March 7, 2016
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State men's lacrosse (3-2) wraps up its spring break trip on the road, taking on Furman (0-4) in a weekday matchup set for Tuesday, March 8 at Paladin Stadium. Opening faceoff between the Nittany Lions and the Paladins is set for noon. The game will also stream live on ESPN3.
SETTING THE SCENE
- The Nittany Lions slipped to 3-2 on the year after surrendering their first road loss of the season in an 11-7 decision on the road at Penn last weekend. Senior TJ Sanders logged his third hat trick of the season, leading the team with three goals.
- Penn State trailed by as many as seven, 9-2, heading into the final period of play against the Quakers and rebounded with five goals in the fourth quarter, but could not complete the comeback, as time expired.
- Penn State and Furman will meet for the first time in program history Tuesday afternoon. The Nittany Lion matchup against Furman is the only time this season Penn State will square off against a team for the first time in program history this season. The Paladins enter Tuesday's midweek matchup looking for their first win of the season at 0-4 on the year in their third season as an NCAA DI program.
- Since entering both the USILA Coaches Poll and the Inside Lacrosse Media Polls, the Nittany Lions have made significant movement in the poll. This week, Penn State dropped out of the top 20 but is still receiving votes in both polls.
- A total of nine Nittany Lions have registered at least three goals this season, led by 13 from senior TJ Sanders. Redshirt junior Matt Florence is second with eight while freshman Grant Ament has seven on the season.
A CLOSER LOOK AT THE PALADINS
SCOUTING FURMAN
The Paladins enter Tuesday's midweek matchup looking for their first win of the season at 0-4 on the year in their third season as an NCAA DI program. Furman dropped back-to-back games against ranked teams in the first two weeks of the season losing to then-No. 12 Ohio State, 8-7 and then-No. 6 North Carolina, 14-6 before falling to Lehigh and Mount St. Mary's.
David Williamson and Jonah Moore are leading the team with six goals each. Moore is also atop the team standings with nine points (4g, 2a). 2015 SoCon Freshman of the Year Reilly McDermott has totaled 44 saves on the year for a .484 save percentage.
SERIES HISTORY vs. FURMAN
Penn State and Furman will meet for the first time in program history Tuesday afternoon. The Nittany Lion matchup against Furman is the only time this season Penn State will square off against a team for the first time in program history this season.
LAST TIME OUT: NITTANY LIONS COME UP SHORT AT PENN
No. 20 Penn State's fourth quarter rally fell short as the Nittany Lions dropped an 11-7 decision to Penn Saturday afternoon at Franklin Field. Trailing by as many as seven, 9-2, heading into the final period of play, the Nittany Lions rebounded with five goals in the fourth quarter but could not complete the comeback.
Senior TJ Sanders led the team with three goals, while junior Nick Aponte tallied two goals and one assist for a three-point outing. Redshirt junior Matt Florence and freshman Grant Ament logged one goal apiece.
Junior Billy Lombardi matched a career-high mark, finishing 14-for-19 from the faceoff X, while also leading the team with a career-best seven ground balls. Sophomore Mike Aronow also matched a career-high mark finishing second on the team with four ground balls. Seniors Tommy O'Neill and James Chakey added three ground balls, as Penn State won the ground ball battle, 35-28, against the Quakers.
SANDERS CLIMBING THE RECORD BOOK
With a team-high four goals in Penn State's win against Robert Morris, senior TJ Sanders notched his 100th career goal to join an elite group as just the seventh Nittany Lion all-time to amass 100 career goals. As the first Nittany Lion to hit the mark since Jack Forster in 2013, he needs 18 more goals to tie for first all-time. Sanders has scored at least two goals in all but one game this season.
SHARING THE LOVE
Having notched at least five assists in all but one game this season, Penn State is averaging 7.20 assists per game, which ranks 15th nationally and second in the Big Ten conference.
Nick Aponte is leading the team with at least one assist in all five games this season. Grant Ament also dished out at least two assists in the first three consecutive outings this year. With a team-high 10 assists, Ament's 2.00 per game ranks 16th nationally and third in the Big Ten. Ament's also averaging less than one turnover per game with a 10-3 assist to turnover ratio.
A FAST START
Following Penn State's 8-7 win on the road at No. 18 Cornell, the Nittany Lions improved to 3-0 on the year, marking the best start for the program since 2002. The 3-0 start to the 2016 season marked a first for head coach Jeff Tambroni, who has directed the Nittany Lions to back-to-back wins at the start of the season twice in the last four years.
GOALS GALORE
Despite a bit a bit of a decline in offensive production, Penn State is outscoring its opponents 61-56 on the year, with a scoring offense that's ranked 16th nationally and second in the Big Ten conference, averaging 12.20 goals per game.
Penn State scored 37 goals in just 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 were 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.
ROOKIE CONTRIBUTIONS
Through five games, the Nittany Lion newcomers have continued to make their mark, contributing 18 goals and 15 assists for nearly 30 percent of the team's total goal-scoring on the year.
At least one freshman has scored in all five games this season for the Nittany Lions. Despite the outcome, Kevin Hill logged his first multi-goal outing with a pair of goals against Villanova. Jimmy Nowoswiat and Robby Black also posted a pair of goals for their second on the year.
In the road-win at Cornell, Grant Ament logged his third multi-assist outing, leading the team with two helpers. Kevin Fox also tallied one goal during the Nittany Lions' 5-0 third-quarter surge.
Against Hobart, 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 led the team with three caused turnovers.
All 16 Nittany Lion rookies 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. 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.
POLL UPDATES
Since entering both the USILA Coaches Poll and the Inside Lacrosse Media Polls, the Nittany Lions made significant movement in the poll. This week, Penn State dropped out of the top 20 but is still receiving votes in both polls.
The Nittany Lions opened the season receiving votes in both polls and earned a No. 20/19 ranking three weeks ago, before moving up to No. 15/12 two weeks ago. PSU was slotted 20/18 last week. 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.
DUO NAMED TO TEWAARATON WATCH LIST
Penn State's Nick Aponte and TJ Sanders have been named to the 2016 Tewaaraton Award watch list. The Nittany Lion duo is among the top players across all three divisions of NCAA Lacrosse to be recognized as early contenders for the prestigious award, presented by Under Armour. The Tewaaraton Award, annually honors the top male and female college lacrosse player in the United States. On April 28, the field will be narrowed to 25 men's and 25 women's nominees.
UP NEXT
Penn State returns home for back-to-back games on its own turf. The Nittany Lions are set to welcome Harvard Saturday, March 12 for a 10 a.m. matchup at the Penn State Lacrosse Field. The matchup will broadcast live on ESPNU with Mark Dixon and Matt Ward on the call.
| SEASON NOTES |
BIG TEN NETWORK ANNOUNCES 2016 TV SLATE
Penn State men's lacrosse is set for six appearances live on national television during the 2016 season, as announced by the Big Ten conference this morning. The Big Ten Network has announced that it will broadcast more than 65 men's and women's lacrosse games in 2016, while also providing live coverage of both the 2016 Big Ten Men's and Women's Lacrosse Tournaments. Including two showings on ESPNU, all of Penn State's Big Ten conference matchups will appear on TV during the 2016 season.
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.