UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State men's lacrosse wraps up the regular season with a game at No. 15 Ohio State on Saturday at 4 p.m. The game will air live on ESPNU.
A win would secure a home game for Penn State in the quarterfinal round of the Big Ten Tournament. The semifinal and championship games of the tournament are already scheduled to be played at Panzer Stadium.
HOW TO FOLLOW
Saturday, April 24 | 4 p.m.
ESPNU | Live Stats
SERIES HISTORY
• Penn State leads 18-6 in the all-time series with Ohio State, including wins in each of the past five meetings.
• The teams first played in 1979. They have played every season since 2003.
• The Lions are 10-2 against the Buckeyes in games played in Columbus,
• TJ Malone had a huge game in a 15-13 win over Ohio State earlier this season, totaling seven points on five goals and two assists. Dylan Foulds scored four goals, and Mac O'Keefe added three.
SCOUTING THE BUCKEYES
• Ohio State is 4-5 and ranked 15th in the nation. The Buckeyes have two wins over Johns Hopkins and two over Michigan.
• The Buckeyes are coming off an 18-8 loss to No. 1 Maryland.
• Ohio State has the highest shot percentage in the Big Ten at .306. It's also the least penalized team in the conference with just nine minutes in nine games.
GAME 9 RECAP
• Mac O'Keefe scored six goals, including the game-winner with three seconds left in overtime to give Penn State a 14-13 win over Michigan on Senior Day.
• O'Keefe's second goal was the 213th of his career, breaking the NCAA Division I record.
• Michigan led 12-8 following a goal with 38 seconds left in the third quarter before Penn State went on a 5-0 run to take a 13-12 lead. Canyon Birch started the run with eight seconds left in the third quarter. TJ Malone, Dan Reaume, O'Keefe, and Dylan Foulds kept it going in the fourth quarter.
• Aleric Fyock made eight saves while playing the final 33:57 of the game. He stopped both shots he faced in overtime.
CAREER HIGHS SET LAST GAME
• Canyon Birch – Goals (2)
• Aleric Fyock – Minutes (33:57), Save % (.571)
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.
• Four of Penn State's five losses came to teams that have been nationally ranked this season.
O'KEEFE SETS NCAA GOALS RECORD
• Mac O'Keefe is the NCAA Division I career goals record holder with 217.
• O'Keefe broke the previous record held by Duke's Justin Guterding, who scored 212 goals in 75 games from 2015-18, with his second goal against Michigan on April 16, 2021.
• O'Keefe's 217 goals have come in 64 games.
O'KEEFE GOAL STREAK
• Mac O'Keefe is first among active players with a 41-game goal-scoring streak.
• O'Keefe has 150 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 (38) and assists (16). He ranks second in goals (22).
• 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.
BIRCH STEPS UP
• Canyon Birch made his season debut two weeks ago and has quickly made an impact.
• The redshirt freshman has tallied three goals and one assist for the two games he played.
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 656. He needs 31 to pass Austin Kaut (2011-14) for third and 58 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 201-100.
• His .668 winning percentage ranks sixth among all active NCAA Division I coaches.
• Tambroni's 92 wins at Penn State are the second-most in program history.
• Tambroni's .605 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.
POSTSEASON SCENARIOS
• Penn State will host a quartfinal round game with a win OR losses by both Johns Hopkins and Michigan this weekend.
UP NEXT
• Penn State will play in the quarterfinal round of the Big Ten Tournament on Saturday, May 1.
• The site and time of that game will be determined by the results this weekend.
