Feb. 24, 2017
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - No. 9 Penn State men's lacrosse will look to go 4-0 to open the season for the first time since 1992 on Saturday morning, as the Nittany Lions get set to face the Villanova Wildcats at 11 a.m. in Villanova, Pa.
FOLLOW ALONG
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PENN STATE DOMINANT VS CORNELL
A strong performance on both ends of the field led Penn State to a 20-10 victory over Cornell last time out.
- The Nittany Lions saw three players in Grant Ament,Mac O'Keefe and Conor Smith score hat tricks in its game against Cornell. Ament led the team with six, O'Keefe added five, and Smith logged his first three goals of his career. Senior Nick Aponte also had his first multi-goal outing of 2017 with two of his own.
- Kevin Hill, Matt Florence, Matt Sexton andMike Sutton each added goals as well. It was Florence and Sexton's first goals of 2017.
- In addition to a strong offensive performance, Penn State held strong on the defensive end. It shut Cornell out for the first 17 minutes of play and allowed just five goals through first 47 minutes.
- With its 20-10 win, Penn State posted back-to-back games scoring 20 or more goals since 1983 (Montclair State, Apr. 30, 25 goals; Bucknell, May 2, 20 goals).
- Penn State saw some of its best outputs offensively of the Jeff Tambroni era, with its 13 assists being the second best in his tenure, while the team's 20 goals and 33 points both ranked third.
- With the win, Penn State has won its first three games to open the season for the second straight season.
OFFENSE AMONG NATION'S BEST
Through the first three weeks of play the Nittany Lion offense continues to be one of the best in the nation statistically.
- Of the over 70 Division I programs, Penn State finds itself among the top five in four major offensive statistical categories: points/game (third; 31.00), goals/game (third; 18.67), assists/game (third; 12.33) and shooting percentage (fifth; .434).
- Penn State's attack unit has been especially impressive through the stretch. Attackmen Grant Ament and Mac O'Keefe both rank among the top five in points and goals scored nationally. Ament and O'Keefe are tied for second nationally in total points with 19 each. The duo's 6.33 points per game tie for ninth best nationally and lead the Big Ten.
- The duo has been especially effective scoring so fat. O'Keefe's 16 goals lead the country while Ament's 11 goals tie for fifth nationally. O'Keefe has averaged 5.33 goals per game, leading the Big Ten and ranking fourth nationally.
- Ament and senior Nick Aponte both rank among the top 15 nationally in total assists. Ament's nine helpers are the third highest int he country, while Aponte's six tie for 11th nationally. Ament and Aponte rank second and third respectively in assists per game within the Big Ten.
NITTANY LION TRIO EARN B1G HONORS
For the third consecutive week, Penn State represented at least half of the Big Ten's weekly honorees as the league office announced its award winners Tuesday afternoon. Penn State claimed three of the four weekly honors, as sophomore attackman Grant Ament was named the Offensive Player of the Week, senior defender Peter Triolo was tabbed Co-Defensive Player of the Week and freshman attackman Mac O'Keefe earned his third consecutive Freshman of the Week title.
- Ament earned his fifth weekly Big Ten honor of his career following a 9-point game against Cornell on a career-best six goals and three assists.
- Triolo earned the award for leading a Nittany Lions' defensive effort that held Cornell scoreless for the first 17 minutes of the game, and just five goals in the first three quarters, in the 20-10 victory.
- O'Keefe earned his third straight Big Ten Freshman of the Week award after a five-goal performance against the Big Red.
AMENT WINS NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
After his impressive outing against the Big Red, sophomore attackman Grant Ament earned both of NCAA Division I's national player of the week honors, being named both the USILA/BSN Sports D1 Offensive Player of the Week and Inside Lacrosse's Alpha Lacrosse National Player of the Week.
- Ament is the first Penn State player to earn either the USILA's or Inside Lacrosse's National Player of the Week honors.
- Ament's nine point performance is the best in the Big Ten so far this season and ranks second nationally behind only junior Justin Guterding of Duke who posted 10 points against Cleveland State.
AMENT POSTS CAREER DAY AGAINST THE BIG RED
Possibly the biggest performance of Penn State's game against Cornell came from sophomore attackman Grant Ament, who posted six goals and three assists for nine points against the Big Red.
