Penn State's No. 1 men's lacrosse team coasted through its opening round game of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday afternoon. The Lions' offensive might was simply too much for UMBC to handle as Penn State put together an impressive 25-10 onslaught victory in Panzer Stadium to advance to the quarterfinal round to be played on Sunday, May 19 in East Hartford, Connecticut. The win marked the first NCAA Tournament victory in the history of the Penn State men's lacrosse program. The Nittany Lions were paced by sophomore Jack Kelly and junior Mac O'Keefe who each contributed six goals in the winning effort. All six of Kelly's goals came in the first half. He also had an assist to give him a career-high in single-game goals and points. O'Keefe also had an assist in the contest and set a new Big Ten record for total single-season goals with his second score if the game, passing the previous mark of 61 set by Johns Hopkins' Ryan Brown in 2015. Redshirt junior Dylan Foulds added four goals and three assists for PSU, both career bests, as redshirt junior Grant Ament had three goals and five assists in the blowout. Senior Nick Spillane added a goal and two assists and redshirt freshman Dan Reaume had a goal and assist in the victory. Sophomore Jake Glantz, freshman TJ Malone, freshman Jack Traynor and sophomore Cole Willard each found the net once in the win. Junior Gerard Arceri was another force for the Lions as he went 25-for-27 in face-offs, tying his career-high of 25. Arceri's face-off prowess was instrumental in helping Penn State's offense pounce early while keeping up a feverish scoring pace throughout the initial goings of the game. Arceri's performance set a new career-high mark for ground balls won in the first half with 22 as he ended the game with 24. Penn State held advantages in shots (43 to 28), face-offs won (34 to 4) and ground balls (54 to 24). Defensively, the Lions simply did not allow the Retrievers to find much of an offensive rhythm as they held the UMBC offense to a mere four goals in the second half. Junior goalie Colby Kneese recorded five saves in 47:22 of play for Penn State as he moved to 15-1 on the season. Senior Trevor Scollins grabbed four saves over 12:38 in net. Next up, the No. 1 seed Nittany Lions advance to the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history as they will face No. 8 seed Loyola University of Maryland. Loyola defeated Syracuse in the opening round 15-13. The game will take place at Rentschler Field on the UConn campus in East Hartford, Connecticut on Sunday, May 19 with a start time of either 12:00 p.m. or 2:30 p.m. The game is scheduled to be broadcast on ESPNU.<doc-sep>Penn State men’s lacrosse team won its first NCAA tournament game in program history by beating UMBC, and the contest doubled as a victory for the university’s football program as well. Warwick offensive lineman Nolan Rucci, who is PennLive’s No. 3 player in the state for that cycle and one of the top juniors-to-be in the country, was in town for an unofficial visit along with his family to see head coach Jeff Tambroni’s team win. James Franklin, Matt Limegrover, and Brent Pry, and Ricky Rahne stopped in to enjoy the game and see the family and game as well. A 6-foot-8, 266-pound prospect, Rucci will one day decide between the Lions, Michigan, Notre Dame, and others including Wisconsin, where his brother Hayden currently plays. “Rucci has all the makings of an elite left tackle, and has probably been one of the hottest prospects in this class in the eyes of recruiters mid-to-late fall,” PennLive’s Brian Linder writes, "and, in two years, he may be at the top of these rankings. "As is, he’s long and moves extremely well for his size. He’s lean, but, according to his mother, added 30 pounds since the spring. He’ll keep adding mass to his frame over the next two years, and should close out his time at Warwick as a massive guy.” Great win today for @PennStateMLAX Thanks @coachjfranklin for coming by and sitting through the rain! #WeAre 🔵⚪️ pic.twitter.com/RDe86NXUJI — Nolan Rucci (@nolanrucci) May 12, 2019 Penn State currently has just one Class of 2021 commit, as Maryland four-star receiver Dont’e Thornton picked the school back in February. The Lions are chasing a few other Keystone State recruits in that cycle, but one, four-star St. Joe’s Prep quarterback Kyle McCord, is already off the board, as he picked Ohio State recently. Teammate Marvin Harrison Jr., a four-star receiver, is likely to do the same. It leaves Penn State aiming to land Pittsburgh five-star defensive lineman Elliott Donald and four-star Gateway corner Derrick Davis along with Rucci in the Class of 2021.