April 27, 2018
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State men's lacrosse is gearing up for its final home game of the regular season against Michigan. Come Saturday afternoon, the Nittany Lions will also hold their annual senior game to honor graduating seniors.
Among Jeff Tambroni's earliest recruiting classes, the eighth-year head coach is especially proud of how far this group of student-athletes has come.
"When I look at Penn State lacrosse as a whole, the word that comes to mind is 'culture,' and I think this senior class has had a significant and positive impact on our culture," Tambroni said. "The overall investment in terms of what it means or what it takes to be a Penn State lacrosse player can be attributed a great deal to this group."
The Nittany Lions will be graduating seven seniors, including three of their four team captains.
Midfielder and captain Ryan Keenan will continue his lacrosse career at the nest level, drafted to the MLL 54th overall by the Ohio Machine.
As Keenan is looking forward to playing at the next level, he has the coaching staff and his fellow teammates to thank for helping him get there.
"It has been an awesome experience but I have to thank my teammates, I couldn't have gotten here without them," Keenan said. "The everyday practice and intensity of being a Penn State lacrosse player, along with the work ethic, [has prepared me for the next level]."
Keenan was recruited by Tambroni when he was in high school, but even then, he knew he wanted to be a part of a program where he could help lay the groundwork for future teams.
Even though it would require hard work and dedication, Keenan and other members of the senior class were up for the challenge of changing the culture surrounding what it means to play lacrosse at Penn State.
"When I came here, I just bought into Penn State lacrosse and building the program brick by brick," Keenan said. "It resonated with me and the kind of person I am. I wanted to build up and be the first one to change the culture and be a part of something new. That's what a lot of guys, especially in my class, came here for."
The senior class ushered in what Tambroni and the seniors call a 'culture shift' in the program, focusing on aspects like hard work, discipline and being a good teammate. The senior class has exemplified these ideals in the last four years and hopes rising Nittany Lions will continue to follow in their footsteps.
"Our preparation and our work ethic, I think those are the biggest things our senior class will leave behind," Keenan said. "Hard work in the weight room, doing extra work on off days, team comradery and team chemistry, we do a lot of things that bring this team closer together."
Redshirt junior Mike Aronow is the lone Nittany Lion captain who will remain in Happy Valley to play out his last year of eligibility. Even though he'll watch his own recruiting class and some of his best friends graduate in just a couple weeks, he will bring valuable leadership experience to next season's team.
"If you can have a redshirt or hold over from time to time who has that experience, that does carry on that class and maturity, it's always a positive," Tambroni said. "I think [Aronow] has done that. You bring back a two-year starter, a captain, that knowledge of that it meant to decide [to commit] at that point and to watch Penn State grow, I think it can only be a benefit."
Penn State's captains aren't the only leaders it will be parting with though, as many other members of the senior class also took leadership roles, like defenseman Chris Isenberg.
Although Isenberg was forced to spend a good chunk of his four-year career sidelined due to injuries, he learned from the challenges and accepted a new role as an emotional leader on the team.
"I definitely saw my mentality pivot from being discouraged and angry at the idea of not playing to the overall big picture - that it's not just me playing lacrosse but me and my team," Isenberg said. "That's one of the biggest aspects of the 'culture shift,' we're not a selfish team, we're extremely selfless and we enjoy success amongst each other and not just individually."
Although the journey back to the field was long and frustrating for Isenberg, being able to play the last few games of his senior season alongside his teammates made it all worth it.
Injuries made him cherish the little moments throughout the season, leading up to what could possibly be his last game inside Panzer Stadium with his fellow seniors.
"I just appreciated everything and coming back and playing," Isenberg said. "It's one of the best things I could have asked for, just to know I get to play with these guys to finish out my career."
With a small class of seven, the group has been able to grow extremely close. As they approach the end of their time in blue and white, they have taken time to reflect on everything they have had to overcome to get to this moment.
"We're the last ones standing and we've been through so much together on the field and off the field," Isenberg said. "It's definitely going to be a really emotional day."