UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The No. 1 Penn State men's lacrosse team head to No. 3 Maryland to open the Big Ten season at Capital One Field at Maryland Stadium on Sunday evening at 7 p.m.
The game will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network with Pete Medhurst and Mark Dixon on the call.
NO. 1 PENN STATE AT NO. 3 MARYLAND
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THE MATCH-UP
Penn State and Maryland will enter the week at No. 1 and No. 3, respectively in the USILA Coaches Poll. Maryland holds a 40-2 all-time winning record over the Nittany Lions, with the Nittany Lions two wins coming in 1916 and 1920. In 2018, Penn State dropped the game, 13-12, in University Park. Penn State would have a 19-9 advantage at the faceoff x, but with an injury to Gerard Arceri, the Nittany Lions dropped the most important faceoff of the game after Penn State brought the game within one with 18 seconds left to play.
In 2019, Maryland is 8-1 and have two mutual opponents with the Nittany Lions in Penn and Villanova. Penn State beat Penn, 15-14, in regulation, while Maryland beat them, 13-12, in overtime. Penn State opened 2019 with a 17-7 win over Villanova and Maryland beat them by the same score on March 16.
WEEK 6 ROUND-UP
The No. 1 Penn State men's lacrosse team took down Cleveland State, 15-11, in a gritty affair in Cleveland, Ohio on Saturday, March 23 in the Nittany Lions' final nonconference game of the season.
Senior Nick Spillane and junior Mac O'Keefe led the way with six points each. Spillane scored three goals and dished out three assists, while O'Keefe netted five goals and added one assist.
Redshirt junior Dylan Foulds was the third Nittany Lion with a multi-point performance as the attackman scored two goals and added an assist.
Penn State also got goals from senior Matt Donnelly, juniors Gerard Arceri and Nick Cardile, and freshmen TJ Malone and Joe White. Freshman Jack Traynor added an assist.
Sophomore Bobby Burns picked up a career-high five ground balls and added a caused turnover. Malone scooped up five groundballs and a caused turnover. Redshirt junior Tommy Wright added three ground balls and a caused turnover.
Junior Gerard Arceri scooped up nine groundballs and won 15 faceoffs.
Junior goalie Colby Kneese recorded 10 saves and the win.
ACTIVE STREAKS
Redshirt junior Grant Ament has the eighth longest point scoring streak in the nation, recording a point in all 38 of his career games played are 60-110-170. Senior Pat Spencer of Loyola currently leads the list at 59 as a senior at 127-195-314. Ament's streak is the longest active in the Big Ten with Michigan's Brent Noseworthy following at 33 games.
Junior Mac O'Keefe is on a 15-game goal scoring streak, dating back to March 17, 2018. He has scored 56 goals during that time.
NCAA STAT RANKINGS
As a team, the Nittany Lions currently rank No. 1 in the nation in six categories. They are the top team in man-up offense (0.630), points per game (29.50), scoring margin (7.88), scoring offense (18.38), assists per game (11.13), and shot percentage (.430).
Redshirt junior Grant Ament currently leads the nation in assists per game at 6.57 as well as points per game at 8.00.
Junior Mac O'Keefe holds the top spot in goals per game at 4.50 and is third in individual man-up goals at 5. O'Keefe is also fifth in points per game at 5.50.
Freshman TJ Malone is fifth in shot percentage (.545) and 12th in man up goals (4).
Junior Gerard Arceri is 14th in the nation in faceoff winning percentage at .618 and seventh in groundballs at 8.88.
DRAFTED
Penn State saw Chris Sabia and Nick Spillane picked in the top-10 of the 2019 Major League Lacrosse Draft on March 8 in at the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, N.C.
Sabia, a defenseman from Harleysville, Pennsylvania, was selected in the first round at the No. 8 pick and the first selection by the Dallas Rattlers. "I am extremely honored to have been drafted by the Dallas Rattlers," Sabia said of his selection. "I'd especially like to thank Coach [Jeff] Tambroni and Coach [Peter] Toner. They have done a tremendous job allowing me to grow as a player and a young man."
Spillane, a midfielder from Franklin Square, New York, was the first pick of the second round, No. 10 overall, by the Ohio Machine. "Getting drafted is an unbelievable feeling," Spillane said of his selection. "There have been so many people who have had an unmeasurable impact on my growth as a person and a player. I am so thankful for the opportunity to join the [Ohio] Machine organization. I wouldn't be here without the help of all of my coaches, especially Coach [Jeff] Tambroni. From the day I stepped on campus, he challenged me to grow and develop into a better player and teammate. I am so grateful for all the time and effort he has put into me, which has definitely allowed me to grow and mature through my four years."
RECORDS BROKEN
On Sunday, March 10 against Jacksonville, Penn State saw two juniors break records.
Faceoff man Gerard Arceri surpass the school's career faceoff wins record. On his 14th faceoff win of the game against Jacksonville, Arceri become the Penn State record holder for career faceoff wins with 511, he now sits at 527 for his career. Starting the day at third on the all-time list, Arceri passed both second-place Greg Gurenlian (508; 2003-06) and first-place Danny Henneghan (510; 2010-13), to take sole possession of the top.
The Nittany Lions also saw Grant Ament take hold of the PSU single season assists record. On his seventh assist of the afternoon on Sunday, Ament broke the Penn State single season assist record of 44 set by both Gary Martin (1982) and Jeff Connor (1988). Ament is now at 110 career assists, good for second all-time, trailing only Martin who recorded 156 from 1981-84.
ARCERI, AMENT & O'KEEFE ON TEWAARATON WATCH LIST
Penn State men's lacrosse juniors Grant Ament, Gerard Arceri and Mac O'Keefe were named to the 2019 Tewaaraton Watch List by the Tewaaraton Foundation committee.
Ament and Arceri were named to the initial list on February 28, while O'Keefe was added in the first round of additions on March 21.
Ament, a redshirt junior from Doylestown, Pennsylvania, has made his first appearance on a Tewaaraton Watch List.
This marks Arceri's third-straight appearance on the watch list as he was named added in the first round of addition in the 2017 season and was on the first edition in 2018. He made it to the final 25 and was considered a Tewaaraton Nominee in 2018.
O'Keefe, an attackman out of Syosset, N.Y., has made his first appearance on a Tewaaraton Watch List.
