Back in 2019, Penn State men’s lacrosse came four goals short of having a chance to play for a national title in its own backyard in Philadelphia. Then, before a global pandemic in 2020, the Nittany Lions were one of the most well-equipped teams in the nation to make another run to the Final Four. So entering 2021, despite some roster turnover in key positions, Penn State was poised yet again to be a national powerhouse and make a run deep into the postseason.
That quickly proved untrue. After entering 2021 as the No. 7 team in the country, the Nittany Lions finished 4-7 and were bounced from the first round of the Big Ten Tournament by a 2-8 Johns Hopkins team. There were some high points, but the season was mostly made up of a lot of lows for Jeff Tambroni and the program.