May 12, 2017
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.- The seventh-seeded Penn State men's lacrosse team (12-3, 3-2 Big Ten) open the NCAA tournament's first round on Saturday, May 13, at noon, facing familiar foe Towson (10-4, 4-1 CAA) at the Penn State Lacrosse Field. The Nittany Lions and Tigers will kick off Saturday's Division I lacrosse action, going head-to-head on ESPNU, with Mike Corey and Don Zimmerman on the call.
FOLLOW ALONG
In addition to watching in person or on ESPNU, fans can follow all the action on WatchESPN, live stats and additional live coverage on Twitter (@PennStateMLAX).
ATTENDING PENN STATE LACROSSE FIELD
Fans can purchase tickets for Saturday's game either at the gate with cash or by calling 1-800-NITTANY or going to the Bryce Jordan Center box office prior to 3 p.m. on Friday, May 12. General admission tickets are $8, while children 12 years of age or younger can get in for $5. Groups of 20 or more can call 1-800-NITTANY for a discounted group rate of $3 each. Fans are reminded that there is a no bag policy in place.
GAMEDAY PROMOTIONS
If you're a Penn State student, you're in luck! Penn State students with a valid student ID will receive FREE admission to Saturday's first round game.
PENN STATE IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
Penn State earned its fourth-ever appearance in the NCAA tournament on Sunday, April 7, as an at-large bid following a 12-3 record after the Big Ten tournament.
- The seventh-seeded team in the NCAA tournament, Penn State earns its second ever ranked seed. The team was also seeded in the 2013 tournament.
- In addition to the fourth appearance for Penn State, the NCAA berth marks the second under head coach Jeff Tambroni's tenure. He has now matched former head coach Glenn Theil for most NCAA appearances by a head coach. Between his time at Penn State and Cornell, Tambroni has now appeared in 10 NCAA tournaments.
- The Nittany Lions are looking for their first NCAA tournament win, having fallen to Towson, Maryland and Yale in their previous appearances.
IN-CONFERENCE RECORDS BESTED IN 2017
In its third season in the Big Ten conference, the Nittany Lions continued to break and match records for conference play. As a team, Penn State broke the following program records:
- Wins in a Big Ten conference season (3)
- Most goals in a Big Ten conference season (61)
- Highest scoring average in a Big Ten conference season (12.20 goals per game)
- Largest margin of victory in a Big Ten conference game (6 goals, vs. Rutgers)
- Most goals scored in a Big Ten conference game (17 goals vs. Michigan)
This season, Penn State has also set or tied program records for the following individual feats in Big Ten play:
- Goals in a Big Ten conference game (Nick Aponte, 5 vs. Michigan)
- Points in a Big Ten conference game (Nick Aponte, 9 vs. Michigan)
- Groundballs in a Big Ten conference game (Gerard Arceri, 7 vs. Rutgers)
- Saves in a Big Ten conference game (Colby Kneese, 15 vs. Johns Hopkins)
- Save percentage in a Big Ten conference game (Colby Kneese, .765 vs. Ohio State)
- Faceoff win percentage in a Big Ten conference game (Gerard Arceri, .800 vs. Rutgers)
- Caused Turnovers in a Big Ten conference game (Chris Sabia, 3 vs. Ohio State)
- Assists in a Big Ten conference season (Nick Aponte, 14)
- Points in a Big Ten conference season (Nick Aponte, 22)
- Caused turnovers in a Big Ten conference season (Chris Sabia, 10)
FAMILIAR FACES
Penn State will face a somewhat familiar foe in the first round of the NCAA tournament, taking on the Towson Tigers.
- Penn State and Towson both competed in the Colonial Athletic Association from 2010 to 2014.
- Penn State holds an 8-14 record all-time against Towson, but since head coach Jeff Tambroni's arrival at Penn State, the Nittany Lions have gone 4-1 against the Tigers.
- Seven of Penn State's seniors played against Towson in the last matchup in 2014. Dan Craig, Drake Kreinz and Mike Sutton all started, with Sutton leading the team with two goals.
PENN STATE BOUNCED IN B1G TOURNEY
Penn State bowed out of the Big Ten tournament in the semifinal round, falling to Maryland, 8-6.
- Freshman Mac O'Keefe extended his goal scoring streak to 15 consecutive games, the longest on the team, with a pair of goals against the Terps. He and sophomore midfielder Kevin Hill co-led the team in goals scored with two each.
- Senior midfielder Billy Lombardi assumed the faceoff duties, going 9-of-18 at the faceoff dot.
- Penn State fell despite outshooting the Terrapins by 10, 35-25, and winning the groundball battle, 26-21.
APONTE, AMENT AND SABIA EARN ALL-B1G STATUS
The Big Ten conference announced its All-Big Ten selections on Tuesday, May, 2, with senior attackman Nick Aponte, sophomore attackman Grant Ament and sophomore defender Chris Sabia earning All-Big Ten recognition.
