’s a backbone of tournament experience.
All season, the Nittany Lions have wanted to work back to that point by taking the regular season game-by-game. Finishing with a record of 9-3, they became battle tested and motivated heading into the postseason.
“I thought when we came out here early, we were a little bit complacent,” Tambroni said. “But the familiarity [of Rutgers] and comfort gave us a chance to just kind of settle in thankfully.”
In 2023, Rutgers lost in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament and finished this year’s regular season just above .500 at 7-6.
The Nittany Lions held a three score lead over the Scarlet Knights by halftime. A mix of veterans and younger squad members relentlessly peppered the Rutgers cage.
Cardin Stoller was bombed for the second week in a row by the Penn State attackers and midfielders. As a redshirt freshman, he started every game but he lacks the experience from the goalkeeper on the other side of the field — Jack Fracyon.
Penn State has relied heavily on Fracyon all year as the starter. This afternoon he was pivotal in preventing any comebacks from Rutgers. Of his 26 shots on goal, the junior keeper saved 18.
“It feels awesome,” Fracyon said. “The team’s first Big Ten playoff win since 2019…it felt really good.”
He ranks second in the Big Ten, averaging 13.5 saves per game.
Of the seven penalties dealt, Rutgers received six of them which gave Penn State several man-up opportunities and it scored on three of them.
“Our special teams is a huge boost for us,” Tambroni said. “They were very confident all week, they worked really hard this week, they did some extra work after practice and it shows.”
Had the Scarlet Knights been a little more disciplined, they could’ve had a better chance of preventing the game from getting out of hand.
As the third seed in the tournament, Penn State will face the two-seeded Terrapins in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals held at Ohio State on Thursday.
About a month ago, Maryland defeated the Nittany Lions on their home turf, and heading into this matchup it will be a short week to prepare.
“This week’s going to be a very diligent and focused practice and we’re going to give Maryland our very best when we get to Ohio,” Fracyon said.
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