- Chris Jastrzembski
Previewing Penn State's 2022 men's lacrosse schedule
The Penn State Nittany Lions are the 44th team in our 2022 men’s college lacrosse schedule preview series and the fourth team from the Big Ten. Penn State went 4-7 overall in 2021 and 4-6 in Big Ten play in a conference-only schedule. The Nittany Lions fell to Johns Hopkins in the Big Ten quarterfinals.
Here's their entire 2022 spring schedule:
WHO'S IN?
Vermont Catamounts (2/16)
Bucknell Bison (3/15)
WHO'S OUT?
Furman Paladins (22-7 W in 2020, program disbanded after season)
CIRCLE THESE DATES
2/12 vs. Villanova: Penn State's first big test in the post-Ament/Arceri/O'Keefe era comes against in-state foe Villanova. When Ament missed the 2018 season, the Wildcats came out of Happy Valley with the upset victory in overtime. Both teams should be in the top 25 come the start of February.
3/5 vs. Penn (in Charlotte, NC): There's not a ton of neutral site games in college lacrosse, but The Crown Lacrosse Classic has begun to become the premier neutral site college lacrosse event each year. Penn State will participate in it for the third time in the event's four-year history which was co-founded by former pro and Penn State alum Chris Schiller. This will also be the second of three straight Ivy League opponents for the Nittany Lions. Penn State has won the last four meetings, but three of them have been decided by a goal.
4/2 at Ohio State: The Nittany Lions have won the last six meetings against the Buckeyes, including both matchups last year. The highlight came in the second showdown in Columbus with Dylan Foulds scoring two goals in the final 1:0 8 and Aleric Fyock making a last second save to preserve the win for Penn State.
4/16 at Johns Hopkins: Penn State's won four of the last six meetings, but the two defeats they suffered came last season. Hopkins won the first regular season meeting at Homewood Field and then took the rubber match at Panzer Stadium in the Big Ten quarterfinals as they begun to find a groove. The Nittany Lions were 3-2 in the second half of the Big Ten regular season a year ago and hope to break away from a pack that includes the Buckeyes and Blue Jays this year.