- Aponte earns the first team nod following 21 goals and 32 assists for 53 points in the regular season. With eight goals and 14 assists, the senior captain set a new Penn State record for points in a Big Ten season with 22 total. His 70 career assists rank eighth most ever by a Penn State player.
- Ament earns his First Team All-Big Ten honor for the first time after leading Penn State in points with 56 total (27g, 29a). The sophomore ranks 22nd in the nation and second in the Big Ten in point production, averaging 3.73 points per game. Ament became Penn State's 24th 100-point scorer earlier this season, with his 110 career points ranking 21st all-time for the program.
- Sabia takes home Second Team All-Big Ten honors after a team-high 20 caused turnovers and 23 groundballs currently. Sabia's 1.33 caused turnovers per game are second best in the Big Ten conference and ranked 39th nationally. With 32 forced turnovers to date, he leads Penn State's active roster in career takeaways.
APONTE NAMED TEWAARATON NOMINEE
Senior captain Nick Aponte was named one of 25 Tewaaraton Award Nominees on Friday, April 28.
- Aponte enters the postseason with 55 points on 22 goals and 33 assists. He has added 26 groundballs (second most on the team) and four caused turnovers.
- Aponte ranks 12th nationally in assists per game, averaging 2.29 per contest.
- The field of nominees will be trimmed down to five finalists on May 11, with the award being presented June 1 in Washington D.C.
SABIA MAKING MARK IN B1G PLAY
Sophomore defender Chris Sabia came into form during conference play, with 10 caused turnovers through five games.
- With 10 caused turnovers in conference play, Sabia leads conference-only caused turnovers.
- Sabia's 10 caused turnovers are the most by a Penn State player in a Big Ten season, with five being the most in a Big Ten season prior to Sabia's output.
- Over the course of the season, Sabia has averaged 1.33 caused turnovers per game, ranking 39th nationally and third most in the Big Ten.
- Sabia's 32 career caused turnovers are the most of any active player on the Nittany Lions' roster.
100-POINT CLUB
Sophomore attackman Grant Ament scored a pair of goals and added three assists to hit the 100-career point milestone against Johns Hopkins on April 15.
- With his five-point performance, Ament became the 24th Penn State player to score 100 career points. His 110 career points rank 21st all-time.
- Ament became the second active Penn State player to reach 100 career points this season when Nick Aponte during the Nittany Lions' game against Furman. The senior ranks tied for the 11th most points in program history with 138 (68g, 70a).
- With Ament reaching the 100-point mark, Penn State is one of 17 programs nationally with a pair of 100-point scorers.
- Prior to Ament and Aponte, TJ Sanders (2013-16) was the last player to be a 100-point scorer. Senior midfielder Mike Sutton is the next closest active player to the 100-point mark, entering the game against Rutgers with 87 (75g, 12a).
ATTACK IN STRIKING DISTANCE OF SINGLE SEASON POINTS TOP-10
Following the regular season, each member of Penn State's attack in Grant Ament, Nick Aponte and Mac O'Keefe could plausibly crack the top 10 in single season points.
- Ament is the closest to joining the leaderboard, entering Saturday with 56 points to date - the ninth and tenth spots on Penn State's single-season points leaderboard sit at 57 points.
- After his two-point game last time out, Aponte is two points short of the 57 needed to make the top-10. In addition to the single-season points leaderboard, Aponte needs two assists to pass Ament's 2016 season for the 10th place in single-season assists.
- O'Keefe is the longest shot to crack the top-10 for season points, needing four more to tie for the 10th most in program history.
NITTANY LIONS SET HISTORICAL STREAK
Penn State began the season on a historical win streak, going 10-0 through the opening 10 games of the season.
- Following Penn State's win over Ohio State, the Nittany Lions continued the best start in program history at 10-0. Prior to the 2017 season, the best record to begin a season at Penn State was 7-0, achieved by the 1992 team.
- With the win over OSU, Penn State remained one of two undefeated squads nationally at 10-0. Hofstra (9-0) is the only other undefeated program nationally. Penn State's 10-game win streak was the best in the country.
- With Penn State's victory over Ohio State, the Nittany Lions matched the longest single-season win streak with 10-straight. The win also saw Penn State earn its seventh ever season with double-figure wins.
- With the win against Cleveland State, Penn State went undefeated in the non-conference slate for the first time in program history at a perfect 9-0 mark. Penn State first became a conference member in 2000 when the team joined the ECAC before transitioning to the CAA and eventually the Big Ten.
OFFENSE AMONG NATION'S BEST
Entering the postseason the Nittany Lion offense continues to be one of the best in the nation statistically.
- Penn State rank second in the country statistically in shooting percentage as of May 7, firing the ball at a .353 clip. Grant Ament (.429, 18th) and Mac O'Keefe (.384, 54th) both rank within the top 75 nationally in shooting percentage.
