April 21, 2016
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - No. 17 Penn State (7-5, 1-2) hits the road for its final road trip of the season, traveling to No. 19 Rutgers (9-3, 2-1) for a Friday evening matchup under the lights. Opening faceoff between the Nittany Lions and the Scarlet Knights is set for 8 p.m. live on BTN with Mike Wolf and Mark Dixon on the call..
SETTING THE SCENE
- The Nittany Lions moved to 7-5 on the year and 1-2 in the Big Ten standings last week after falling short in another heartbreaking OT loss to then-No. 17 Johns Hopkins (12-11). Nick Aponte matched a career-high mark with a team-high four goals, while Billy Lombardi posted a career-high mark from the faceoff "x" at 15-26, adding seven ground balls.
- The Nittany Lions also drew a crowd of 2,708 fans to the Penn State Lacrosse Field for the Big Ten matchup against the Blue Jays. The attendance total marked a facility and Big Ten record for the Nittany Lions.
- Penn State has won three of the last four outings against Rutgers, including last year's meeting for its first conference victory in program history. The Nittany Lions also captured an 11-6 non-conference win in Tambroni's first season at the helm of the program in 2011. The trip to New Jersey will be the first for PSU since 2010.
- The Scarlet Knights enter the weekend at 9-3 on the year and 2-1 in the conference, having dropped their first B1G outing at Maryland last weekend. The loss snapped a four-game win streak that included league wins against Johns Hopkins (16-9) and Michigan (13-6).
- The matchup against the Scarlet Knights marks the sixth time this season the Nittany Lions will face a ranked opponent. Penn State is currently 3-2 on the year against ranked teams at the time of meeting, having played a top 20 team in three of its last four games.
- Penn State is currently leading the nation with the fewest turnovers per game, averaging 10.25 per outing. Committing less than 10 turnovers in all but six games this season, Penn State's 123 miscues on the year are the fewest among NCAA DI teams.
A CLOSER LOOK AT THE SCARLET KNIGHTS
SCOUTING RUTGERS
The Scarlet Knights enter the weekend at 9-3 on the year and 2-1 in the conference, having dropped their first B1G outing at Maryland last weekend. The loss snapped a four-game win streak that included league wins against Johns Hopkins (16-9) and Michigan (13-6). Scoring at least 12 goals in all nine of its wins this season, the Scarlet Knight scoring offense is averaging 12.67 goals per game, which is 10th nationally. Rutgers is led by Scott Bieda's 51 points (22g/29a), while Jules Henningburg and Adam Charalambides are leading with 31 goals apiece.
| Last Three vs. Rutgers |
| 4/19/2015 | W, 11-6 | H |
| 3/12/2011 | W, 11-6 | H |
| 3/13/2010 | L, 7-4 | A |
SERIES HISTORY vs. RUTGERS
Penn State has won three of the last four outings against Rutgers, including last year's meeting for its first conference victory in program history. The Nittany Lions also captured an 11-6 non-conference win in Tambroni's first season at the helm of the program in 2011. The trip to New Jersey will be the first for PSU since 2010.
LAST TIME OUT: vs. RUTGERS - APRIL 19, 2015
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - An all-around exceptional effort, including a five-point outing from senior Pat Manley, propelled Penn State to its first Big Ten win in program history with an 11-6 victory over Rutgers.
TJ Sanders, Mike Sutton and Matt Florence led the team with a trio of hat tricks, while Manley added a team-high four assists and one goal. In goal, Connor Darcey made 11 saves, allowing just six goals.
Trailing by two, 3-1, with less than five minutes in the first quarter, Penn State regrouped with a 5-0 run, spanning nearly 11 minutes to take the lead for good.
ALL ABOUT BALANCE
Penn State has a total of seven Nittany Lions with at least 10 goals on the year, with five of the 10 having posted at least 15 this season. Led by senior TJ Sanders' 23 goals, PSU has been helped out by at least six different goal scorers in all but one game this season.
FLORENCE IN THE CLUTCH
Redshirt junior Matt Florence has proved to be a clutch offensive option for the Nittany Lions at all the right times this season. Florence netted his second game-winner of the season in Penn State's win at Ohio State, scoring with 1:41 remaining in the fourth quarter to break open a tied score and secure a 6-5 win. Earlier this season, he scored with 3:49 in the fourth quarter to secure an 8-7 win at Cornell. Most recently, he netted an equalizer against then-No. 17 Johns Hopkins at 11-all to send the game into a decisive overtime period.
