Penn State men's lacrosse coach Glenn Thiel has one of those tough decisions that every coach wishes they actually had.

With his team's first game with Notre Dame just over a week away, Thiel has to pick which one of his two stellar goalies will get the starting job.

Senior Matt Vallone finished last season as the team's starter. Vallone's large frame—standing 6 feet 4 inches tall and weighing 219 pounds—has enabled him to compile an impressive 80.6 save percentage over the course of his career.

Sophomore Chris Garrity made the most of his playing time last season by posting a respectable 63.4 save percentage in 10 games. ECAC coaches took notice by voting Garrity to the all-conference second team.

Garrity has been selected the ECAC's preseason all-conference first-team goalie this season.

"It's nice that they're both talented, but it's a tough decision on who to play," Thiel said. "We might just have to flip a coin."

Thiel said Vallone currently has the inside track to the top spot but admitted the situation could change any day.

"It's just a matter of who's playing well at that particular moment," Thiel said. "But he (Vallone) has played the best so far in the preseason."

Vallone said anything shy of an NCAA tournament berth this season will be hard to swallow.

"We have an awesome senior class," Vallone said. "We've all been best of friends and now that we lead the team, it's been our goal to reach the tournament. Anything short of that would be a disappointment."

Garrity said despite the fierce competition on the field, he and Vallone still share a great friendship.

"We still joke around with each other during practices, but you do have to leave your all out on the field," Garrity said. "It's always nice to play but if he's got the spot then that's fine. He's really played well this spring."

"I'm going to support him and do what's best for the team. But I'd like to be in there like anybody else would."

Whichever goalie gets the nod will lead a Nittany Lions' defense that returns all three starters and has quality depth.

Vallone said a goalie must play well all the time to keep the defense on track.

"I think the goalie is sort of like the quarterback of a football team," Vallone said. "If a goalie is having a great game, then the defense is having a great game. Or if the defense is having a tough game, a hot goalie can bring it back."

Although Garrity is only in his second year, he said this team is definitely capable of turning some heads come tournament time.

"We all have experience and should be able to put it together," Garrity said. "I think we really need to concentrate on winning our league. I think our biggest obstacle is to just take what we do in practice and take it to the field.

"Every game this year is going to be really tough within the conference. We're going to match up differently in every game so we have to be ready for everyone."

Vallone agreed that the Nittany Lions' tournament hopes hinge on how they fair in conference play. This season, the ECAC looks stacked with squads such as Georgetown, Navy, Massachusetts and Maryland-Baltimore County all ranked in various preseason polls.

"We have a lot of key games against teams like Georgetown and Navy," Vallone said. "Winning those games will be key if we want to get to the tournament."