UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The sixth-ranked Penn State men's lacrosse team opens the 2021 season on Saturday with a Big Ten game at Rutgers. The game is scheduled for noon at SHI Stadium and will stream on Big Ten Network+.
HOW TO FOLLOW
Saturday, Feb. 20 | Noon
Watch ($)| Live Stats
OPENING NOTES
• Two nationally-ranked teams from the Big Ten square off to open the season as Penn State is ranked sixth in the country and Rutgers is 17th.
• The Lions are playing their first game since a 22-10 win over Furman on March 10, 2020.
• Penn State was picked second in the Big Ten Preseason Coaches Poll, while Rutgers was picked fourth.
SCOUTING THE SCARLET KNIGHTS
• Rutgers went 2-4 in the shortened 2020 season, winning their first two games against Quinnipiac and St. John's before falling to Army West Point, Loyola (Md.), Stony Brook and Princeton.
• Kieran Mullins, Adam Charalambides and Connor Kirst were named Big Ten Players to Watch.
• Brian Brecht is in his 10th season as head coach of the Scarlet Knights and has led the team to a 60-65 record.
SERIES HISTORY
• Penn State trails 24-44 in the all-time series with Rutgers.
• The teams first played in 1946.
• The Lions have won three of the last four games in the series. The last two games were in 2019, when Penn State won the first one to clinch the Big Ten regular season title and then beat Rutgers in the semifinal round of the Big Ten Tournament.
• Penn State is 5-2 against Rutgers under head coach Jeff Tambroni.
FRIENDSHIP CUP
• Penn State and Rutgers will compete in the 20th edition of the Friendship Cup Game. The Lions lead 13-6 in the rivalry matchup.
• The Friendship Cup game is a symbol of the friendship of four friends from Sewanhaka High School on Long Island, who under the leadership of legendary lacrosse coach Bill Ritch learned what it took to play Division I lacrosse. The four went off to college splitting two ways; one pair attending Penn State, and the other heading off to Rutgers.
• The four men dedicated the annual game between their alma maters to three things they hold dear: the idea of lifelong friendship, their old high school, and the close ties that have long existed between the Penn State and Rutgers athletic teams. The founders from Penn State are John Meisel and Vin Tedesco. Rutgers' founding members of the game are John Valestra and Ronald Yurcak.
PENN STATE PICKED SECOND IN BIG TEN PRESEASON COACHES POLL
• Penn State was picked to finish second in the Big Ten this season in a vote of the league's six head coaches.
• Maryland was tabbed as the league's preseason favorite. Rounding out the poll in third through sixth were Ohio State, Rutgers, Johns Hopkins and Michigan.
THREE LIONS NAMED BIG TEN PLAYERS TO WATCH
• Three Penn State players – Nick Cardile, Mac O'Keefe and Jack Traynor – were named Players to Watch in the Big Ten.
• The three players represent three different parts of the Penn State lineup with Cardile on defense, O'Keefe at attack and Traynor in the midfield.
O'KEEFE NEARING NCAA GOALS RECORD
• Mac O'Keefe needs 21 goals to become the NCAA's all-time career goals leader.
• The record is currently held by Duke's Justin Guterding, who scored 212 goals in 75 games from 2015-18.
• O'Keefe's 192 goals have come in 55 games.
TAMBRONI CLOSING IN ON MILESTONE
• Penn State head coach Jeff Tambroni needs just two more wins to reach the 200-win milestone for his career.
• Tambroni totaled 89 wins in his first 10 seasons at Penn State and had 109 victories in his 10 seasons as the head coach of Cornell.
• Tambroni ranks second in Penn State history with 89 wins and first in win percentage (.622).
UP NEXT
• Penn State hosts Maryland on Friday, Feb. 26 at Panzer Stadium. The game will air live on Big Ten Network.