March 6, 2017
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The No. 3 Penn State men's lacrosse team faces its quickest turnaround of the season on Tuesday afternoon, facing the Furman Paladins at 3 p.m. at the Penn State Lacrosse field. The game is set for national broadcast on the Big Ten Network.
FOLLOW ALONG
Outside of attending the game, fans can follow all the action on the Big Ten Network, with the game set to broadcast at 3 p.m. with Pete Medhurst and Mark Dixon on the call. Fans can watch the team via online stream at btn2go.com and also follow the action with in addition to following 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 EDGES PENN TO GO 5-0
The Nittany Lions remained undefeated following their toughest game to date, edging No. 8 Penn, 14-13, on March 4.
- Following the win, Penn State is one of just eight teams nationally that is still undefeated.
- Sophomore midfielder Nick Spillane had a career day on offense to lead Penn State, scoring a game-high five goals.
- Penn State's success came in large part from a dominant performance from rookie faceoff man Gerard Arceri, who went 24-of-31 from the faceoff dot while adding a game-best 15 groundballs. Both Arceri's faceoff wins and groundballs marked career highs.
- Senior attackman Nick Aponte (1g, 2a) and sophomore attackman Grant Ament (3a) both extended their point streaks, at 37 and 20 games, respectively.
OFFENSE AMONG NATION'S BEST
Through the first five weeks of play 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 5, firing the ball at a .414 clip.
- Of the over 70 Division I programs, Penn State finds itself also leading the country in points/game (28.60) and assists/game (11.20). The team's scoring offense ranks second nationally behind only Brown, averaging 17.40 goals/game.
- Penn State's attack unit has been especially impressive through the stretch. Attackmen Grant Ament and Mac O'Keefe both rank among the top 10 in points and goals scored nationally. O'Keefe leads the country in goals scored (25), while he and Ament's 5.60 points per game lead the Big Ten and rank fifth nationally.
- Ament and senior Nick Aponte both rank among the top 20 nationally in total assists. Ament's 14 assists are fourth for eighth in the country, while Aponte's eight tie for 19th nationally. Ament and Aponte rank first and fourth respectively in assists per game within the Big Ten.
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 third in the country in faceoff win percentage (.691) and third in groundballs per game (36.80) following the fourth week of play. Both figures lead the Big Ten.
- Freshman midfielder and faceoff man Gerard Arceri ranks third nationally in faceoff percentage (.683) and second in groundballs per game (10.60). Both figures lead the Big Ten as well.
PENN STATE ATTACK B1G's BEST
Through March 6, the Penn State starting attack line of senior Nick Aponte, sophomore Grant Ament and freshman Mac O'Keefe has proven to be the most potent statistically among the league's teams.
- The Penn State trio are unmatched in offensive categories so far in 2017, leading Big Ten attack units in goals, assists and points.
- The Nittany Lions also boast two of the league's top three goal scoring attackmen in O'Keefe (25) and Ament (14). Ament (14) and Aponte (10) both rank top four in the league in assists, with Ament leading the league.
BIG TEN STARTING ATTACK LINES
| Rk. | School (Attackmen) | 2017 G-A-P Combined |
| 1. | Penn State (Ament, Aponte, O'Keefe) | 45-27-72 |
| 2. | Michigan* (Noseworthy, King, Sutherland) | 38-25-63 |
| 3. | Maryland (Heacock, Maltz, Rambo) | 31-21-52 |
| 4. | Ohio State (Buckley, Chell, Fannell) | 26-17-43 |
| 5. | Rutgers (Heningburg, Mullins, Murphy) | 26-14-40 |
| 6. | Johns Hopkins (Dismuke, Marr, Stanwick) | 25-13-38 |
As of March 5, 2017
*-Michigan has played seven games, Ohio State played six, and all other B1G teams have played five.
B1G OFF TO A HOT START
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 February, as a conference teams went a combined 24-1, with its .960 win percentage the top among all Division I programs.
