Still finding its footing in the post-Grant Ament era, the Penn State men’s lacrosse team took a step in the right direction Saturday, defeating Ohio State 15-13 to pick up its first win of the season.

TJ Malone scored five goals, including three in the second half, and added two assists to lead the 15th-ranked Nittany Lions (1-2) in a back-and-forth game. Dylan Foulds scored three of his four goals in the first quarter and Mac O’Keefe closed things out, scoring two of his three goals in the final 6:04 to seal the victory.

Jack Myers and Tre Leclaire scored three goals apiece and Justin Inacio won 17 of 29 faceoffs for the 12th-ranked Buckeyes (1-2), who were done in by 24 turnovers.

Penn State’s offense looked out of sorts in its first two games, losses at Rutgers and at home against Maryland. The Nittany Lions weren’t particularly sharp Saturday, either, committing 18 turnovers and inflicting the most damage in one-on-one matchups. But they shot nearly 35 percent from the field and had an answer for every Ohio State run.

Terps Find Third Gear

The Rivalry Trophy will reside in College Park — at least for a few weeks.

No. 2 Maryland scored 10 unanswered goals, including an 8-0 third-quarter margin that spelled the difference in an 18-10 victory Saturday over No. 19 Johns Hopkins in College Park, Md. It was the 120th meeting between the historic rivals, who will meet again later this season in Baltimore as part of the Big Ten’s home-and-home schedule during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tewaaraton candidate Jared Bernhardt scored five goals and Logan Wisnauskas had seven assists to lead the Terps (3-0). Joey Epstein scored three goals and Cole Williams had two goals and three assists for the Blue Jays (1-2).

Check back to uslaxmagazine.com for more coverage from Patrick Stevens.

Lehigh Stifles Loyola

Lehigh dominated Loyola up the middle, riding the hot hands of faceoff specialist Mike Sisselberger (16-for-19) and goalie James Spencer (17 saves) to a 10-6 victory Saturday in Bethlehem, Pa. It was the Mountain Hawks’ first-ever win over the Greyhounds, the perennial Patriot League favorite.

No. 11 Loyola (2-2, 0-1 Patriot League) got back injured faceoff specialist Bailey Savio (1-for-12) but his rust showed. Sisselberger, getting all of the reps with the equally dangerous Connor Gaffney being held out due to COVID-19 protocols, also scored a goal for the second straight game.

Tommy Schelling led No. 14 Lehigh (2-0, 1-0) with two goals and three assists.

UMBC Wins in 4OT

UMBC certainly has shown a flair for the dramatic.

A week after rallying late to beat Mount St. Mary’s in overtime, the Retrievers went four extra frames Saturday with America East rival Stony Brook before Nick Dupuis’ man-up goal gave UMBC a 13-12 quadruple-overtime victory in Catonsville, Md. It was the longest game in school history.

The Retrievers (2-0, 1-0 America East) led 12-11 late in the fourth quarter when Danny Cassidy was flagged for an illegal body check. The Seawolves (2-2, 0-1) capitalized, as Cory Vanginhoven converted a Dylan Pallonetti feed with seven seconds left in regulation to send the game to overtime.

UMBC’s Brett McIntyre scored a game-high four goals, all in the second half. Goalie Tommy Lingner made 16 saves, including one each in double and triple overtime.

Porter House Steak

Vermont proved to be peskier than expected, but No. 8 Syracuse rode a 20-save performance by goalie Drake Porter to a 17-13 win Saturday at the Carrier Dome.

Owen Hiltz scored four goals and Stephen Rehfuss had two goals and six assists for the Orange (2-1), who led for nearly the entirety of the game despite a substantial possession deficit.

Tommy Burke won 24 of 34 faceoffs for the Catamounts (1-2), who outshot Syracuse 51-32 but shot just 25 percent.

Notable

• No. 4 Georgetown, No. 5 Rutgers and No. 9 Denver each eclipsed 20 goals against quality opponents Saturday. The Hoyas (4-0, 3-0 Big East) scored nine in the third quarter alone to defeat Marquette 20-13. The Scarlet Knights (3-0) generated an absurd 21 points from its attack line of Adam Charalambides (four goals, five assists), Kieran Mullins (two goals, five assists) and Connor Kirst (four goals, one assist) in a 22-12 win at Michigan. The Pioneers (5-2, 3-0 Big East) rode a 12-goal run and nine-point outing by Alex Simmons (five goals, four assists) to a 20-6 win at St. John’s.

• St. Bonaventure won the first game in program history, defeating Quinnipiac 13-5 in both teams’ season opener Saturday. Austin Blumbergs had three goals and three assists and Brett Dobson made 14 saves for the Bonnies, who were 0-13 in their inaugural season in 2019 and 0-6 last year before the COVID-19 pandemic halted play.

• Brendan Nichtern had three goals and three assists and Wyatt Schupler made 17 saves to lead No. 7 Army to a 12-10 victory at Boston University in the teams’ Patriot League opener. It was the third straight win for the Black Knights (3-1), who jumped out to a 5-0 lead and withstood multiple BU runs. Timmy Ley had four goals and two assists for the Terriers (2-1).

• Tehoka Nanticoke made his season debut for No. 17 Albany and did not appear to miss a beat. He scored three goals and added four assists in a 17-6 win over Hartford. The Great Danes are 2-0 (1-0 America East).

Nike/US Lacrosse Top 20

No. 2 Maryland 18, No. 19 Johns Hopkins 10
No. 3 North Carolina 16, Mercer 8
No. 4 Georgetown 20, Marquette 13
No. 5 Rutgers 22, Michigan 12
No. 6 Virginia 20, Air Force 4
No. 7 Army 12, Boston University 10
No. 8 Syracuse 17, Vermont 13
No. 9 Denver 20, St. John’s 6
No. 10 Notre Dame 12, Bellarmine 6
No. 14 Lehigh 10, No. 11 Loyola 6
No. 15 Penn State 15, No. 12 Ohio State 13
No. 18 Albany 17, Hartford 6

No. 13 UMass at No. 20 Hofstra, PPD

Other Scores

Binghamton 11, NJIT 5
Bryant 20, Merrimack 8
Canisius 8, Siena 7
Drexel 12, Towson 10
Hobart 13, Mount St. Mary’s 9
LIU 13, Sacred Heart 10
Marist 15, Detroit Mercy 11
Monmouth 8, Manhattan 5
St. Bonaventure 13, Quinnipiac 6
UMBC 13, Stony Brook 12 (4OT)
VMI 13, Lafayette 12

Holy Cross at Colgate, 7:30 p.m.

Bucknell at Navy, PPD
Saint Joseph's at Wagner, PPD