Monkey off their backs
Laxers win first season opener since 1995 over Notre Dame

By JOSHUA RHETT MILLER
Collegian Staff Writer

There were no monkeys on the sideline of Holuba Hall amidst the loyal Penn State followers or the travelling Notre Dame faithful, but there sure were enough references to the hairy creatures.

The No. 16 Penn State men's lacrosse team, which had lost its last two season openers to Notre Dame, finally came through with a victory Sunday. The Nittany Lions (1-0) defeated the No. 22 Fighting Irish 13-8 and won their first season opener since 1995.

"It feels so good to get the monkey off our back," goalie Kevin Keenan said. "And the best part of it is we haven't played up to our full potential yet. We played a very good game, but we haven't even come close to what we can do as a team."

The red-faced Keenan with a smile from ear to ear was very excited about his defense and the next couple of games.

"My defense would step in front of a bullet for me," he said. "They played great today and I know they're going to keep it up."

Notre Dame (0-1) began the game strong -- it had a two-goal lead after four minutes of play -- but then became smothered by the Penn State defense. But what really took the fight out of the Irish was Penn State's offense.

Chris Schiller, who had a goal and an assist, was thrilled with the first-game victory.

"This game turned out just the way we wanted it," the midfielder said about the match. "This is a huge step for us, it took the monkey off our back and everything else is downhill from here."

Schiller remembered last year's season-opening 14-9 loss in South Bend, Ind., that had the Lions hanging their heads.

"Last year we lost and we were down for a couple weeks," he said. "But now we're focused, we know what's going on and we're trying to go to the NCAA Tournament for the first time."

Coach Glenn Thiel wanted to keep the win in perspective, after all, it is only the first game.

"Well it's certainly a good start," Thiel said. "But we have some tougher games coming up. But it sure is nice winning the first one to get a little bit of confidence. We were questioning ourselves a little bit in the last couple days of practice about how good we were, but now we're really pleased with where we are."

Defender Chris Schaller, who had an integral part in limiting the number of Notre Dame scoring chances, said although this game was only the first of 12 regular-season matches, it was a must win.

"We really had to win this game," he said. "I know they were ranked behind us, but still, it was a solid win. If we lose this game, we're fighting for the rest of the season to catch up. So it's an excellent way to get the season going because it really gives us momentum going into the tougher games on our schedule."

One of the difficult teams Schaller was referring to is No. 2 Maryland, which Penn State faces March 10 on the road.

Expect to see hard-hitting, fast-paced lacrosse at College Park, Md., but don't look for any monkeys.

They're all gone.