April 6, 2018
By Erin Neri, GoPSUsports.com student staff writer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Sophomore goalkeeper Colby Kneese led Penn State men's lacrosse to its first Big Ten victory of the season as the Nittany Lions took down Ohio State, 12-4. Kneese finished the game with a season-high 16 saves and an 80 percent save percentage. He also recorded two shutouts in the first and fourth quarters to earn Big Ten Specialist of the Week honors.
The stellar performance against the Buckeyes was a long time coming for Kneese. After long hours of hard work in practice and plenty of mistakes, the sophomore learned valuable lessons that prepared him for last week, some dating all the way back to the first game of the season.
"I think from the [Villanova] game in particular, Colby has progressively gotten better," head coach Jeff Tambroni said. "I think our defense has worked very hard on its cohesion, coach Toner has done a really nice job with this particular group this year. I think they really believe in the system and each other, more so than any defense we've been a part of here at Penn State."
Kneese earned the starting position in net as a freshman and has remained there since, establishing himself as one of the leaders in the defensive zone, alongside Nittany Lions like redshirt junior captain Mike Aronow and junior Chris Sabia.
Since his first year with the team though, Tambroni says there has been a noticeable difference in Kneese's level of maturity and confidence. It's his approach to the importance of practice that has shaped his attitude though.
"This year I think [Kneese has] shown much greater maturity in the goal," Tambroni said. "Each practice is an opportunity for Colby right now to get better, and I think he's taken advantage of it. I would not have said the same thing last year. I think there were certain days he really focused in on his task and his job at hand in practice. There were definitely certain games that he had a sharper focus, but I think a lot of those things come with the position. We probably require a little bit more out of Colby at the goalie position than we do at any other position and then to pile it on as a freshman, I don't think any of those things are characteristic of what most goalies go through."
Another integral part of Kneese's growth since he has arrived has been Tambroni's influence and mentorship.
Throughout Tambroni's coaching career, even though he played as an attackman in college, he has served as a goalie coach before landing at Penn State. Now as a Nittany Lion, Tambroni still remains involved with training his goalkeepers, splitting responsibilities with volunteer assistant coach John Hogan.
With his unique insight at the goaltender position, Tambroni has developed a special relationship with Kneese, one the sophomore says has helped him a great deal throughout the season so far.
"[I've] definitely built a better relationship with coach Tambroni, we've been working daily throughout the preseason, the fall and the regular season," Kneese said. "Working with him has really helped me develop my game and instill a lot more confidence in my game."
The relationship has also established a mutual respect between the two.
Even though Tambroni has been around goalies his whole career, his time working with Kneese has given him a new perspective on the position.
"I think it is a special mentality that any individual has to have to step in between those pipes and face what [Kneese] does on a daily basis," Tambroni said." I truly respect and admire anyone who is courageous enough to step in there."
Although Tambroni is now starting to see the direct impact of Kneese's new level of focus, that competitive spirit has always been inside of him. The word Tambroni would use to describe it though - is driven.
"He's always looking to prove something to himself, to his family, to his teammates and to those around him," Tambroni said. "Whether it's those who believe in him or those who doubt him, I would say his personality in that regard is more competitive and driven."
Off the field, Kneese's personality is quite different from when he's in the net. Tambroni and his teammates described the sophomore as always cracking jokes and keeping the mood light. He is also passionate, even when defending his beloved Dallas Cowboys inside a locker room full of division rival Philadelphia Eagles fans.
However, when Kneese steps on the field, he knows how to flip the switch and get serious.
"He jokes around a lot but he knows when to stop joking and when to be serious," Aronow said. "I think that's really important because once it's time to focus and lock it down, he's really good at doing that."
Kneese also didn't hesitate to proclaim himself as the "best two-handed threat on the team," for his skill in both saving shots and taking them.
"When you go out to practice, on a daily basis if you saw the first two or three minutes prior to his warm up, he always out there shooting on goal," Tambroni said. "I'd say [Kneese] probably puts himself in there as one of the better shots on the team in an offensive sense as well."
Come Sunday night, Penn State will face another tough conference test in Maryland. While the Terps are coming off a dominant 13-5 win over Michigan, the Nittany Lions are sticking to their usual strategy, remaining focused and confident in their preparation.
"If we beat Maryland this weekend, in the eyes of our players, I don't think there would be anything we could see stopping us from taking that momentum and going as far as we possibly could with it, which would be all the way to the end of May," Kneese said.