After dispatching UMBC with relative ease in last week’s first round matchup, Penn State faced a stiffer challenge in 8th-seed Loyola (MD) and their star player, Pat Spencer. While things started off well, as PSU jumped out to a quick 3-1 lead, Loyola quickly found a rhythm of their own, winning faceoff after faceoff, and keeping the ball away from PSU for over five minutes, en route to going on a 5-0 run to take a 6-3 lead late in the first quarter.
PSU would soon recover, scoring two more goals before the end of the quarter, setting up an offensive barrage in the second quarter, which saw them outscore the Greyhounds 9-1, taking a 14-7 lead into the locker room at halftime.