RECORDS BY CONFERENCE THROUGH FEBRUARY
| Rk. | Conference | W-L | Pct. |
| 1. | Big Ten Conference | 24-1 | .960 |
| 2. | Atlantic Coast Conference | 14-5 | .737 |
| 3. | Ivy League | 10-7 | .588 |
| 4. | Patriot League | 17-19 | .472 |
| 5. | America East Conference | 11-13 | .458 |
| 6. | Colonial Athletic Association | 10-12 | .455 |
| 7. | Big East Conference | 9-12 | .429 |
| Northeast Conference | 12-16 | .429 | |
| 9. | Southern Conference | 13-19 | .406 |
| 10. | Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference | 9-17 | .346 |
O'KEEFE ON PACE TO SET NEW RECORDS
Freshman attackman Mac O'Keefe continues a hot stretch offensively, notching an astounding 25 goals through the first five games.
- With just five more goals over the duration of the season, O'Keefe would match 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 25 goals also stand alone for 10th in a single season in Jeff Tambroni's seven-season tenure at Penn State. The 25-goal mark is 15 short of cracking the program's top-10 single season leaderboard.
SINGLE SEASON GOALS - TAMBRONI ERA
| Rk. | Name | Goals | Season |
| 1 | TJ Sanders | 44 | 2013 |
| 2 | Jack Forester | 41 | 2013 |
| 3 | Shane Sturgis | 33 | 2014 |
| 4 | Matthew Mackrides | 30 | 2012 |
| Nick Aponte | 30 | 2016 | |
| 6 | TJ Sanders | 29 | 2015 |
| 7 | TJ Sanders | 28 | 2016 |
| 8 | Jack Forster | 27 | 2012 |
| Shane Sturgis | 27 | 2013 | |
| 10 | Mac O'Keefe | 25 | 2017 |
SINGLE SEASON GOALS
| Rk. | Name | Goals | Season |
| 1 | Bill Hess | 49 | 1957 |
| 2 | Erik Merkel | 48 | 1995 |
| Will Driscoll | 2002 | ||
| 4 | TJ Sanders | 44 | 2013 |
| 5 | Jim Trenz | 42 | 1972 |
| Gary Martin | 1982 | ||
| 7 | Bill Hess | 41 | 1956 |
| Ted Peddy | 1990 | ||
| Jack Forster | 2013 | ||
| 10 | Scot McKeon | 40 | 1987 |
| Mac O'Keefe | 25 | 2017 | |
APONTE, AMENT STREAKING
Following five weeks of play, senior attackman Nick Aponte holds one of the longest statistical streaks in the country.
- After logging a goals and two assists against Penn, Aponte has recorded at least one point in each of his last 37 contests, dating back to April 5, 2014.
- Aponte's streak is good for 11th in the country. Vermont junior Ian MacKay and High Point senior Michael LeClair lead the country with 46 consecutive games registering at least one point, dating back to Feb. 22, 2014.
- Sophomore attackman Grant Ament joined the exclusive group of players nationally with a scoring streak of 20 or more consecutive games following last game's three assist perfromance against Penn. The Doylestown, Pennsylvania, native is on a 20-game streak entering the game against Furman.
SCOUTING THE PALADINS
Tuesday's game pits Penn State against the Furman Paladins of the Southern Conference. Furman enters Tuesday's contest at 1-5 on the season, splitting its last two games.
- The Paladins boast one of the Southern Conference's top goaltenders in Alec Van De Bovenkam, who ranks second in the conference and 11th nationally in save percentage, stopping 58.8 percent of the shots he faces.
- Furman's Lou Yovino and William Holcomb both pose scoring threats, with 11 and nine goals respectively this season. Stephen Wierzbick has a team-best seven assists through Furman's six games.
- Tuesday's matchup marks just the second time the two sides have faced one another, with last season's 16-7 being the first meeting between the two sides.
TAMBRONI EARNS WIN 50 AT PENN STATE
Nittany Lions head coach Jeff 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.
50-PLUS WINS AT TWO DIVISION I SCHOOLS
Active Coaches
| # | Name | Total Wins | School 1 (Wins) | School 2 (Wins) |
| 1 | John Danowski | 374 | Hofstra (192) | Duke (155) |
| 2 | Bill Tierney | 373 | Princeton (234) | Denver (100) |
| 3 | Mike Pressler | 341 | Duke (153) | Bryant (75) |
| 4 | Joe Breschi | 190 | Ohio State (92) | UNC (98) |
| 5 | Jeff Tambroni | 162 | Cornell (109) | Penn State (53) |
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.
- 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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