NCAA Rewind: Penn State Better Than Most Will Remember

Before USA Lacrosse Magazine looks ahead to what’s to come in 2025 — look out for our NCAA Way-Too-Early Top 25 rankings later this summer — our team of staff and contributors decided it was worth taking a last look at the 2024 college lacrosse season.

To do that, we’re taking a journey through 30 of the top teams in men’s and women’s lacrosse to see what went right, what went wrong and how we should feel about the season.

PENN STATE

USA Lacrosse preseason/final ranking: No. 4/No. 9
2024 record: 11-5 (3-2 Big Ten)

What went right: TJ Malone (42 goals, 36 assists) was one of the nation’s best attackmen, turning in a fitting final college season after his NCAA tournament breakout in 2023. 

Matt Traynor (45 G, 7 A) was excellent as well, and the Nittany Lions had nine players finish with at least 10 goals. Jack Fracyon (.571 save percentage) was a rock in the cage. Opponents shot just 24.1 percent against Penn State, and there was a nine-game stretch from early March through the Big Ten semifinals in which the Nittany Lions allowed double-figure goals just once.

What went wrong: Aside from some season-long issues with faceoffs (.444 for the year), the last two games. Penn State was 11-3 and in fine shape to earn a home game in the first round of the NCAA tournament, but things went sideways in a hurry in a 16-4 loss to Michigan in the Big Ten final. 

Eight days later, the Nittany Lions built a five-goal lead at Georgetown, only for the offense to sputter in the final 36 minutes of a 12-9 loss to the Hoyas. Penn State shot 33.3 percent in its first 14 games, and 17.3 percent in its last two.

Season highlight: While early victories over Cornell and Yale provided what looked to be the makings of a solid postseason profile, the Nittany Lions probably savored their 19-9 romp over Maryland in the Big Ten semifinals as much as any triumph. It was just Penn State’s second all-time defeat of the Terrapins, and more than paid back Maryland’s 13-11 comeback victory at Panzer Stadium on March 31.

Verdict: It wasn’t a trip to the NCAA semifinals like in 2023, so the ending was deflating. Yet up until those last two games, Penn State looked like a more-than-credible final four contender, making the early exit particularly abrupt as well. It was a puzzling conclusion to a season that roughly met external expectations for three months. 

Because fans tend to dwell on the postseason, this team probably won’t be remembered for being as good as it was.