Feb. 19, 2016
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State looks to extend its winning streak, taking its first road trip of the 2016 season. The No. 20 Nittany Lions (2-0) travel to No. 18 Cornell (0-0) to take on the Big Red Saturday, Feb. 20 at 3 p.m.
SETTING THE SCENE
- The Nittany Lions improved to 2-0 on the year after rallying past Hobart, 17-12 last week. Down by as many as three late in the game, Penn State used a fourth-quarter surge featuring nine goals in 11 minutes to secure the win.
- Penn State has scored 37 goals in the first two games of the season, marking the most amount of goals in the first two games of the season in program history. The 37 goals to date are the most since Penn State scored 36 in the first two games of the 1987 season and the first 30-plus scoring through two games since the Nittany Lions had 33 goals in 2013. Penn State's scoring offense is averaging 18.50 goals per game, which ranks second nationally.
- Cornell holds a 20-19 edge in the all-time series against Penn State in a series that dates back to 1923. The Nittany Lions and the Big Red will meet for the first time since 2003 this weekend. The trip also marks Jeff Tambroni's first return to Ithaca as Penn State's head coach since leaving Cornell after 10 years at the helm of the Big Red program.
- Penn State entered both the USILA Coaches Poll and the Inside Lacrosse Media Poll this week. The Nittany Lions received 49 points to move to No. 19 via Inside Lacrosse and 39 points to come in at No. 20 in the USILA poll.
- A total of 15 Nittany Lions have scored at least one goal to date, with at least three from four different players. TJ Sanders is leading the way with seven goals, averaging 3.50 per game, which ranks fifth in the Big Ten standings and 13th nationally.
A CLOSER LOOK AT THE BIG RED
SCOUTING CORNELL
No. 18 Cornell is set to open the 2016 season against the Nittany Lions this weekend. The Big Red closed out the 2015 season with a 10-6 record and a 4-2 mark in the Ivy League to finish tied for first. Cornell returns six starters and 14 letterwinners from last year's NCAA tournament team.
| Last Three vs. Cornell |
| 3/17/2001 | W, 8-7 | A |
| 3/16/2002 | L, 11-9 | H |
| 3/15/2003 | L, 9-8 | A |
SERIES HISTORY vs. CORNELL
Cornell holds a 20-19 edge in the all-time series against Penn State in a series that dates back to 1923. The Nittany Lions and the Big Red will square off for the first time since 2003 this weekend. Having met each year from 2001-03, two of the last three meetings have been decided by one goal.
AGAINST NO. 18
Penn State is 5-6 all-time when playing teams ranked No. 18 at the time of meeting. The Nittany Lions most recent matchup against a No. 18 opponent dates back to 2014, when PSU fell short to Albany, 17-10, at home March, 22.
2-0
Following Penn State's 17-12 win over Hobart, the Nittany Lions improved to 2-0, marking the first time the Nittany Lions have opened the season with back-to-back wins since 2013. The Nittany Lions are now 2-0 to start the season for the second time in most recent four years under head coach Jeff Tambroni.
GOALS ON GOALS ON GOALS
Following Penn State's 17-12 win over Hobart, the Nittany Lions improved to 2-0, marking the first time the Nittany Lions have opened the season with back-to-back wins since 2013. The Nittany Lions are now 2-0 to start the season for the second time in most recent four years under head coach Jeff Tambroni.
CORNELL CONNECTION
Nittany Lion head coach Jeff Tambroni will return to Cornell for the first time since taking over as Penn State's head coach in 2011. Tambroni spent 10 seasons as head coach at Cornell (2001-10). He guided the Big Red to a 109-40 record and three NCAA semifinal appearances (2007, 2009-10), including the 2009 national championship game.
Tambroni was named USILA Division I Coach of the Year following the 2009 season and was tabbed the 2007 and 2009 Field Turf/NCAA Division I Coach of the Year. Tambroni was also the 2004 and 2009 Ithaca Journal Male Coach of the Year and a three-time National Coach of the Week.
AN IMMEDIATE IMPACT
Through two games, the Nittany Lion newcomers have continued to make their mark, contributing 11 goals and 11 assists in the first two outings for nearly 30 percent of the team's total goal-scoring on the year. Grant Ament recorded his first collegiate hat trick with three goals against Hobart, while also tallying a pair of assists for a team-high five points. Chris Sabia also made his second consecutive start on defense, tallying one ground ball and leading the team with three caused turnovers.
All 16 Nittany Lion freshmen saw action in Penn State's 2016 season-opening victory against Robert Morris. Making the most of their debuts, a total of six newcomers combined for seven goals and six assists, accounting for 35 percent of the goal scoring against the Colonials.
Defensively, Sabia made his first collegiate start at defense, tallying three ground balls. Trevor Scollins also saw action in goal, notching two saves in 10:50 seconds between the pipes.