<doc-sep>Art Athens — a professional speaker and former United States Marine — visited and spoke to the Penn State men's lacrosse team earlier this spring about short-term and long-term focus, about maintaining daily discipline while never losing sight of what lies ahead. The Nittany Lions, now the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament, took that message to heart. MLAX TOURNEY: Press release | Interactive bracket | Printable bracket "The chance to win a national championship, the chance to be in a Final Four, the chance to win a playoff game, the chance to win a conference championship — it's important to remind yourself the direction that you're going," Penn State head coach Jeff Tambroni said Wednesday afternoon. "It's deep down inside holding that vision, and just saying, 'Man, if we do this on a daily basis, anything is possible.'" Four wins away from the program's first-ever national title, Tambroni's Nittany Lions have acted on that idea —that anything is possible. PENN STATE WINS!!!!!!!!!!! TJ MALONE FINDS MVP MAC O'KEEFE FOR THE SCORE!!!!!! 18-17 for the win!!!! pic.twitter.com/UMzSmH57IR — Penn State Men’s Lacrosse (@PennStateMLAX) May 5, 2019 Penn State (14-1) is in the midst of a stellar season. The Nittany Lions blew through the Big Ten slate, capturing their first regular-season conference crown before securing the B1G tournament title over the weekend. Trailing Johns Hopkins at halftime in the championship tilt, Penn State rallied, and it was Mac O'Keefe's overtime snipe that sent the Nittany Lions into delirious celebration at HighPoint.com Stadium. The Nittany Lions' first goal -- winning their first Big Ten title -- is in the bag. Next up is capturing the program's first NCAA tournament win, which could come against either Marist (10-6) or UMBC (6-8). The two sides play Wednesday night for the right to face Penn State's No. 1-ranked scoring offense Sunday afternoon at Panzer Stadium. Should the Nittany Lions advance, they'll face the winner of No. 8-seeded Loyola and Syracuse the following Sunday in Connecticut. HISTORY: Upset still resonates for 1975 Morgan State | Memorable championship moments Penn State isn't looking past Marist or UMBC. But everyone in the East Area Locker Rooms, from Tambroni to O'Keefe, is confident in the Nittany Lions' chances to reach the Final Four in Philadelphia and make program history. "Going into the summer, we all had the same mindset of wanting to start something special here. We had the pieces to do that," O'Keefe said. "And everyone came back ready to go." That mentality translated to the turf from the get-go. The Nittany Lions won their first three games of the regular season by a combined 61-21. In a dominant victory over Robert Morris, Penn State set a single-game program record for goals scored (27). O'Keefe guided the Nittany Lions' offense with five goals, getting off to a fast start to an eventual historic season. The junior has netted 60 goals this year, the first player to do so in program history. His real name is 𝑴𝒂𝒄-𝑨𝑰𝑹 https://t.co/9i6fGIf9KY — Penn State Men’s Lacrosse (@PennStateMLAX) May 8, 2019 However, following that three-game winning spurt to open the campaign, Penn State lost its first and only contest: Away at Yale. The Bulldogs, now the No. 5 seed in the NCAA tournament, triumphed 14-13 after Penn State mounted a late comeback. "That was probably our best learning experience throughout the course of the year," Tambroni said. "Taking our team on the road in a challenging environment, being down several goals, finding a way to come back and losing a disappointing game, we got back on the bus and our coaching staff felt like, 'OK, this was a good test for our team.' We were proud of the way we competed, and we could build off of it." BRACKET TAKEAWAYS: Yale's path to defending its title won't be easy The coach added that the team leaders -- O'Keefe, Grant Ament, Nick Spillane and more -- were back in the building two days later, making sure the Nittany Lions were "still pointing in the right direction." They were. Penn State hasn't lost since. From March 2 to this past weekend, the Nittany Lions have won 11 straight and established themselves as the top offensive power in college lacrosse. As a team, Penn State averages 17.33 