Penn State men’s lacrosse falls in national semifinal to top-seeded Cornell

The Nittany Lions couldn’t keep their late-game magic rolling for a bid at a national title.

Penn State men’s lacrosse lost to No. 1 seed Cornell, 11-9, in the NCAA semifinal Saturday afternoon in Foxborough, Mass.

Penn State had beaten Cornell in the regular season in overtime, handing the Big Red their only loss of the 2025 campaign.

Cornell was led by senior midfielder Hugh Kelleher, who tallied a trio of goals to go with an assist. His final tally came with just under six minutes to play.

Penn State played impressive defense, holding the nation’s best scoring offense more than five goals below its season average. The Lions also stymied national scoring leader CJ Kirst, who ended one of the longest scoring streaks in NCAA history Saturday.

The Nittany Lions failed to get significant contributions from star midfielder and Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year Matt Traynor, who scored twice but did not enter the stat sheet before the 42-second mark of the first half.

Cornell rode a hot streak through the second half, helped by a large faceoff deficit. The Big Red won 16 draws to Penn State’s eight to hold momentum through the finish line.

Penn State made the semifinal for the second time in three years, falling to Duke in overtime in 2023. The Lions rode a six-goal outburst from Traynor and an 8-0 run in the second half to top Notre Dame last weekend.