Feb. 3, 2017
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - No. 15/14 Penn State men's lacrosse begins its 104th season of competition on Saturday, Feb. 4, at 3 p.m., when the team is set to host the visiting Robert Morris Colonials inside the friendly confines of Holuba Hall.
FOLLOW ALONG
Fans not in attendance can follow live stats and @PennStateMLAX on Twitter for live updates throughout the game.
ATTENDING HOLUBA HALL
Admission and parking for men's lacrosse regular season events are free. Fans are reminded that there is a no bag policy in place.
GAMEDAY PROMOTIONS
Penn State will celebrate the Super Bowl and men's lacrosse alum/current New England Patriots wide receiver Chris Hogan by hosting Super Bowl Saturday. Wear your favorite team's jersey to Saturday's game for a chance to win a free giveaway (while supplies last). Fans can also pick up their copy of the 2017 men's lacrosse poster at the game for free.
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 season strong, logging four goals in the final four games of the 2016 season.
- 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-ever 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).
APONTE'S STREAKING
Entering the 2017 season, senior attackman Nick Aponte holds one of the longest statistical streaks in the country.
- Aponte starts the season having registered at least one point in each of his last 33 contests, dating back to April 5, 2014.
- Aponte's streak is good for 13th in the country. Harvard junior Devin Dwyer leads the country with 49 consecutive games registering at least one point, dating back to March 30, 2013.
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.
SCOUTING THE COLONIALS
Penn State and Robert Morris faceoff in their 2017 debut. The Colonials finished the 2016 season with a 7-8 mark, winning three of their last four games last season.
- Robert Morris closed out its 2016 season earning the fourth place in the NEC tournament, falling to top-seed Saint Joseph's, 14-7, in the conference semifinals.
- The Colonials lost three of their top five point producers from a season ago. While least season's leading scorer Luke Laskiewicz (53-17-70) is no longer on the Colonials' roster, RMU welcomes back junior attackman Adrian Torok-Orban (29-10-39) and senior midfielder Alexander Bohl (11-13-24) to lead the offensive charge.
- Penn State is 2-2 all-time against Robert Morris and 2-1 against the Colonials at home. Head coach Jeff Tambroni is 1-0 all-time against RMU.
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.
- Penn State was also represented by associate head coach Peter Toner, who served as an assistant coach for the USA U19 team. 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.
HOGAN TO REPRESENT PENN STATE MEN'S LACROSSE IN SUPER BOWL LI
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.
100 YEARS AND COUNTING
Penn State continues to remain one of the country's oldest collegiate lacrosse institutions in 2017.
- After beginning play in 1913, Penn State is the 16th oldest men's lacrosse program in the NCAA.
- Entering its 104th season in 2017, Penn State ranks 10th in most seasons completed of collegiate men's lacrosse programs nationally.
WHO'S BACK
Penn State returns nine of its 10 starters from the 2016 season, including the entire defensive unit, starting midfield, and two of its three attackmen from last year. The Nittany Lions also bring back 11 additional players who played in at least 10 games in 2016.
- Attack: The attack unit brings back preseason All-America honorable mention duo senior Nick Aponte and sophomore Grant Ament entering the 2017 season. Aponte led the team in goals (30) in 2016, while Ament paced Penn State in assists (34) and points (54). Despite losing standout TJ Sanders to graduation, redshirt freshman Dylan Foulds and sophomore Jimmy Nowoswiat return for the season as well.
- Midfield: The Nittany Lions return 17 midfielders for the 2017 season, highlighted by seniors Dan Craig, Matt Florence and Mike Sutton who combined for 51 goals and 13 assists in 2016. Ryan Keenan (10-9-19), Kevin Hill (14-5-19), and Nick Spillane (4-2-6) will all look to make an impact in the offensive midfield while Tripp Traynor, Chris Isenberg and Tyler Chambers hope to help prevent opposing offenses.
- Defense: Penn State's defense loses no one to graduation, with senior Peter Triolo anchoring the Nittany Lions' defensive unit. Sophomore Chris Sabia was named a Big Ten preseason honoree, after starting every game last season. Kevin Fox, Mike Aronow, Dean Lamela and Hunter Pearl all rejoin the unit as well.
- Faceoff: Penn State's leading faceoff man last season, Billy Lombardi, returns for his final campaign, as does redshirt senior Drake Kreinz, who ranks eighth in total Penn State faceoff wins.
- Goal: Junior Will Schreiner returns for his junior season after starting all 15 contests last season and earning Big Ten specialist of the week on three occasions. Sophomore Trevor Scollins returns for his second season in the Blue and White as well.
WHO'S NEW
In addition to Penn State's 32 returners, the Nittany Lions add 11 new faces to the fold, with plenty of them competing for playing time early on.
- Attack: Mac O'Keefe and Conor Smith join Penn State as the two newest attackmen for the Nittany Lions. O'Keefe enters his inaugural season with PSU after serving as a member of Team USA's U19 team over the summer. Smith was a three-time member of the Suffolk County Top-20 team.
- Midfield: PSU adds five new members to the midfield in Gerard Arceri, Matthew Fisher, Nick McEvoy, Mitch Schaefer and Barrett Sutley. Arceri helped his high school team to back-to-back county championships. Fisher totaled 53 points his senior year and was a three-sport athlete. McEvoy led his team to two consecutive WCAC titles and a No. 3 national ranking. Schaefer earned Section V Tournament MVP honors in 2013. Sutley helped McDonogh to three straight MIAA semifinal appearances and was a MYLA All-Star.
- Defense: Nick Cardile and TJ Connellan are Penn State's newest defensemen. Cardile helped Avon Grove to a Ches-Mont Championship and state finals appearance, while Connellan helped Cazenovia to four state finalist finishes while being invited to the Under Armour All-America classic in 2015.
- Faceoff: Arceri and McEvoy both play a role in the faceoff game. Arceri joined O'Keefe on the U19 USA team, while McEvoy was a first team All-WCAC honoree and was a Washington All-Met honorable mention.
- Goal: Colby Kneese and Jack Rusbuldt round out Penn State's newest additions. Kneese led Highland Park to a Texas state championship in 2015 while earning All-State and Under Armour All-America honors. Rusbuldt was named a U.S. Lacrosse All-America and Virginia All-State recipient.
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