UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State men's lacrosse earned three weekly awards from the Big Ten on Tuesday thanks to standout performances in the team's 11-8 win over then-No. 17 Johns Hopkins on Saturday. Mac O'Keefe was named the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week, Nick Cardile was tabbed as the Defensive Player of the Week, and Colby Kneese was selected as the Specialist of the Week.
O'Keefe was firing on all cylinders offensively for the Nittany Lions on his way to four goals and one assist. It wasn't just the total number of goals that helped O'Keefe win the award this week but also the importance of each one. His first score gave the Lions their first lead of the game at 2-1, the second tied the game at 3-3 still in the first quarter, and the final two helped secure the victory. With the score tied at 8-8, O'Keefe found the back of the net off an assist from Jackson Reynolds with 9:55 left on the clock. He then put his team up by two with another goal, this time with an assist from Dylan Foulds, with 4:42 to play.
Cardile led a Penn State defensive effort that held the team's opponent to single-digit goals for the first time this season. He had three of the team's seven caused turnovers and added three ground balls. Johns Hopkins turned the ball over 14 times in the game. Cardile had two caused turnovers and one ground ball in the final 1:04 of the game as the Blue Jays were attempting to make a comeback.
Kneese had his best game of the season, making 15 saves on 23 chances for a .652 save percentage. He stopped five shots in the pivotal fourth quarter, including two in less than a minute with the Lions holding a one-goal lead midway through the quarter. Kneese now has 636 saves in his career, which ranks third in program history.
Penn State jumped back into the national rankings at No. 19 thanks to the win. The Lions now turn their attention to a game at No. 3 Maryland on Saturday at 1 p.m.
