UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – No. 19 Penn State men's lacrosse is set for a matchup of two nationally-ranked teams from the Big Ten on Saturday as the Lions travel to take on No. 3 Maryland at 1 p.m.
The game will be played at Capital One Field at Maryland Stadium and will stream on Big Ten Network+.
Penn State is 2-4 following an 11-8 win over then-No. 17 Johns Hopkins in its most recent game. Both the Lions wins this season came against teams that were nationally ranked at the time of the game. Maryland sits in first place in the Big Ten Standings at 6-0 after a 13-9 win over second-place Rutgers last weekend.
HOW TO FOLLOW
Saturday, April 3 | 1 p.m.
Watch ($) | Live Stats
SERIES HISTORY
• Penn State trails 41-3 in the all-time series with Maryland but the teams split the most recent two matchups. The Lions won in 2019, while the Terrapins won earlier this season.
• The teams first played in 1916.
• Penn State trailed by just one goal, 5-4, at the half of the first meeting between the teams this season, but Maryland pulled away with a 4-1 advantage in the third quarter. Seven players scored for the Nittany Lions, while Sutton Boland had five ground balls.
SCOUTING THE TERRAPINS
• Maryland is ranked third in the country and holds a two-game lead in the Big Ten standings with an unbeaten 6-0 record.
• The Terrapins ranks first in the nation in assists/game (10.67) and shot percentage (.399).
• Jared Bernhardt ranks first in the Big Ten and sixth in the nation in points/game (5.83), while Logan Wisnauskas ranks second in the conference and 11th nationally at 5.50.
GAME 6 RECAP
• Penn State added another one to the win column with an 11-8 victory over then-No. 17 Johns Hopkins at Panzer Stadiun. The win was the 200th of head coach Jeff Tambroni's career.
• The Lions received big-time performances in every aspect of the game. Mac O'Keefe led the offense with four goals and one assist, Nick Cardile led the defense with three ground balls and three caused turnovers, and Colby Kneese came up huge in goal with 15 saves on 23 chances. They were named the Big Ten Offensive Player, Defensive Player, and Specialist of the Week, respectively.
• Gerard Arceri may have been Kneese's top competition for Specialist of the Week. He went 15-19 on faceoffs. Jake Glatz was 3-4 at the x.
• The game was tied 8-8 with 12:52 to play. O'Keefe scored the go-ahead goal with 9:55 left on the clock and then made it a two-goal game with 4:42 remaining.
LOADED BIG TEN
• Playing only Big Ten teams this season has provided a challenge for all six programs in the conference. Five of the six teams have appeared in the USILA Poll at some point this season, while the sixth team has received votes.
• Three of Penn State's four losses came to teams that were nationally ranked at the time, while both of the team's wins came over teams that were nationally ranked at the time.
PENN STATE ON TV
• Penn State still has two TV games left on its schedule, including one on ESPNU (Ohio State – April 24) and one on Big Ten Network (Michigan – April 16).
• In total this regular season, five of the Lions' 10 games will be/were on TV, including three on ESPNU and two on Big Ten Network.
O'KEEFE NEARING NCAA GOALS RECORD
• Mac O'Keefe needs seven goals to become the NCAA's all-time career leader.
• The record is currently held by Duke's Justin Guterding, who scored 212 goals in 75 games from 2015-18.
• O'Keefe needs one goal to pass Zack Greer (Duke, 2005-08) for second on the list.
• O'Keefe's 206 goals have come in 61 games.
O'KEEFE GOAL STREAK
• Mac O'Keefe is first among active players with a 38-game goal-scoring streak.
• O'Keefe has 139 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.
MALONE LEADS THE OFFENSE
• T.J. Malone has established himself as one of the leaders on the offensive end for Penn State in his junior season.
• He currently leads the team in points (24), goals (14) and assists (10).
• Malone picked up right where he left off in the shortened 2020 season, in which he had 23 points on 16 goals and seven assists in seven games. As a freshman in 2019, he totaled 36 points on 30 goals and six assists.
PENN STATE VS. BIG TEN
• Penn State is 56-104 (.350) all-time against current members of the Big Ten. The Lions are 26-19 (.568) against those same teams during head coach Jeff Tambroni's 11 seasons with the team.
• The Lions are 16-15 (.516) 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.
KNEESE REACHES SAVES MILESTONE
• Colby Kneese made his 600th career save during Penn State's game at Johns Hopkins on March 13.
• Kneese currently ranks third in program history in career saves with 636. He needs 51 to pass Austin Kaut (2011-14) for third and 70 to pass Drew Adams (2006-09) for the record.
TAMBRONI REACHES MILESTONE
• Jeff Tambroni, who is in his 21st season as a head coach, is 200-98.
• His .671 winning percentage ranks sixth among all active NCAA Division I coaches.
• Tambroni's 91 wins at Penn State are the second-most in program history.
• Tambroni's .610 winning percentage at Penn State is easily the best in program history. Glenn Thiel is second at .559.
• Tambroni has had just one losing season in his 20 completed seasons as head coach.
UP NEXT
• Penn State hosts No. 8 Rutgers at noon on April 10.
• The Scarlet Knights are 4-2 following a 13-9 loss to No. 3 Maryland in its most recent game. Both of the team's losses this season came to the Terrapins.
