Penn State lacrosse rises to seventh in polls

Ahead of the start of the NCAA tournament, Penn State men's lacrosse got a major boost in the polls thanks to their Big Ten title win. After defeating Johns Hopkins 16-8 in the Big Ten championship game, Penn State moved up eight spots from No. 15 to No. 7 in the latest polls.

This rise comes after perhaps their most dominant ever performance in the Big Ten tournament. After a disappointing regular season that saw losses to three teams outside of the top 30 and a 7-5 record overall, they traveled to New Jersey to take on their two main rivals for the title: seventh-ranked Maryland and tenth-ranked Johns Hopkins. The semifinals matchup against the Terps was much more tense than the final, but a stellar display on the defensive end ensured the Nittany Lions pulled through.

It was their win in the final against the Blue Jays of Johns Hopkins that was the catalyst for their rise. After a tense affair through two quarters, Penn State's offense truly came alive in the second half of the game, scoring five unanswered goals. In fact, the Nittany Lions received help from up and down the roster, with 11 different goalscorers.

Now the Nittany Lions head back home to Panzer Stadium to take on Army in their NCAA tournament opener. Faceoff is at 2:30 PM ET on Saturday, May 9.

This article originally appeared on Nittany Lions Wire: Penn State lacrosse climbs polls after Big Ten title