UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The No. 1 Penn State men's lacrosse team hosts No. 7 Ohio State at 7 p.m. in Panzer Stadium on Sunday, April 7 in Big Ten action. The game will be aired on Big Ten Network with Joe Beninati and Mark Dixon on the call.
TICKETS
Ticket prices have been set at $5 for adults and $3 for youth (ages 12 and under). Penn State students will be able to get in for free by showing their Penn State ID. Both the gates and the ticket office will open 90 minutes before the game. Nittany Lion fans are able to buy their tickets through Penn State Account Manager, 1-800-NITTANY, or by visiting the Bryce Jordan Center ticket office in person Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Tickets purchased in advance will utilize mobile ticketing for entry. For help with mobile ticketing, fans are encouraged to go HERE.
PARKING
Parking for games played at Panzer Stadium will be available in the Jordan East lot, and while fans can bring bags into the facility, all bags are subject to search. Tailgating should be kept to the areas south of Dauer Drive in the grassy areas, keeping the aisles free for traffic to flow normally.
THE MATCH-UP
Penn State (8-1, 1-0) and Ohio State (7-1, 0-1) will enter the week at No. 1 and No. 7, respectively in the USILA Coaches Poll. Penn State holds a 16-6 all-time winning record over the Buckeyes, with the Nittany Lions on a three-game winning streak after a 12-4 win in 2018, a 9-4 win in 2017, and a 6-5 overtime win in 2016.
Penn State is 7-4 against Ohio State at home, however this will be the Buckeyes' first trip to Panzer Stadium.
This series has a history of overtime as six of the 22 contests have gone into extra time. It is an even 3-3 in those overtime games.
In 2019, Ohio State is 7-1 and coming off a 14-6 loss in its Big Ten open to unranked Rutgers last Sunday. The lone mutual opponent between the Buckeyes and the Nittany Lions is the Cleveland State Vikings. Penn State beat the Vikings 15-11 just two weeks ago, while Ohio State beat CSU, 12-9, in the season opener.
WEEK 7 ROUND-UP
The No. 1 Penn State men's lacrosse team took down No. 3 Maryland, 13-10, on the evening of March 31 to move to 8-1, 1-0 in Big Ten play, earning the program's first varsity win over the Terrapins.
Penn State moved to 3-40 all-time against the Terps, but the two Nittany Lion wins came in 1916 and 1920 before Maryland became a varsity lacrosse program in 1924.
The Nittany Lions used a balanced offense and a solid defensive stand to take the 'W' back to University Park.
Penn State saw eight different players score goals and nine total players record points.
Sophomore middie Jack Kelly led the Nittany Lions with three goals for his sixth multi-goal performance and his fifth hat-trick of the year. Kelly also added an assist for four points.
Junior attackman Mac O'Keefe also recorded four points scoring two goals and dishing out two assists. O'Keefe is now at 124 career goals, just three goals shy of tying Will Driscoll's (1999-2002) Penn State Career Goals Record of 127. He also now has 38 goals on the year.
Senior Nick Spillane had a three-point performance with two goals and an assist.
Redshirt junior Grant Ament, redshirt freshmen Dan Reaume and freshman Jack Traynor each recorded two points as Ament dished out two assists, Traynor scored two goals, and Reaume tallied one of each.
Redshirt junior Dylan Foulds, sophomore Cole Willard and freshman TJ Malone all recorded a goal.
Ament is now has 48 assists this season and 112 for his career.
At the 'x,' junior Gerard Arceri recorded 10 ground balls for a career-high in a Big Ten game. He also went 18 of 26 for the game for 69.2-percent.
Junior Colby Kneese stood tall in cage, recording seven saves and earning his eighth win of the season.
Senior defenseman Chris Sabia recorded two caused turnovers and three ground balls. He led a defense that allowed just one goal in the first 28 minutes as Penn State built an 8-1 lead and held Maryland to a season-low in goals.
ACTIVE STREAKS
Redshirt junior Grant Ament has the eighth longest point scoring streak in the nation, recording a point in all 39 of his career games played are 60-112-172. Senior Pat Spencer of Loyola currently leads the list at 60 as a senior at 129-203-332. Ament's streak is the longest active in the Big Ten with Michigan's Brent Noseworthy following at 34 games.
Junior Mac O'Keefe is on a 16-game goal scoring streak, dating back to March 17, 2018. He has scored 58 goals during that time. His streak is good for 10th in the nation.
NCAA STAT RANKINGS
As a team, the Nittany Lions currently rank No. 1 in the nation in seven categories. They are the top team in man-up offense (0.633), points per game (28.44), scoring margin (7.33), scoring offense (17.78), assists per game (10.67), and shot percentage (.429).
Redshirt junior Grant Ament currently leads the nation in assists per game at 6.00. He is second points per game at 7.25.
Junior Mac O'Keefe is second for goals per game at 4.22.
Freshman TJ Malone is sixth in shot percentage (.528).
Junior Gerard Arceri is 11th in the nation in faceoff winning percentage at .627 and seventh in groundballs at 9.00.
