Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 10/5/19
From Press Release
Penn State head coach Jeff Tambroni announced four team captains for the 2020 men’s lacrosse season on Tuesday. Seniors Grant Ament (Haverford School), Nick Cardile (Avon Grove), Mac O’Keefe, and Tommy Wright will all serve as team captains for the Nittany Lions for the first time in their highly-successful collegiate careers.
“Our staff is excited to announce the 2020 Penn State Captains. They are relentless workers, compassionate young men and fierce competitors. We are confident that their daily example will help create an environment in the locker room, on and off the field where success will follow. We are so proud of Grant, Nick, Mac and Tommy as student-athletes and we unequivocally believe that they are fully prepared to lead Team 107 in the 2020 spring season.”
Ament is coming off one of the best seasons by any player in program history, culminating with him becoming the first Penn State player to be named a finalist for the Tewaaraton Award. He was named the NCAA Most Outstanding Attackman, a First Team All-American, and the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year. The awards were racked up after Ament set an NCAA record with 96 assists and a Big Ten record with 129 points. He also set an NCAA Tournament record with 25 points on seven goals and 18 assists in three games.
Cardile anchored the defense for the Nittany Lions and finished the season as an honorable mention All-American. He saved some of his best play for the postseason, earning Big Ten All-Tournament recognition after helping Penn State win its first ever Big Ten Tournament title. He played an integral role as the Lions held Rutgers to just six goals in the semifinal round.
O’Keefe was the top scorer in the nation, leading the NCAA with a Big-Ten record 78 goals and in goals per game at 4.33 and man-up goals with 12. A Second Team All-American and First Team All-Big Ten selection, he added Big Ten Tournament MVP honors after combining for nine goals and three assists in wins over Rutgers and Johns Hopkins. O’Keefe followed that up by tying an NCAA Tournament single-game record with nine goals in a quarterfinal win over Loyola (Md.). He is already Penn State’s career record holder with 164 goals with a whole season left to play.
Wright was an honorable mention All-American while playing in the midfield for the Lions. The redshirt senior was second on the team in groundballs with 44 last season and added 10 caused turnovers. The All-America nod was the first of his career.
Penn State is coming off the best season in program history as it won its first Big Ten regular season title, first Big Ten Tournament title, first win in the NCAA Tournament, and first appearance in the NCAA semifinals. The Lions were the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament and finished the season ranked third in the nation after going 16-2 overall and a perfect 5-0 in the Big Ten.