- Of the over 70 Division I programs, Penn State finds itself also ranked among the top 10 in the country in scoring offense (fifth, 13.67) goals per game), points per game (sixth, 21.67) and assists per game (eighth, 8.00). Penn State leads the Big Ten in all four categories.
- In addition to its national prominence, Penn State's goals per game, points per game and assists per game figures are all the best during the Jeff Tambroni era to date. Penn State's 205 goals are the most in a single season during the Tambroni era, as are the teams 120 assists.
- Penn State has four offensive players ranked nationally among the top 150 in either points per game, goals per game or assists per game. Ament (3.73 ppg, 1.80 gpg, 1.93 apg) is the lone player to rank among the top 80 in all three categories. O'Keefe (3.53 ppg, 3.20 gpg) ranks top 35 in both goals per game and points per game, while Nick Aponte (3.67 ppg, 2.20 apg) ranks among the top 30 in points per game and assists per game. Ryan Keenan ranks 129th nationally in assists per game, averaging 0.87 per contest.
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 eighth in the country in faceoff win percentage (.591) and 13th in groundballs per game (30.80) following 15 games. Penn State ranks second in the Big Ten in both faceoff win percentage and groundballs per game.
- Freshman midfielder and faceoff man Gerard Arceri ranks sixth nationally in faceoff percentage (.625) and 12th in groundballs per game (7.00). He ranks second in the Big Ten in faceoff percentage and groundballs.
APONTE, AMENT CLIMBING CAREER ASSISTS LEADERBOARD
Entering the postseason, Penn State attackmen Nick Aponte and Grant Ament both look to improve their positioning on the Penn State leaderboard for career assists.
- Following the Nittany Lions' most recent outing, Aponte has taken sole possession of eighth place on the career assists leaderboard with 70 total. Ament's 63 assists are two shy of claiming the 10th spot on the career assists leaderboard.
- Aponte, who enters the Towson game with 70 career assists, is having the best season of his career statistically sharing the ball with a team-high 33 assists this season. His 19-assist output in 2016 was previously his most in a single season.
- Ament, who has 29 assists in 2017 to date, entered the season after dishing out the 10th most assists in a single season in program history during his freshman campaign, logging 34 last season.
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.
- The trio all rank in the top-35 nationally in points per game. Ament comes in at No. 20, while O'Keefe and Aponte rank No. 28 and No. 33 in the country, respectively. The three players ranked second, third and fifth in Big Ten.
- The trio of Ament, Aponte and O'Keefe have accounted for 47.3% of Penn State's goals, 55.8% of Penn State's assists and 50.5% of the team's total points.
- The Penn State attack line is the only starting attack line in the country to have all three of its players earn it's conference's offensive player of the week honor over the course of the 2017 season.
- As a unit, Penn State's starting attack line has produced the fourth-most points among starting attack lines nationally. The Nittany Lion trio ranks fourth in total goals and fourth in total assists.
O'KEEFE BREAKING RECORDS
Freshman attackman Mac O'Keefe logged the freshman scoring record on April 30, scoring four goals to eclipse the 44 goal mark set by TJ Sanders in 2013. With two more goals, O'Keefe would earn the program record for single-season goals.
- After scoring two goals against Maryland, O'Keefe holds the country's fifth longest goal-scoring streak, finding the back of the net in 15 consecutive games. His 48 goals over the span rank fourth. Brown's Dylan Molloy holds the longest streak, with 40 consecutive games in which he's tallied 127 goals.
- O'Keefe's 48 goals are the most in a single season in Jeff Tambroni's seven-season tenure at Penn State.
- With four goals against Cleveland State, O'Keefe passed Penn State's single-player high for goals from last season, as senior attackman Nick Aponte logged 30 in 2016.
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 the league's non-conference play, as a conference, Big Ten teams went a combined 45-8, with its .849 win percentage the top among all Division I programs.
APONTE AND AMENT STREAKING
At this point in the 2017 season, senior attackman Nick Aponte holds one of the longest statistical streaks in the country.
- After a two-point performance against Maryland, Aponte has recorded at least one point in each of his last 47 contests, dating back to April 5, 2014.
- Aponte's streak is good for sixth in the country. Denver senior Connor Cannizarro leads the country with 55 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 30-game streak entering the game against Towson, good for 12th nationally.
PENN STATE IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
Penn State remained constant this week in the national polls, coming in as a consensus top-10 selection.
- With the No. 1 ranking in the Maverik Media poll three weeks ago, Penn State earned a consensus No. 1 ranking for the first time in program history.
- With its No. 8 ranking in the USILA coaches poll, Penn State is ranked within the top 10 for the 12th consecutive week. Ten 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 18 consecutive USILA coaches polls, the last time being unranked being March 21, 2016.
APONTE ON 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 currently ranks third on Penn State in points, tallying 31 on 13 goals and 18 assists. His assist figures tie for the best on the team, while his 13 goals rank tied for third.
- 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. Watchlist 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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