- Ament's six goals and nine points both marked career high marks for the sophomore.
- Ament's nine point performance is the best in the Big Ten so far this season and ranks second nationally behind only junior Justin Guterding of Duke who posted 10 points against Cleveland State.
- Ament is currently on a 18-game point streak in which he has tallied 71 total points (31-40-71). He also is in the midst of a six-game goal streak in which he's scored 15, including 10 in his last two games.
LIONS DOMINANT AT THE FACEOFF "X"
Penn State's early success on the offensive end has stemmed from stellar play at the faceoff "x", creating opportunities for the offense to thrive.
- Penn State ranks fifth in the country in both faceoff win percentage (.716) and groundballs per game (40.00) following the third week of play. Both figures lead the Big Ten.
- Freshman midfielder and faceoff man Gerard Arceri ranks sixth nationally in faceoff percentage (.707) and third in groundballs per game (9.67). Both figures lead the Big Ten as well.
SCOUTING THE WILDCATS
Penn State rides a three-game winning streak into Villanova, where the Wildcats look to capture their first win of 2017 after starting out 0-2.
- Attackmen Jake Froccaro and Chris Cuccinello have led the way for Villanova in the early going, each logging seven points so far. Cuccinello is coming off a week in which he was named to the Big East weekly honor roll after posting a league-best six points in a loss to Yale.
- Danny Seibel (3-3-6), Devin McNamara (3-3-6) and John Kluh (2-4-6) have all recorded six points so far this season.
- Despite a 16-6 advantage all-time, Penn State will look to get off the schneid against Villanova, dropping its last three games in the series.
PENN STATE LAST FIVE vs. VILLANOVA
| Date | Winner | H/A | Score |
| 2/27/16 | Villanova | H | 19-9 |
| 2/21/15 | Villanova | A | 11-7 |
| 3/29/14 | Villanova | H | 9-7 |
| 3/30/13 | Penn State | A | 7-6 |
| 3/31/12 | Penn State | H | 13-8 |
APONTE'S STREAKING
Following the third weekend of play, senior attackman Nick Aponte holds one of the longest statistical streaks in the country.
- After logging two goals and three assists against Cornell, Aponte has recorded at least one point in each of his last 35 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 | 2/22/2014 |
| 2 | 44 | Michael LeClair, High Point, Jr., A | 69-64-133 | 3/8/2014 |
| 3 | 43 | Matt Rambo, Maryland, Sr., A | 92-61-153 | 2/14/2015 |
| 43 | Connor Cannizarro, Denver, Jr., A | 122-63-185 | 4/19/2014 | |
| 5 | 42 | Jack Bruckner, Duke, Sr., A | 101-33-134 | 3/26/2014 |
| 11 | 35 | Nick Aponte, Penn State, Sr., A | 49-40-89 | 4/5/2014 |
PENN STATE IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
Penn State has climbed into the top 10 of all three national polls following the third week of play. Penn State ranks ninth in the USILA coaches poll, while coming in at No. 10 in both the Maverik media poll and the US Lacrosse/Nike poll.
- With its No. 9 ranking in the USILA coaches poll, Penn State is ranked within the top 10 for the first time since March 3, 2014, when the team climbed to seventh in the national rankings.
- Penn State has now been ranked in nine consecutive USILA coaches polls, the last time being unranked being March 21, 2016.
TAMBRONI EARNS WIN 50 AT PENN STATE
Nittany Lions head coachJeff Tambroni earned his 50th win of his Penn State career on Dec. 11 at Hobart.
- Entering the 2017 season, Tambroni ranked ninth in win percentage among active Division I coaches (.662) and 13th in overall wins (157).
- Tambroni will became just the fifth active Division I coach with 50 or more wins at multiple DI institutions.
| # | Name | Total Wins | School 1 (Wins) | School 2 (Wins) |
| 1 | John Danowski | 372 | Hofstra (192) | Duke (153) |
| 2 | Bill Tierney | 371 | Princeton (234) | Denver (98) |
| 3 | Mike Pressler | 340 | Duke (153) | Bryant (74) |
| 4 | Joe Breschi | 189 | Ohio State (92) | UNC (97) |
| 5 | Jeff Tambroni | 158 | Cornell (109) | Penn State (51) |
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.
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.
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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