Feb. 10, 2017
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - No. 15/14 Penn State men's lacrosse looks to improve to 2-0 in the young 2017 season on Saturday afternoon, facing 2016 NCAA tournament participants Hobart at 2 p.m. ET at the Pinnacle Athletics Campus in Victor, New York. Tickets for the game are $10 and can be purchased here. Tickets are exclusively being sold online - there will be no sale of tickets at the gate.
FOLLOW ALONG
Fans can follow all the action with Hobart's live stream, radio coverage and live stats in addition to following live coverage on Twitter (@PennStateMLAX).
FRESHMEN MAKE INSTANT IMPACT IN SEASON OPENER
Penn State saw three of its freshmen in particular make an immediate impact in the 2017 season opener, defeating Robert Morris, 15-11.
- Attackman Mac O'Keefe started his collegiate career with a seven goal outing on 12 total shots. O'Keefe's seven goals were the most for a Penn State player since 1983, when Rich Russo scored a program record 10 goals. O'Keefe's seven goals also led all players nationally through the first weekend.
- Midfielder Gerard Arceri dominated the faceoff "x", winning 21-of-30 faceoff opportunities. Arceri also logged a team-best 13 groundballs and added a goal. His goal came off the opening faceoff, in which he won the faceoff, scooped up the groundball, and scored in the first nine seconds.
- Goalie Colby Kneese came into the game just over 21 minutes in. Kneese made eight stops and allowed just five goals over 38:45 to earn his first collegiate win.
PLENTY TO GO AROUND
Penn State made an impressive statement last Saturday, opening the season with an 11 assist outing.
- As a team, Penn State's 11 assists lead the nation, tied with Bucknell after the first week of play.
- Sophomore attackman Grant Ament began the season where he left off, logging five assists, one shy of his career best. Ament finished sixth in the country in assists in 2016. His five tied for the most by any single player over the opening weekend of play.
TAMBRONI ONE SHY OF 50
Nittany Lions head coach Jeff Tambroni is one win shy of earning his 50th win at Penn State, with the chance to do it at Hobart.
- Entering the 2017 season, Tambroni ranked ninth in win percentage among active Division I coaches (.662) and 13th in overall wins (157).
- With his next win, Tambroni will become the fifth active Division I coach with 50 or more wins at multiple DI institutions.
50-PLUS WINS AT TWO DIVISION I SCHOOLS
Active Coaches
| # | Name | Total Wins | School 1 (Wins) | School 2 (Wins) |
| 1 | John Danowski | 370 | Hofstra (192) | Duke (151) |
| 2 | Bill Tierney | 369 | Princeton (234) | Denver (96) |
| 3 | Mike Pressler | 340 | Duke (153) | Bryant (74) |
| 4 | Joe Bresch | 187 | Ohio State (92) | North Carolina (95) |
| Jeff Tambroni | 158 | Cornell (109) | Penn State (49) |
O'KEEFE WINS TWO B1G WEEKLY AWARDS
Following his freshman-record seven-goal outburst against Robert Morris, freshman attackman Mac O'Keefe earned the first Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week and Big Ten Freshman of the Week awards.
- O'Keefe's seven goals are the fourth most by a Penn State player ever in a single game. He is the first player to score seven or more goals in a single game since April 30, 1983, in which Rich Russo logged a program-record 10 against Montclair State.
- Following the first weekend of play, the rookie's seven goals and seven points lead the Big Ten and Division I.
APONTE'S STREAKING
Following the first weekend of play, senior attackman Nick Aponte holds one of the longest statistical streaks in the country.
- After logging a goal and a pair of assists against the Colonials, Aponte has recorded at least one point in each of his last 34 contests, dating back to April 5, 2014.
- Aponte's streak is good for 11th in the country. Vermont junior Ian MacKay leads the country with 46 consecutive games registering at least one point, dating back to Feb. 22, 2014.
NATIONAL POINT SCORING STREAK 2017
Active Players
| No. | Games | Player, School, Year, Position | G-A-P during streak | Streak started |
| 1 | 46 | Ian MacKay, Vermont, Jr. , M | 111-60-171 | 2/22/14 |
| 2 | 41 | Michael LeClair, High Point, Jr., A | 64-62-126 | 3/8/14 |
| 41 | Connor Cannizarro, Denver, Jr., A | 114-59-174 | 4/19/14 | |
| 4 | 39 | Matt Rambo, Maryland, Jr., A | 83-51-134 | 2/14/15 |
| 39 | Jack Bruckner, Duke, Sr., A | 94-29-123 | 3/26/14 | |
| 11 | 34 | Nick Aponte, Penn State, Sr., A | 47-36-83 | 4/5/14 |
APONTE, AMENT NAMED IL PRESEASON ALL-AMERICA HONORABLE MENTION
Penn State's standout attack duo of Nick Aponte and Grant Ament earned preseason All-America honorable mentions from Inside Lacrosse as a part of the publication's Face-Off Yearbook.
- Aponte and Ament were two of 47 players to earn preseason All-America honorable mention distinctions.
- Aponte finished the 2016 season strong, logging four goals in the final four games.
- Ament led the team in assists in 2016 with 34 - the most assists in a single season since John Hollerbach logged 38 in 1989.
