March 24, 2017
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The No. 1 Penn State men's lacrosse team (8-0) will aim to remain perfect on the season Saturday at noon, as the Nittany Lions welcome first-year program Cleveland State (3-6) to the Penn State lacrosse field for their ninth game of the season.
FOLLOW ALONG
Fans can follow all the action with Penn State's live stream, live stats and additional live coverage on Twitter (@PennStateMLAX).
ATTENDING PENN STATE LACROSSE FIELD
Admission and parking for men's lacrosse regular season events are free. Fans are reminded that there is a no bag policy in place.
PENN STATE 8-0 AFTER FAIRFIELD WIN
Penn State won its eighth straight game to remain undefeated on March 17, defeating Fairfield 9-8 to move to a perfect 8-0 on the 2017 season.
- Following Penn State's last win, the Nittany Lions are just one of four remaining undefeated teams in the country, along with Big Ten members Ohio State (9-0) and Rutgers (8-0). Hofstra (7-0) also is undefeated.
- With the win, Penn State marked a new record for the best start in program history at 8-0.
- Nick Aponte led the way for Penn State, logging a pair of goals and an assist. Matt Florence (2g) and Mac O'Keefe (1g, 1a) were the only other player to log multi-point games for the Nittany Lions.
- Freshman goalkeeper Colby Kneese logged his third game of the season with 10 or more saves, recording 12 against Fairfield.
ARCERI ON TEWAARATON WATCH LIST
In addition to senior Nick Aponte, freshman faceoff specialist Gerard Arceri was named to the Tewaaraton Award watch list on March 16.
- At the halfway mark of the season, Arceri continues to be one of the most dominant faceoff men in the Division I game. Arceri has won 138 faceoffs to date, with his 68-percent clip ranking second nationally. The rookie also leads D1 in groundballs per game, averaging 9.63 per outing.
- Arceri is one of just two freshmen on the watch list so far, with the other being Virginia freshman Dox Aitken, who played club lacrosse with sophomores Grant Ament and Chris Sabia.
HISTORY MADE
Following the team's 9-8 win over Fairfield, Penn State is off to the best start in program history, beginning the 2017 season at 8-0.
- With a pair of wins, the 2017 team has the ability to match the most consecutive wins in a season with 10-straight, originally achieved by the 2013 team.
- The Nittany Lions matched their best start in program history on Saturday, March 11 with a 15-12 win over Harvard, moving to 7-0 on the season.
- The 1992 team was the only other team in program history to open the season at 7-0.
OFFENSE AMONG NATION'S BEST
At the midway point of the season, the Nittany Lion offense continues to be one of the best in the nation statistically.
- Penn State is the nation's best shooting team in the country statistically as of March 21, firing the ball at a .388 clip.
- Of the over 70 Division I programs, Penn State finds itself also ranks among the top five in the country in scoring offense (fourth, 15.38 goals per game), points per game (fourth, 24.50) and assists per game (fifth, 9.13). Penn State leads the Big Ten in all four previously mentioned statistical categories.
- Penn State has five offensive players ranked nationally among the top 150 in either points per game, goals per game or assists per game. Grant Ament (4.13 ppg, 2.13 gpg, 2.00 apg) and Nick Spillane both rank among the top 150 in all three categories. Mac O'Keefe (4.25 ppg, 3.75 gpg) ranks top 20 in both goals per game and points per game, while Nick Aponte (3.25 ppg, 2.00 apg) and Spillane (2.50 ppg, 0.88 apg) are both top 150 in points per game and assists per game. Ryan Keenan ranks in the top 70 nationally in assists per game averaging 1.25 per contest.
ATTACK LINE AMONG LEADERS IN D1
Penn State's attack unit has been especially impressive so far, with the three attackmen starters of Grant Ament, Nick Aponte and Mac O'Keefe being one of the most potent units in Division I statistically.
- Ament and O'Keefe both rank among the top 25 nationally in points per game. O'Keefe ranks No. 17 in the country and second in the Big Ten, While Ament comes in at No. 21, good for third in the Big Ten. Ament and Aponte are both top-20 in assists per game, with their 2.0 assist/game average ranking 19th overall nationally and second in the Big Ten.
- As a unit, Penn State's starting attack line has produced the third most points among starting attack lines. The Nittany Lion trio ranks fourth in total goals, fourth in total assists and fifth in points per game (CHART ON PAGE FOUR OF GAME NOTES).
LIONS DOMINANT AT THE FACEOFF "X"
Penn State's success on the offensive end has stemmed from stellar play at the faceoff "x", creating opportunities for the offense to thrive.
- Penn State ranks second in the country in faceoff win percentage (.690) and eighth in groundballs per game (34.25) following the fourth week of play. The faceoff percentage leads the Big Ten while the groundball figures rank second in the league.
- Freshman midfielder and faceoff man Gerard Arceri ranks second nationally in faceoff percentage (.680) and leads the country in groundballs per game (9.63). Both figures lead the Big Ten as well.