goals per game and 10.47 assists per game, both of which ranks No. 1 in the country. TOURNEY TIME: 3 can’t-miss men’s lacrosse games in the first round of the NCAA DI tournament That effort is spearheaded by Ament and O'Keefe, who rank first and sixth nationally in points per game, respectively. Ament's 78 assists -- a single-season NCAA record -- play a significant factor in that tally. But it's not just O'Keefe and Ament getting the job done. Ament said teams have tried to key in on O'Keefe and take the goalscorer out of rhythm. But that leaves openings for Dylan Foulds (42 points), Spillane (41), Jack Kelly (37) and TJ Malone (35). "We wouldn't be where we are without those guys," O'Keefe added. 𝑻𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒐𝒏 𝒔𝒂𝒍𝒆 𝑵𝑶𝑾 We will host at 12 p.m. on Sunday, May 12. Our opponent will be the winner of UMBC & Marist. 🎟: https://t.co/bxvoE68cho pic.twitter.com/qnQ4VRi9Bp — Penn State Men’s Lacrosse (@PennStateMLAX) May 6, 2019 Thanks to O'Keefe, Ament and company, the Nittany Lions are realistically eying a trip to the Final Four. And after a conference slate full of firsts, Penn State is within reach of attaining more postseason goals. MORE LACROSSE: Rankings | Stats "This is uncharted territory. It's not like we've been here before," Tambroni said. "But they're more comfortable now with the unknown than any team I've ever been around. There's a consensus of belief, whether they've seen it or not." Added Ament: "And I don't think we've played a perfect game yet." This article is written by John McGonigal from Centre Daily Times and was legally licensed via the Tribune Content Agency through the NewsCred publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to legal@newscred.com.<doc-sep>
Penn State lacrosse notched another breakthrough in a season littered with firsts, records, and stars. The top-ranked Nittany Lions cruised past UMBC, 25-10, at Panzer Stadium on Sunday to record their first-ever NCAA tournament win in program history. "It will be nice not to hear people talking about Penn State never winning a playoff game," Penn State coach Jeff Tambroni said. "To get over the hump like this… it's special." "Today was huge for us to get that first program win, good for our history and everything," midfielder Jack Kelly, who has become a crucial element of the Nittany Lions' offense, said. "But we have bigger goals. Back to business." The rainy weather, just like the Retriever's defense, didn't slow down the Nittany Lions' offense much. Mac O'Keefe and Jack Kelly led the team with six goals each. Grant Ament, a Tewaaraton Award finalist, recorded a game-high eight points on three goals and five assists. The total offensive effort put the Nittany Lions three goals shy of the single-game program record. "They do such a good job of sharing the ball and being unselfish," UMBC coach Ryan Morgan said. "All the guys can attack from any spot." The leading man in the win was the Nittany Lions' faceoff specialist, Gerard Arceri. The junior dominated the various opponents UMBC threw at him, winning 25 of his 27 attempts. Sophomore backup Jake Glatz also dominated, winning 9 of his 11 faceoffs. "We were playing way too much defense to be competitive against a team like that," Morgan said. "Winning 4 out of 38 faceoffs, it's going to be tough against no matter who you're playing. Especially against a team that's as talented as they are." Penn State had the advantage over a UMBC team that had little time to prepare for the nation's best team after winning its play-in game over Marist on Wednesday. But with the kind of day Penn State's faceoff specialists had, it's hard to think that anything would have been different with more preparation. "I think the work at practice has really translated to the game," Arceri said. "Our game plan was really strong... The one-on-one battle was really key for me." The Nittany Lions have a tough road ahead, with championship contenders in Loyola and potentially the reigning national champions in Yale awaiting them. Penn State's only loss of the season came against the Bulldogs, and the possible rematch would be a must-watch. First, the Nittany Lions are going to be sure to appreciate this win, and then quickly move on to preparing for Loyola Maryland, who Penn State will face next Sunday at a time to be determined. “I’m excited,” Tambroni said. “You certainly don’t want to take it for granted because the trail has been so long. It’s fun to be a part of it.”