STATE COLLEGE, PA. – No. 18 Rutgers men's lacrosse finished the regular season with an 12-4 loss at No. 7 Penn State. RU concludes the regular season slate with a 6-8 overall record and 2-3 mark in Big Ten play. Penn State improved to 9-3 overall and 3-2 in the Big Ten. The Scarlet Knights have now lost the past four against Penn State, but lead the all-time series 46-27.

Rutgers will be the 5 seed in the Big Ten Tournament as the lone league team with a 2-3 Big Ten record. That means that RU is on the road for the Quarterfinals. RU will travel to face the No. 4 seed, which will be Penn State (if Michigan beats Ohio State) or Michigan (if Ohio State beats Michigan).

Rutgers' goals came from Ryan Splaine, Shane Murphy, Colin Kurdyla and Colin Zeller. The Scarlet Knights were undone by making 22 turnovers. Penn State led 40-32 in shots, with RU putting just 17 on cage and PSU goalkeeper Jack Fracyon making 13 saves. Penn State had the edge on ground balls (29-25). 

Joe Juengerkes had a season-high six ground balls. Matthew Paolatto was 11-of-18 on faceoffs with six ground balls. There were only two penalties in the game, both against RU. 

RU kept pace with the Nittany Lions in the early going. A helter-skelter opening quarter saw RU score three goals in the first frame. Ryan Splaine scored the visitors first goal of the game in transition. Shane Murphy had the second tally, absorbing contact in front and finishing, Colin Kurdyla had the third goal of the frame, finishing a pass from JJ Aiello in transition that saw Rutgers capitalize on another fast break chance after forcing a turnover on the defensive end.

However, Penn State responded with a run, pushing their lead to 10-3 at halftime with four goals in the second quarter. That included two full-field goals for PSU into an open net against RU's ten-man ride.

A scoring drought from RU would allow Penn State to hold grasp on the lead. After Kurdyla's goal with three minutes remaining in the first quarter, RU did not score again through the third quarter, allowing PSU to hold firm grasp on the game. Colin Zeller had a fourth quarter tally for RU, burying a long range shot. That would be the final score for RU, their fourth time this season held to five goals or less. The 12 goals were the second most allowed by RU's defense this season, who have only allowed more than 11 goals twice through 14 games. 

Rutgers completed the regular season with a 2-3 mark in conference play. RU defeated No. 11 Johns Hopkins and No. 2 Maryland, but fell to No. 3 Ohio State, No. 7 Penn State and No. 14 Michigan. RU played eight of their 14 regular season games against ranked foes.