B1G IN A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN
As a league, the Big Ten has been off to a hot start and looks to be one of the top conferences in the nation once again. Through March 20, as a conference teams went a combined 40-6, with its .870 win percentage the top among all Division I programs (CHART ON PAGE FOUR OF GAME NOTES).
O'KEEFE ON PACE TO SET NEW RECORDS
Freshman attackman Mac O'Keefe continues a hot stretch offensively, notching an astounding 30 goals through the first eight games.
- With a goal against Fairfield, O'Keefe matched Penn State's single-player high for goals from last season, as senior attackman Nick Aponte logged 30 in 2016.
- O'Keefe currently ranks second among freshman goal scorers during the Jeff Tambroni era, only behind former attackman TJ Sanders' rookie campaign, when he scored 44 in the 2013 season.
- O'Keefe's 30 goals are tied for fourth in a single season in Jeff Tambroni's seven-season tenure at Penn State. The 30-goal mark is 10 short of cracking the program's top-10 single season leaderboard. (CHART ON PAGE FOUR/FIVE OF GAME NOTES).
O'KEEFE, ARCERI NAMED TOP 10 IN INSIDE LACROSSE'S EARLY SEASON FRESHMAN RANKINGS
On March 15, Inside Lacrosse announced its early season rankings of freshmen nationally, with attackman Mac O'Keefe and midfielder Gerard Arceri both making the top 10 of the
- O'Keefe came in at No. 3 in Inside Lacrosse's rankings. The rookie leads the country in goals scored (30) and averages 3.75 per game, second best in the country.
- Arceri ranked sixth among Division I's top freshman players. The faceoff specialist currently leads the Big Ten in both groundballs per game (9.63) and faceoff percentage (.680) Arceri's groundball figures lead the nation, while his 68.8 percent success rate on faceoffs rank second nationally. The rookie leads freshmen nationally in both categories.
APONTE, AMENT STREAKING
At this point in the 2017 season, senior attackman Nick Aponte holds one of the longest statistical streaks in the country.
- After logging two goals and an assist against Fairfield, Aponte has recorded at least one point in each of his last 40 contests, dating back to April 5, 2014.
- Aponte's streak is good for seventh in the country. Denver senior Connor Cannizarro lead the country with 48 consecutive games registering at least one point, dating back to Apr. 19, 2014.
- Sophomore attackman Grant Ament joined the exclusive group of players nationally with a scoring streak of 20 or more consecutive games following his three assist performance against Penn. The Doylestown, Pennsylvania, native is on a 23-game streak entering the game against Cleveland State, good for 20th nationally (CHART ON PAGE FIVE OF GAME NOTES).
SCOUTING THE VIKINGS
Saturday's game pits Penn State against first-year program Cleveland State. The Vikings (3-6) enter Saturday's matchup after an 18-10 win over Division III Wittenberg last week.
- The Cleveland State team is the youngest in Division I, featuring 34 freshmen on the 37-man roster. Of the more than a dozen programs to begin Division I men's lacrosse within the past decade, Cleveland State has the highest percentage of freshmen on its roster at 91.9%.
- Rookie Jake Lewis leads the way for Cleveland State with a team-high 21 points on 12 goals and nine assists. Lewis has logged a multi-point game in all but one outing this season.
- With 2017 being the program's first season, Penn State will be the seventh Division I opponent Cleveland State has ever faced. The Vikings have not shied away from playing tough opponents, taking on top-20 schools Duke, Denver and Ohio State already. The Vikings follow up their trip to Happy Valley by facing Virginia next week.
PENN STATE IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
Penn State rose again this week in the national polls, coming in as a consensus top-3 selection.
- With its No. 1 ranking in the USILA coaches poll, Penn State is ranked within the top five for the fourth consecutive week. Three weeks prior marked the first time since March 10, 2014, that the team had cracked the top five when the team climbed to fifth in the national rankings.
- Penn State has now been ranked in 12 consecutive USILA coaches polls, the last time being unranked being March 21, 2016.
- The Nittany Lions reached first place in a poll for the first time this season, coming in at No. 1 in the US Lacrosse/Nike poll last week. The Nittany Lions earned nine first place votes in the USILA coaches poll and received 11 in the Maverik Media poll. Both mark the most first place votes of any team nationally (COMPLETE POLLS ON PAGE FIVE OF GAME NOTES).
APONTE NAMED TO TEWAARATON WATCH LIST
After a strong start to the 2017 season, senior attackman Nick Aponte was one of 50 players nationally to be named to the Tewaaraton Award Watch List on February 28.
- Aponte was named to the Watch List for the second straight season. He ranks tied for third on Penn State in points this season after leading the Nittany Lions in goals (30) last season.
- Players not named to the initial lists have several opportunities to play their way into a spot as the season progresses. Watch list additions, if applicable, will be announced on March 16 and April 6.
- On April 27, the field will be narrowed to 25 men's and 25 women's nominees. Nominees can be players on the watch lists or players not on the watch lists, effectively allowing for a third round of additions.
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.
- 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.
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