UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Colby Kneese stopped 12 shots on 14 chances to lead No. 2 Penn State to a 19-4 win over Saint Joseph's in non-conference men's lacrosse action Saturday at Panzer Stadium. The Lions stayed unbeaten at 3-0, while the Hawks dropped to 1-1.
Mac O'Keefe scored six goals for the Lions, four of which came off assists from Grant Ament. Ament finished with six assists and one goal, while TJ Malone tallied three assists and one goal.
Eleven Penn State players scored in the game. Kevin Hill and Seamus Glynn each had a pair of goals. Chipping in with one each were Dylan Foulds, Jack Kelly, Jack Traynor, Barrett Sutley, Jake Glatz and Joe White.
White finished with a pair of assists, while Foulds and Cole Willard contributed one apiece.
Penn State's defense turned in its best performance of the year and did so while facing the most pressure it has seen all season. The faceoffs were nearly even with a 14-13 advantage for the Lions. Kneese's play in net along with 22 forced turnovers led to the success.
Nick Cardile caused two of those turnovers and picked up two ground balls. O'Keefe, Brayden Peck, Mitch Schaefer, Nate Buller and Tommy Wright each caused one turnover. Wright, Sam Sweeney and Aleric Fyock each tallied three ground balls.
Glatz turned in a solid performance on faceoffs, going 7-for-11. His goal was his first of the season and came late in the fourth quarter.
The Penn State defense allowed just one goal on four man-down situations. The Lions held the Hawks scoreless on their first three extra-man chances before they scored on one with 5:25 left in the game.
Penn State silenced a lot of the questions about slow starts in their first two games, jumping out to a 9-1 lead at the half. Saint Joseph's scored the first goal 2:14 into the game, but the Lions responded by scoring the next 10, the first coming from O'Keefe with 10:16 to play in the first quarter and the 10th coming from Foulds with 12:05 to play in the third. Both were assisted by Ament.
Meanwhile, Kneese and the Lions' defensive unit were putting on a clinic. They held the Hawks scoreless for a span of 35 minutes, 25 seconds starting early in the first quarter and ending early in the third.
The four goals were the fewest allowed by the Lions since a 17-4 win at Stony Brook on Feb. 16, 2019. It was the fewest they have allowed in the seven games played at Panzer Stadium and their fewest allowed in any home game since a 9-4 win over Ohio State at the Penn State Lacrosse Field on April 2, 2017.
The solid Penn State defensive effort came against a Saint Joseph's team that scored 15 goals in a win over St. Bonaventure in its season opener.
The Lions now turn their attention to a big early-season non-conference game against No. 3 Yale on Saturday at noon. The game, which is a rematch of last year's NCAA Semifinal, will air live on the Big Ten Network. The Bulldogs are 1-0 after opening the season with an 18-12 win at Villanova.