Full 2019 Penn State Men's Lacrosse Schedule
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men's lacrosse program and head coach Jeff Tambroni have announced the 2019 slate that features six NCAA tournament teams, including the 2018 National Champions, Yale.
Penn State looks to build off a strong core of returners for 2019 as they return their starting backline of redshirt senior Mike Aronow, senior Chris Sabia, and sophomore Brayden Peck, along with junior goalie Colby Kneese. The Nittany Lions also return a robust set of offensive choices including junior Mac O'Keefe, redshirt junior Grant Ament, along with seniors Kevin Hill and Nick Spillane in the midfield.
Another asset to the line-up that returns is 2018 United State Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) Third Team All-America honoree junior face-off specialist Gerard Arceri. The 2019 schedule will highlight one of the top face-off matches of the season as 2018 USILA Second Team All-America honoree TD Irelan (Albany; 2016-18) is now on Yale's roster.
The Nittany Lions will open the season with four home games that include scrimmages with Lafayette on January 19 and Army on January 26, and two revenge matches.
The 2019 regular season will start on February 2 as the Nittany Lions host Villanova. Villanova is a 2018 NCAA Tournament squad, who lost to the No. 4- seed Duke in the opening round. Villanova came to Happy Valley in 2018 for the season opener, with the Wildcats taking the showdown, 17-16, in overtime.
Penn State will then continue their homestand as they host Robert Morris on February 9. Robert Morris was also an NCAA Tournament participant, falling in the opening round to the No. 1-seed Maryland, 14-11. Penn State and RMU also faced off in 2018, with the Colonials taking the game, 12-9 in University Park.
The Nittany Lions will close out the month of February with two road contests as they head to Stony Brook on February 16, and to the home of the reigning NCAA Champions Yale on February 23.
Penn State and Stony Brook met in 2018 in a snowy affair in Panzer Stadium, with the Nittany Lions winning the game, 15-8.
This will be just the fourth time Penn State and Yale have matched up with each other, with the last coming in 2013. This will also be the first time Penn State has gone to New Haven, Conn., to play the Bulldogs as two of the three previous matches were in neutral-site contests, and the 2013 game was in Happy Valley. Yale leads the series, 2-1.
In another rematch from 2018, Penn State will return home for its lone University Park contest in March as they take on in-state foe the University of Pennsylvania on March 8. Penn State took the 2018 competition, 10-7, in Philadelphia.
Penn State will then head south to the Crown Classic in Charlotte, North Carolina. While in the Tarheel State, the Nittany Lions will face Cornell on March 8 and Jacksonville on March 10.
Penn State will look to avenge another 2018 loss against Cornell, as Big Red took last year's game, 9-7, and evened the all-time series at 21.
This will mark the first meeting between JU and Penn State.
The Nittany Lions will wrap up nonconference play with a road trip to Cleveland, Ohio to take on Cleveland State on March 23.
Big Ten play will open up with the 2018 Big Ten regular season and tournament champion Maryland on March 31. Maryland earned the No. 1 seed in the 2018 NCAA tournament and made an appearance in the NCAA Semifinals.
Penn State will then return to Happy Valley after a month on the road to host Ohio State on April 7. Penn State went to Columbus in 2018 and secured a 12-4 win, moving the all-time record to 16-6.
The Nittany Lions will then hit the road for their first-ever game in the University of Michigan Lacrosse Stadium, which held its first contest in February 2018. The Nittany Lions and Wolverines will face off in Ann Arbor on April 13.
The 2019 regular season will close out with two home Big Ten games for the Nittany Lions as they host Johns Hopkins on April 20 and Rutgers on April 27. Johns Hopkin was an NCAA Quarterfinalist in 2018.
Rutgers will host the 2019 Big Ten Tournament with the semifinals taking place on May 2 and the finals on May 4.
The Penn State men's lacrosse program will announce all game times as the season draws near as some dates and times may change due to TV schedule announcements.