Notching a fifth consecutive win and upsetting a top 10 team -- not bad for a weekend's work.

The red-hot No. 18 Penn State men's lacrosse (6-5, 3-2 ECAC) team defeated No. 8 Rutgers (9-3, 2-1) on the road Saturday in the "Friendship Cup" by a score of 7-6, and has extended its chance for an NCAA tournament bid for yet another week.

After a slow start to the season, which saw the Nittany Lions lose three straight in just their second week of play, Penn State has now rallied to win five games in a row. The winning streak is the longest since the 1997, when the Lions won seven straight.

With Saturday's victory, the Lions ended the Scarlet Knights' undefeated record in ECAC conference play, and handed them their third loss overall. Helping Penn State secure the victory was a solid combination of offense and defense from start to finish.

The Lions took a 3-0 lead into the second period after shutting out the Knights' dominant offense. The lead would ultimately be a deficit Penn State would not relinquish for the remainder of regulation.

The offense started out strong and quick for the Lions. Captain Marshall Feldman and sophomore Elliot Jones scored the first two goals of the game. Both of the scores were within a minute of each other. Feldman would finish the day with two goals and an assist.

In the second period, the Knights rallied back with a goal from Delby Powless while keeping Penn State off the boards. However, the third quarter proved to be an offensive showcase for both teams. The Lions put in three goals courtesy of Feldman, R.J. Charles, and Nate Whittaker. Whittaker extended his scoring streak to 11 games. On the other end, Rutgers tried to keep the game within reach with goals from Leif Blomquist and ECAC Offensive Player of the Week Jeffrey Duca.

Sophomore Will Cutler sealed the upset in the third quarter with a goal that made the score 7-3. The Knights cut the Lions' lead to one with a trio of goals, two of which came from Duca. After that, the Penn State defense took over and shut down the remaining offensive strikes.

Leading the defense for the Lions was senior captain Chris Garrity.

Garrity made 14 saves on the day and passed former Penn State lacrosse goalie Chip Robertson for career saves with 394.

Penn State will be on the road once again next weekend as they take on Virginia, a team it upset at the end of last season.