UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – No. 14 Penn State men's lacrosse is set to play a nationally-ranked team from the Big Ten for the third-straight game when it hosts No. 12 Ohio State on Saturday at Panzer Stadium. The game is scheduled for noon and will stream on Big Ten Network+.
HOW TO FOLLOW
Saturday, March 6 | Noon
Watch | Live Stats
SERIES HISTORY
• Penn State leads 17-6 in the all-time series with Ohio State, including wins in each of the past four meetings.
• The teams first played in 1979. They have played every season since 2003.
• The Lions are 8-4 against the Buckeyes in games played in State College, including the most recent meeting in 2019. They won that game 13-8.
• Mac O'Keefe and Cole Willard scored three goals apiece in the 2019 win over the Buckeyes. Nick Cardile had three ground balls and three caused turnovers. Colby Kneese made 14 saves on 22 chances.
SCOUTING THE BUCKEYES
• Ohio State is 1-1 with a 14-8 road win over Johns Hopkins and a 22-12 loss at home to Rutgers.
• Griffin Hughes leads the team with nine points on eight goals and one assist. Jack Myers has eight points on five goals and three assists.
• The Buckeyes have the best shot percentage (.382) in the Big Ten with 26 goals on 68 shots.
ARCERI GETTING INTO FORM
• Like all the faceoff specialists in the country this season, Gerard Arceri is still getting used to the new NCAA faceoff rules.
• Arceri went 50 percent on faceoffs in the season opener against Rutgers, but the two-time All-American expects better.
• He met those expectations in the next game, going 17-24 against Maryland. He now ranks first in the Big Ten in faceoff percentage (.647, 22-34).
RUNNING INTO BRICK WALLS
• Whether it's solid play by the opponents' goalies, the shot quality from Penn State, or a mixture of both, the Lions have ran into two outstanding goalie performances in their first two games of the season.
• Rutgers' Colin Kirst made 15 saves on 24 chances in the season opener, while Maryland's Logan McNaney stopped 16 of the 23 shots he face in the second game.
• McNaney and Kirst now rank first and second in the Big Ten in save percentage.
PENN STATE VS. BIG TEN
• Penn State is 54-102 (.346) all-time against current members of the Big Ten. The Lions are 23-17 (.575) against those same teams during head coach Jeff Tambroni's 11 seasons with the team.
• The Lions are 14-13 in Big Ten regular season games since the league added lacrosse in 2015. They have winning records in league play over Michigan, Ohio State and Rutgers.
PANZER STADIUM SUCCESS
• Penn State opened Panzer Stadium with a 15-14 win over Penn on March 2, 2019. Grant Ament assisted on Nick Spillane's game-winning goal with 2:39 left.
• The Lions are 7-2 at Panzer Stadium.
BIG WINS DURING TAMBRONI ERA
• Penn State has 11 wins all-time against opponents ranked in the top five nationally, and seven of those wins have come during head coach Jeff Tambroni's 11 seasons with the team.
• During the Tambroni era, Penn State has one win over a top-ranked team, one win over a second-ranked team, two wins over third-ranked teams, one win over a fourth-ranked team and two wins over fifth-ranked teams.
• Three of the Lions' wins over top-five teams under Tambroni came against Big Ten teams, with the most recent coming over No. 3 Maryland in 2019.
O'KEEFE NEARING NCAA GOALS RECORD
• Mac O'Keefe needs 19 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 194 goals have come in 56 games.
O'KEEFE GOAL STREAK
• Mac O'Keefe is second among active players with a 34-game goal-scoring streak.
• O'Keefe ranks first amongst players that played their entire career in Division I.
• O'Keefe has 127 goals during that stretch.
• The last game O'Keefe didn't score a goal was in a 9-7 loss to Cornell on March 10, 2018.
TAMBRONI CLOSING IN ON MILESTONE
• Jeff Tambroni, who is in his 21st season as a head coach, is 198-96.
• His .673 winning percentage ranks sixth among all active NCAA Division I coaches.
• Tambroni's 89 wins at Penn State are the second-most in program history.
• Tambroni's .615 winning percentage at Penn State is easily the best in program history. Glenn Thiel is second at .559.
UP NEXT
• Penn State continues its Big Ten only schedule with a game at No. 20 Johns Hopkins on Saturday, March 13. The game will air on ESPNU.
• The Blue Jays are 1-1 with a loss to Ohio State and a win over Michigan.
• Johns Hopkins plays at Maryland on Saturday at 1 p.m.