HELPING OUT
Having notched at least five assists in all but three games this season, Penn State is averaging 7.17 assists per game, which ranks 14th nationally and third in the Big Ten conference.
Penn State's starting attack unit with Nick Aponte, TJ Sanders and Grant Ament features a trio with double figure assists and goals. With one assist in all but three games this season, Aponte has totaled 17 helpers. Leading the team with 25 assists, Ament's averaging 2.08 per game, which ranks 13th nationally and third in the conference.
A FEW NOTES ON THE MARYLAND GAME
Despite the outcome, Penn State scored 10 goals against the Terrapins in last week's close OT loss to become just the second team this season to score 10 goals on the Terps. Maryland entered the matchup with a 39-5 record across the last three seasons when allowing less than 10 goals in a game prior to the Nittany Lions' offensive surge. Maryland had also limited its opponents to just 18 goals in the first quarter on the year, before Penn State put away five in the opening frame.
SUCCESS WITH SCORING
Penn State is outscoring its opponents 141-124 on the year, with a scoring offense that's ranked 15th nationally, averaging 11.75 goals per game. Penn State's .341 shot percentage is also slotted seventh nationally and first in the conference.
Penn State has scored at least 10 goals in seven of 12 games this season, at 5-2 in outings with 10 or more goals. The Nittany Lions are also out-scoring their opponents in the first, second and third quarter, out-scoring foes 36-28 in the third quarter alone.
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.
ALUMNI RELATIONS
Penn State men's lacrosse assistant coach Chris Doctor is a Rutgers alum, having earned letters on the Scarlet Knight lacrosse team from 2004-07. As a member of the team, he earned the Alfred Sasser award in his junior and seniors seasons for recording the most assists.
FRESH CONTRIBUTIONS
Through 12 games, the Nittany Lion newcomers have continued to make their mark, contributing 37 goals and 34 assists for 31 percent of the team's total point scoring this year. At least one freshman has scored in all 12 games this season for the Nittany Lions, with six rookies posting at least two goals on the year.
Grant Ament highlights the talented newcomer group with at least two goals in seven of the last nine games, netting two in the win against No. 1 Denver and against No. 5 Maryland. Against Hobart, Ament recorded his first collegiate hat trick, while also tallying a pair of assists for a team-high five points. On the defensive end, Chris Sabia has started all 12 games and is tied for second on the team with nine 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. Trevor Scollins also saw action in goal, notching two saves in 10:50 seconds between the pipes.
PENN STATE IN THE NCAA RPI
Penn State remains No. 18 in the latest NCAA DI men's lacrosse RPI update. The Nittany Lions are the behind Big Ten opponents, No. 1 Maryland and No. 8 Johns Hopkins. PSU is also just one spot ahead of Rutgers, with the Scarlet Knights sitting at No. 19.
POLL POSITIONING
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 slipped to No. 17 in both polls after spending time at No. 14.
The Nittany Lions opened the season receiving votes in both polls, working their way as high as No. 15/12 by the second week of the season. In total, Penn State has been ranked within the Top 20 in seven of 10 poll releases this season, earning its highest ranking of the season in the USILA Coaches Poll at No. 14 for the last two weeks.
SANDERS NEARING ANOTHER MILESTONE
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 eight more goals to tie for first all-time. Sanders has scored at least two goals in all but four games this season.
FINDING MOMENTUM AT ATTACK
Penn State's starting attack unit consisting of veterans TJ Sanders and Nick Aponte and freshman Grant Ament has combined for 57 goals and 53 assists, for just under 50 percent of the team's total point-scoring this year.
With each member of the trio having posted at least 30 points or more on the year, Sanders has proven to be the top goal scorer with 41 points (23g/11a). Ament and Aponte have registered at least 16 goals and 17 assists apiece, serving as a duo that can successfully distribute and finish.
In the last six games, the trio has logged 27 goals and 26 assists for 53 of the team's 105 points during the stretch, that included wins over two Top 10 teams. Aponte recently matched a career-mark with four goals against No. 17 Johns Hopkins, while Sanders had a hat trick against then-No. 8 Harvard before registering two goals vs. then-No. 1 Denver.
UP NEXT
Penn State returns home from the road to wrap up the regular season at the Penn State Lacrosse Field. The Nittany Lions will honor its 2016 senior class in a special pregame ceremony prior to a matchup against Michigan Saturday, April 30th at noon on BTN. The tilt will also decide the Creator's Trophy standings this year, with a win awarding Penn State the trophy and a loss resulting in an even 1-1 tie across all three programs.
| 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.