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Unprecedented Nine Nittany Lions Earn All-America Honors

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men's lacrosse team made program history on Thursday afternoon when an unprecedented nine student-athletes were honored by the United State Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association as 2019 All-Americans.

Redshirt junior Grant Ament and senior Chris Sabia were named USILA First Team All-America, senior Nick Spillane and junior Mac O'Keefe were named USILA Second Team All-America, and junior Gerard Arceri and sophomore Jack Kelly both earned a place on the USILA Third Team All-America. Redshirt junior Tommy Wright, along with junior Nick Cardile and Colby Kneese, all were named USILA All-America Honorable Mention.

Ament was also named the 2019 LT. COL. J.I.(Jack) Turnbull Award Outstanding Attackman.

The Nittany Lions, who have a 16-1 record heading into the NCAA Semifinal on Saturday, last had multiple student-athletes earn a spot on the top three teams in 1943 when three were honored.

Prior to 2019, Penn State has only had two first team honorees in George Ritter (1940) and Austin Kaut (2013). The most student-athletes the Penn State program had previously seen honored was in 2017 when five were named honorable mention recipients.

Entering the final weekend of the season, Ament, a product of Doylestown, Pa., has racked up a NCAA single-season record 91 assists while adding 27 goals for a team-high and Penn State record 118 points. He has also added 20 ground balls and one caused turnover. He was named a 2019 Tewaaraton finalist and the unanimous Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year. This is Ament's second USILA selection as he was an honorable mention All-American in 2017.


Sabia, a native of Harleysville, Pa., was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year in 2019. He has accumulated 37 ground balls and a team-high 18 caused turnovers in his role as the Nittany Lions No. 1 lock-down defender. Sabia has also added two goals to his total stat line. This is Sabia's third USILA honor as he was an honorable mention selection in 2017 and 2018.


Spillane earns his first career USILA All-America nod after leading the Nittany Lions' high-powered and deep midfield unit this season. The native of Franklin Square, N.Y., is fifth on the team in points with 48, a career best. He has scored 26 goals, added 22 assists, scooped up 23 ground balls and caused a career-high five turnovers.


O'Keefe earns his third-straight USILA recognition after being named an honorable mention selection in his first two seasons as a Nittany Lion. The native of Syosset, N.Y., has established himself as one of the best shooters in the game. He has scored a Big Ten and Penn State record 75 goals this season, while adding a personal-best 18 assists. He has also caused eight turnovers and scooped up 25 ground balls. He has scored four game-winners for the Blue & White and added 12 man-up goals. His 75 goals lead the nation.


Arceri earned his second-straight USILA Third Team selection after winning 265 face-offs so far this season on a clip of .632. He has also scooped up 178 ground balls and recorded a career-high-tying seven points with five goals and two assists.


Kelly earned his first All-America honor after a brilliant season. The native of Scarborough, Ontario has scored 40 goals this season in just 14 games and on a 52.6-shooting percentage. He has scored four man-up goals and added 13 ground balls.

Wright, Cardile and Kneese all earned their first All-America honors


Wright, a native of Garden City, N.Y., is tied for second on the team at 37 ground balls as a long stick midfielder. He has also added nine caused turnovers.

Cardile, a native of Avon Grove, Pa., is also tied for second with 37 ground balls and has caused 17 turnovers, just one behind the team's leader, Sabia. Cardile has also added one goal and two assists this year.

Kneese, a native of Dallas, Texas, has a 16-1 record in cage this season, with 16 wins being the program record for a goalie. He has recorded a personal-best 176 saves on a 52.4-save percentage. He has also added 29 ground balls.

Penn State heads to Philadelphia for a Saturday NCAA Semifinal match-up with No. 5-seed Yale at 2:30 p.m. in Lincoln Financial Stadium.