APONTE, AMENT, SABIA NAMED BIG TEN PRESEASON HONOREES
The Big Ten announced its preseason honorees on Jan. 30, with Nick Aponte, Grant Ament and sophomore defender Chris Sabia earning recognition for the Nittany Lions.
- Aponte and Ament both garnered postseason Big Ten honors last season, with Aponte becoming PSU's first unanimous All-Big Ten first team selection, while Ament earned All-Big Ten honorable mention.
- Ament and Sabia were the only two freshmen to start every game in the 2016 season. Ament led the team in assists (34) and points (54), while Sabia finished second on the team in caused turnovers (12) and ground balls (26).
SCOUTING THE STATESMEN
Penn State squares off with Hobart for its second game of the season. The game will serve as Hobart's season opener after going 10-7 in 2016.
- Hobart finished the 2016 season winning three of its final four games. The Statesmen won the NEC tournament with an 11-7 victory over Saint Joseph's before falling, 18-5, to Towson in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
- The Statesmen have seen little turnover this season, returning their entire attack unit from last season in seniors Frank Brown (34-10-44) and Sean Donnelly (15-14-29) along with sophomore Chris Aslanian (24-13-37).
- Statesman junior midfielder J Andrew Spallanzani will look to make things difficult for Gerard Arceri and the rest of Penn State's faceoff crew as the returning faceoff man. Spallanzani won nearly 58 percent of his taken faceoffs last season (154-268).
- Hobart also returns its defensive core of Christopher William, Grant Soucy and Arik Andreen who logged a combined 92 groundballs last year. Goalie Jackson Brown returns for his senior season between the pipes, allowing 9.74 goals per game in 2016 with a .524 save percentage last season.
- Penn State is 24-34-1 all-time against Hobart and 6-22-1 against the Statesmen on the road. Head coach Jeff Tambroni is 11-1 all-time against his alma mater.
PENN STATE LAST FIVE vs. HOBART
| Date | Winner | H/A | Score |
| 2/13/16 | Penn State | H | 17-12 |
| 4/4/09 | Penn State | H | 10-8 |
| 4/5/08 | Hobart | A | 8-6 |
| 4/7/07 | Penn State | H | 12-7 |
| 4/8/06 | Penn State | A | 9-4 |
HOGAN CLAIMS SUPER BOWL LI RING
Penn State men's lacrosse finds itself in the headlines in late January following a breakout performance from former Nittany Lion midfield standout and current New England Patriots wide receiver Chris Hogan.
- Hogan played four seasons as a midfielder for Penn State, in which he registered 57 goals and 14 assists for 71 career points.
- Hogan sustained an injury three games into his sophomore season (2008) in which he scored a pair of goals. Hogan was granted a medical redshirt, which he chose to use at Monmouth University after graduating from Penn State, where he played wide receiver and defensive back for the Hawks.
- Hogan's breakout performance came during the AFC Championship game in which he pulled in nine catches for 180 yards and a pair of touchdowns. His 180 receiving yards were a franchise postseason single game record. He recorded four catches for 57 yards in the Patriots 34-28 OT win over the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI.
- Hogan is the only member of Penn State men's lacrosse to ever play in the NFL or win a Super Bowl. Thirty-nine total Nittany Lions have now claimed 56 Super Bowl rings, with Hogan being the most recent player to do so.
RANKED IN THE PRESEASON
Coming into 2017, the Nittany Lions have been tabbed a top 20 team across the board. The team was ranked No. 15 in the preseason USILA coaches poll, while being ranked No. 14 in the preseason Maverik Media poll.
- Penn State is ranked for the fourth time in five years, with 2016 being the lone unranked preseason in that span.
- Penn State also was predicted to finish third in the Big Ten by both the league's coaches and Inside Lacrosse's Face-Off Yearbook.
BIG TEN PRESEASON POLL
1) Maryland (unanimous)
2) Johns Hopkins
3) Penn State
T4) Ohio State
T4) Rutgers
6) Michigan
APONTE NAMED 2017 CAPTAIN
Senior attackman Nick Aponte was named the 2017 squad's lone team captain in October.
- Tambroni on Aponte: "Our staff is very happy for Nick and optimistic about the path that he will forge for our team as a leader. He has earned the support and confidence of his teammates and coaches through his competence, tireless work ethic and compassion for this team."
- Aponte is just the second player to be a stand-alone team captain in Tambroni's tenure, the other being Kyle Zittel. Before Zittel, the last solo captain was Jon Poole in 1978.
ARCERI, O'KEEFE AND WRIGHT COMPETE WITH TEAM USA
Freshmen Gerard Arceri and Mac O'Keefe and sophomore Tommy Wright represented Team USA over the summer of 2016 as a part of the 27-man U19 roster.
- The Penn State trio earned the gold medals with the team, marking Team USA's eighth U19 world championship. O'Keefe scored a team-high two goals and added an assist. Arceri saw time, but Wright was sidelined with an injury for USA's 13-12 win over Canada.
- Associate head coach Peter Toner, who served as an assistant coach for the USA U19 team, also represented Penn State. Head coach Jeff Tambroni serves as an assistant for the USA national team, while assistant coach Chris Doctor served as an assistant for the Iroquois national team from 2013-14.
- Four players on Penn State's current roster have played for the USA U19 team. Redshirt senior Matt Florence played with the USA U19 team in 2012 en route to the team's seventh world championship with a 10-8 win vs. Canada.
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