"The freshmen made an immediate impact," Nittany Lion head coach Jeff Tambroni said following the win over Robert Morris. "For Grant Ament and Chris Sabia to come out here and play with the poise that they did, says a lot about their character and a lot about the guys around them too."
INTO THE POLLS WE GO
Penn State entered both the USILA Coaches Poll and the Inside Lacrosse Media Poll this week. The Nittany Lions received 49 points to move to No. 19 via Inside Lacrosse and 39 points to come in at No. 20 in the USILA poll.
The Nittany Lions opened the season receiving votes in both polls. Penn State was ranked within the Top 20 of both polls for the first three weeks of the 2015 season, spending the first two weeks at No. 14/17.
Including Penn State, all six Big Ten teams are either ranked or receiving votes in both polls. Maryland, Johns Hopkins and Ohio State and are also ranked within the top 15 of each poll, with the Terps slotted the highest at No. 4 in both media polls.
AMENT EARNS BIG TEN WEEKLY AWARD
Penn State's Grant Ament earned Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors after helping guide the Nittany Lions to a 20-7 victory against Robert Morris. Ament is the first Nittany Lion in program history to earn Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors and the fourth conference weekly award winner all-time.
Ament recorded two goals and led the team with five assists for a seven-point outing in his collegiate debut in the Blue and White against the Colonials. He put away his first collegiate goal in the first quarter, just one minute after registering his first collegiate assist. After tallying four consecutive assists in the second quarter, he closed out the afternoon with Penn State's 17th goal of the game for a multi-goal outing against Robert Morris.
UP NEXT
Penn State returns home for one more home game before hitting the road for a pair of spring break games on the road. The Nitttany Lions welcome RV/20 Villanova for an afternoon matchup Saturday, Feb. 27 at 1 p.m. Penn State and Villanova have met in the non-conference portion of the season in each of the last eight seasons, dating back to 2008.
| SEASON NOTES |
PSU PICKED FOURTH IN B1G COACHES POLL
Penn State has been voted fourth in the 2016 Big Ten Preseason Coaches' Poll with Nittany Lions redshirt juniors Matt Florence, Drake Kreinz and senior TJ Sanders named Penn State's Players to Watch. Johns Hopkins claimed the top spot in the 2016 poll with a unanimous selection from the league's head coaches. Maryland and Ohio State rounded out the top three at spots two and three, respectively. Michigan and Rutgers were selected fifth and sixth.
BIG TEN PRESEASON PLAYERS TO WATCH
Redshirt seniors Matt Florence and Drake Kreinz and senior TJ Sanders earned Penn State Big Ten Preseason Player to Watch honors. The preseason nod is the second straight for Kreinz and Sanders, who both earned 2015 Player to Watch honors prior to the inaugural season of Big Ten lacrosse. Florence earns his first career Big Ten preseason honor, having capped off the season with Big Ten All-Tournament team honors. A 2015 Academic All-Big Ten selection, Kreinz served once again as Penn State's top faceoff specialist in 2015, playing in 13 of 14 games. A USILA All-America honorable mention, Sanders returns as one of the Nittany Lions' top offensive contributors in 2016, having earned both All-Big Ten honorable mention distinction and Academic All-Big Ten awards last year.
TRIO TO LEAD AS 2016 CAPTAINS
A trio of midfielders will lead the team during its 2016 campaign. Seniors Tommy O'Neill and James Burke and redshirt junior Drake Kreinz have been voted as captains. The process for choosing captains has remained unchanged for years and Jeff Tambroni is confident in the system he has in place.
"There are a number of different factors going into the captains process," Tambroni said. "One is a consensus vote from last year's team, we want to get exiting seniors, graduating seniors opinions on who they believe will lead this team most effectively."
After the team vote, Tambroni and fellow assistant coaches evaluate upperclassmen during the fall semester before making a final decision. Penn State men's lacrosse has experimented with the number of captains the team has every year. In 2014 three seniors led the team but in 2015 the task fell solely on senior Kyle Zittel.
TAMBRONI SIGNS 11 TO NLI
Jeff Tambroni has announced the signing of 11 newcomers to National Letters of Intent during the early signing period. From U.S. Lacrosse All-Americans and MVPs to state champions and honor roll athletes, this year's class features a talented group poised to join the Nittany Lions in 2016.
Gerard Arceri (Saint James, N.Y.), Nick Cardile (West Grove, Pa.), TJ Connellan (Cazenovia, N.Y.), Colby Kneese (Dallas, Texas), Nick McEvoy (Bethesda, Md.), Mac O'Keefe (Syosset, N.Y.), Kane Randolph (Annapolis, Md.), Jack Rusboldt (Richmond, Va.), Mitch Schaefer (Canandaigua, N.Y.), Conor Smith (West Islip, N.Y.) and Barrett Sutley (Stevenson, Md.) are all set to arrive in Happy Valley.
Three of the signees are ranked within Inside Lacrosse's list of top 25 recruits with Arceri ranked No. 11, O'Keefe tabbed No. 23 and McEvoy slotted No. 25.