SYOSSET'S SHARP-SHOOTER
Junior Mac O'Keefe has been known as one of the nation's best shooters his entire career, and soon he will be the most prolific goal scorer in Penn State history.
The native of Syosset, New York is just four goals away from setting the Penn State record for career goals, just three-quarters of the way into his junior campaign. O'Keefe has 124 goals heading into Sunday night's contest. The record held by Will Driscoll (1999-2002) is 127.
On February 16 against Stony Brook, O'Keefe scored seven goal to record his 100th career goal, becoming the first junior to surpass that mark. O'Keefe's seventh goal at the 2:47 mark in the second quarter in that game. He is just the eighth player in Penn State history to score 100th career goals.
O'Keefe also happens to hold the single season record for goals after scoring 51 in his rookie campaign. He is currently on pace to break that record as he is averaging 4.22 goals per game, good for second in the nation.
In an article from Inside Lacrosse from his freshman year, O'Keefe credited a fence to his success.
"It served as his own private shot incubator. It still does, to a degree. Mistakes, and there were many, were tangible. The brown wooden fence in Mac O'Keefe's backyard took the brunt of each miss. The fence, which has since been restored, was at one time in shambles. Pocked by white, round blotches and splintered in other areas, O'Keefe's backstop took a beating through the years. The family dog would go in and out because the fence had so many gaping holes in it."
"That fence is where it started. Where the vision and precision began. The moves against imaginary defenders. The perfected lefty release."
COMING UP CLUTCH
Penn State has a clutch performer. It's probably not the first name you think of when it comes to the Nittany Lions offense, but Nick Spillane has established himself as a clutch performer.
When the situation requires it, Spillane is consistently there for his teammates on the offensive side of the field.
Spillane has recorded eight fourth quarter goals.
Let's set the scene for all of them to show the value of Penn State's No. 13.
Against Yale, Penn State trailed 13-8 early in the fourth quarter. Nick Spillane was able to get back-to-back goals to close the game to 13-11, helping ignite a comeback. Though it fell short, it wasn't due to lack of effort.
Against Penn, Spillane was on a different planet in the closing minutes. In a back-and-forth game, it was senior midfielder Nick Spillane who was able to stick the dagger in the back of the net to secure the win for the Blue & White.
Redshirt junior attackman Grant Ament found Spillane with 2:39 left to play in the game, and Spillane took the jump shot that found its way to the back of Penn's net, tying the game at 14-all.
Off the ensuing faceoff, Penn would find itself with the win and possession but redshirt junior Tommy Wright caused a Penn turnover and defensive middie Brian Townsend scooped up the groundball and charged into the Nittany Lions' offensive side of the field. The Nittany Lions called a timeout with 2:18 left of the clock.
Out of the timeout, Penn State was able to get the ball in Spillane's stick, and the senior middie sniped a rocket of a shot that found the back of the cage and gave Penn State the lead with 2:01 left to play, and it was ultimately the game-winner.
Against Cornell, despite having a sizable lead, Cornell clawed back to 14-11 with Cornell scoring the first goal of the fourth. However, Spillane shut down their energy scoring less than a minute later. He added another game-sealing goal in the final minutes.
In the game against Cleveland State, the Viking closed the gap to 12-10 after three straight CSU goals to open the fourth quarter. Again, Spillane said ENOUGH and sniped an unassisted goal that started a 3-0 run for the Nittany Lions go put the game at bay.
Against Maryland, Spillane answered a Maryland goal in the fourth, keeping the Terrapins from gaining any momentum and keeping the Nittany Lions in the lead.
His versatility speaks to his team's attitude of playing together as a group, which head coach Jeff Tambroni emphasizes on a weekly basis with his offense.
"Our offense is set up to take advantage of all six guys," Tambroni said. "The timeliness of his plays has to do with a combination of his ability, maturity and courage. In the Cornell game, he scored a couple of really big goals down the stretch, so I think he recognizes the moment as a veteran player.
"I also think he's courageous enough to make mistakes, and you need to have that senior leadership. If you do, you can be in every game as guys like that have a sense about them, and it is great to see him take a lead role in some of these crucial moments in these games."
JACKS OF ALL TRADES
On Sunday afternoon against Maryland, Jack Kelly and Jack Traynor were the two names that stuck out to most - despite most not knowing who they were.
Sophomore Jack Kelly has been on a quite offensive tear in 2019 after playing just six games in his freshman season due to injury. In 2019, Kelly has 19 goals and two assists. Against Maryland, Kelly scored a team-best three goals and added an assist. It was his sixth multi-goal performance and his fifth hat-trick of the year.
Freshman Jack Traynor has also been sneaky good for the Nittany Lions out of the midfield. The rookie score two goals in the opening quarter against Maryland on Sunday for just his third two-goal game of his career. He currently has a five-game point streak recording at least an assist or a goal dating back to the Penn game. He is shooting 41.2-percent on the year, but more impressively his shot on goal percentage is 76.5-percent. He also recorded his first game-winner against Cornell. His versatility goes beyond the offense though. Against Jacksonville, the middie scooped up an impressive five ground balls.
