UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Six Penn State players were named Inside Lacrosse Preseason All-Americans on Tuesday, led by senior Grant Ament on the first team. He was joined by senior Mac O'Keefe on the second team and senior Nick Cardile, senior Colby Kneese, senior Gerard Arceri and junior Jack Kelly on the third team.
All six players were honored as All-Americans by the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association at the end of last season.
Ament, a 2019 Tewaaraton Award finalist and the Lt. Col. J.I. (Jack) Turnbull Outstanding Attackman Award winner, returns for his final season at Penn State looking to lead the team to another record-setting season. He already ranks first in program history with 160 assists and is second with 240 points. He set NCAA and Big Ten records last season with 96 assists and 5.65 assists/game. He also set a Big Ten record with 126 points.
O'Keefe was also a record setter for the Nittany Lions last season. He holds the top two goal-scoring seasons in program history with 78 as a junior and 51 as a freshman and is already the school's top goal scorer all-time with 164. He ranks third in program history with 198 points. O'Keefe was a second team All-American and the Big Ten Tournament MVP last season.
Cardile earned honorable mention All-America status last year and also landed a spot on the Big Ten All-Tournament Team. He was a two-time Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week. Cardile started all 18 games during the team's best season in program history, finishing with 40 ground balls, 22 caused turnovers and three points on one goal and two assists. He registered double-digit ground balls 13 times.
Kneese was also an honorable mention All-America honoree after an outstanding season in goal last year. He earned his second All-Big Ten honor and added a Big Ten All-Tournament Team award. Kneese ranks eighth in program history with 497 career saves, including 185 with a .505 save percentage last season.
Kelly had a breakout season as a sophomore last year, earning third team All-America recognition after totaling 51 points on 42 goals and nine assists in the 15 games that he played. He finished sixth in the Big Ten and 24th in the nation in goals per game (2.80) and ranked third nationally in shot percentage (.538). Kelly played a key role in the team's man-up offense, scoring five goals, which ranked seventh in the Big Ten.
Arceri has been one of the top faceoff performers in the country during his career, earning All-America honors in each of the past three seasons. He was a third team honoree last year after going 278-456 on faceoffs and adding 187 ground balls. Arceri was the 2018 Big Ten Specialist of the Year and is a two-time All-Big Ten selection. He holds the Penn State record for faceoffs won (690).
Inside Lacrosse ranked Penn State second in their Yearbook Top 20.
The Lions open the 2020 season at home with a non-conference matchup against Lafayette on Saturday, Feb. 1, at noon.
