It wasn’t easy, but Penn State was able to find a way to claim another program milestone on Sunday.

The No. 1 overall seed was initially challenged by eighth-seeded Loyola, but the Nittany Lions managed to overcome an early gut-punch form the Greyhounds on the way to their second-ever NCAA tournament win, 21-14 in East Hartford, Connecticut.

With the win, the tournament favorites improve to 16-1 on the season and will advance to the NCAA Final Four in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania next weekend. The Nittany Lions will play either Penn or Yale in the semifinals.

It was the 13th straight win for Penn State, as the Nittany Lions have not lost since their defeat at the hands of Yale back on Feb. 21.

Here are three takeaways from Penn State’s second round victory:

Penn State fights through early adversity in offensive showcase

When two of the top offenses in the nation square off, it would be safe to expect a close shootout.

Initially, it looked like that was going to be the case, just not in Penn State’s favor.

After scoring three of the game’s first four goals, the Nittany Lions were clearly caught off guard when Loyola responded with a 5-0 run in the span of just six minutes of game time.

Then, the Penn State avalanche came.

Trailing 6-3 with under two minutes to play in the opening quarter, the Nittany Lions put on an offensive clinic in the following 16 minutes, tallying 11 of the next 12 goals and taking a 14-7 lead into the halftime break.

The second quarter in particular was a dominant effort from the top seed, with Penn State putting up 20 shots and completely taking the Loyola offense out of the game with an extended stretch of possession.

Even after the Greyhounds put forth a furious rally in the third quarter, cutting the Penn State lead to just 16-14 at one point, the Nittany Lions would seize control again, thanks to a four-goal run of their own.

Mac O’Keefe finished with nine goals on 16 shots, Jack Kelly scored on every one of his shot attempts and Grant Ament added nine points in a victory that showed the depth and resiliency of this Penn State team.

Despite a few nail-biting moments, the No. 1 overall seed was ultimately able to fend off the No. 8 seed and advance to its first-ever Final Four.

Spencer and Ament put on a show

This quarterfinal showdown was a highly-anticipated matchup for reasons beyond the capabilities of the two teams as a whole.

In addition, it gave lacrosse fans a chance to see Pat Spencer and Grant Ament play each other in a match where both teams’ seasons were on the line.

The two Tewaaraton finalists are widely considered to be the two best players in the country, and Sunday’s game provided a rare showcase for the two to be on the field at the same time.

Neither player would disappoint.

Spencer showed why he will likely go down as one of the greatest players in the history of Division I lacrosse, as he was clearly the best player on the field for the entirety of the contest.

The All-American finished with 11 points on the day, scoring four of his six goals in the third quarter, in which he single-handedly kept the Greyhounds alive.

Spencer was involved on every Loyola possession, tiring out Chris Sabia and running the rest of the Penn State defense ragged.

His counterpart was no slouch either, and was arguably just as important to the eventual result.

After falling behind in the early going, it was Ament who steadied the offense and calmed things down.

Once the offense stalled again in the third quarter, the engine to Penn State’s success was once again there to stabilize the game and close out the victory.

Ament finished the day with nine points (one goal and eight assists), but his contributions and importance to the offense were even more important than what the box score indicated.

Experience will be imperative for Penn State

Despite being the tournament favorites, Penn State’s road to a potential national championship will be anything but easy.

After overcoming a stern test from Loyola, the Nittany Lions will now face either fourth-seeded Penn or fifth-seeded Yale, the team responsible for Penn State’s only loss this season.

Luckily for Penn State, this is a team that has plenty of experience in high-pressure situations.

This season alone, the Nittany Lions have impressive close wins over Penn, Maryland, Rutgers and Johns Hopkins. In addition, each of those victories were all made possible by late-game heroics.

Penn State has been here before this season, and that is summed up by how the Nittany Lions responded to adversity, both today and throughout the year.

Even when one unit is playing poorly at a certain point during a game, Penn State has been able to cover it up with success of another.

On Sunday, that unit was the offense, outscoring Pat Spencer and Loyola to avoid what could have been a monumental second-half collapse.

Against either Penn or Yale next weekend, it may have to be the defense that picks the offense up in a time of crisis.