Feb. 4, 2016
By Maria Canales, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. ââ'¬" After making their way to the inaugural Big Ten Tournament last season, the Nittany Lions enter the 2016 campaign with high goals and strong motivations.
In 2015, the Nittany Lions tallied a 5-9 record, going 3-1 in conference play on their way to a spot in the Big Ten Tournament after an intense takedown of Michigan to end the regular season.
Head coach Jeff Tambroni pointed out that although their record might not show it, the team had many high points to the season, based on individual improvements as a team.
"Going into the Big Ten was a big move for Penn State lacrosse and lacrosse in general but we faced that first year with so many young players at so many different positions," said Tambroni. "It was a great learning experience at the same time that we had to go through some lumps, so I look at the entire year and of course we were disappointed by the product of our record but very excited about the group as they mature throughout and continue to keep fighting."
At the conclusion of the 2015 season, the Nittany Lions graduated nine seniors, including captain midfielder Kyle Zittel and defenseman JP Burnside. With the departure of such consistent players, Tambroni is expecting dedication and leadership from his returning upperclassmen, and for them to set the tone for this season.
Some of those players Tambroni will look to continue to make an impact on the field include redshirt junior midfielder Matt Florence, who had 16 goals last season, as well as junior attack player Nick Aponte. Aponte, who during 2015 moved from midfield to attack, registered 14 goals and 13 assists last season.
"From my transition from midfield to attack, really benefitted our team in one way that most of our dodges were coming from our midfield and we had a bunch of our top scorers from attack," said Aponte. "So what we worked on was by moving me behind and transition the ball from down the alley to 'x' and then hitting the backside to our big shooters which were attack, really worked well for our team."
While Penn State returns many big names this season, the Nittany Lions also welcomed 16 freshmen to the team, filling many spots throughout all positions in need of some depth with seven at midfield and five at defense.
"I personally think that first semester freshmen were the freshmen, they would make their mistakes," said junior defenseman Peter Triolo. "But now moving into the season we're not essentially looking at rank within freshman to senior we're basically just looking at them as another player on the team and everyone has to contribute in order to get wins this season."
The 2016 season has shaped up to be one of the most challenging seasons to date for the Nittany Lions. Their schedule is packed with matchups against many highly regarded opponents within the lacrosse realm, including a game against reigning national champion, Denver, slated for the end of March.
Also included at the second half of the season are all Big Ten contests, with both Maryland and Johns Hopkins having a preseason top 10 ranking. Other Big Ten opponent, Ohio State, also ranks within the preseason top 20.
When it comes to designing a schedule, the coaching staff takes into consideration many different parts to the logistical process, including the ability to challenge their team while also providing opportunities for them to gain valuable wins.
As the Nittany Lions look to start off their season strong against Robert Morris on Saturday, the team knows how important these early games on the schedule are.
"A win at home would be huge going into this season," said Triolo. "We want to make the Penn State lacrosse community a very dangerous team at home and I think it would be essential to get a win at home this first coming game."
In 2015, Penn State only lost one home game, and now looks to continue its home success against the Colonials this weekend.
"The keys to success, really just playing hard, being disciplined, opening up the offense for ourselves and our teammates and really just going out there and communicating and playing hard," said Florence.
Penn State takes on Robert Morris this Saturday at noon in Holuba Hall.