Blue White Illustrated

G reat seasons like the one that the Penn State men's lacrosse team enjoyed last year don't just happen. They're the result of any number of variables coming to- gether in exactly the right way. One of those variables is team chem- istry. A year ago, the Nittany Lions boasted a contingent of highly produc- tive seniors headlined by All-Americans Chris Sabia and Nick Spillane, and they also had a group of equally productive underclassmen who were determined to send the senior class out in a blaze of glory. They didn't quite achieve their ul- timate goal of winning a national cham- pionship, but they got a lot closer than any team in school history, claiming the Big Ten regular-season and tournament titles for the first time ever and reaching the NCAA semifinals, where they fell to Yale, 21-17. Now, with the 2020 season under way, several of those former underclassmen are in the midst of their final campaign and are looking for the same sort of dy- namic to kick in again and keep the Nit- tany Lions in contention for the national crown. "Last year was an awesome year," said attackman Mac O'Keefe, who won sec- ond-team All-America honors and was the Big Ten tourney MVP as a junior in 2019. "Obviously, we didn't finish how we would have liked to, but I think it really sparked something for the seniors. Seeing the seniors who graduated last year, all the emotion they had, we didn't want to let them down. I think that's the view that the guys on our [2020] team have. They don't want to let us down. It's top-down. We're going to try to lead them as best we can. I think we've done a good job of that so far. As the year goes on, guys are going to accept some roles, some younger guys, and hopefully that will help us out in the future." The Lions opened their season ranked first in the Nike/US Lacrosse Division I poll and second in the United States In- tercollegiate Lacrosse Association coaches poll. Despite getting off to a cou- ple of slow starts, they won their first three games handily, defeating Lafayette (16-9), Villanova (19-10) and St. Joseph's (19-4), before running into Yale again. The Bulldogs topped Penn State twice last year, winning an early-season matchup in New Haven, Conn., 14-13, then capitaliz- ing on an early scoring flurry in the NCAA semifinals to advance to the champi- onship game. This year's matchup took place in the more friendly confines of Panzer Stadium, but Penn State still wasn't able to defeat the third-ranked Bulldogs. The Lions fell behind early and trailed 7-3 in the third quarter before scoring three in a row to trim the deficit to one goal. Senior Grant Ament spearheaded the rally, assisting on the first two goals and scoring the third himself. The offensive binge lifted his ca- reer point total to 267, eclipsing a Big Ten record that had been held by Terry Rior- dan of Johns Hopkins, who amassed 266 points from 1992-95. But it wasn't enough to lift the Lions over their Ivy League nemesis. Early in the fourth quarter, Penn State appeared to have tied the score, but the goal was nul- lified by an offside penalty. Yale scored 34 seconds later and went on to win, 13-10. It was a disappointing result against an opponent that has had their number lately, but the Nittany Lions bounced FORMULA FOR SUCCESS Team chemistry is a key part of the men's lacrosse team's rise to title contention | VARSITY VIEWS MEN'S LACROSSE Sabia selected 15th in PLL expansion draft Former Penn State standout Chris Sabia has a new team in the Premier Lacrosse League. The defenseman was selected by the Waterdogs with the 15th pick in the league's expansion dra< on Feb. 13. Sabia played nine games for the Chrome last season, totaling 11 ground balls and ;ve caused turnovers. He played in the inaugural season of the PLL a

• Cover