As a starting goalie in the ECAC, Penn State lacrosse goalie Matt Vallone has faced a lot of tough shots from opponents.

Vallone has had a lot of training in this, however, much of it coming in his own backyard.

Vallone comes from a family in which lacrosse is king, and a small town in which it is one of the dominant sports. Vallone is the second of four brothers to play Division I Lacrosse. His brother Mike preceded him, playing four years at Bucknell. Mike played on the 1996 Bison squad that went undefeated but still failed to make it into the 12-team NCAA tournament.

His younger brother, Chris, is a junior attacker at Rochester Institute of Technology, and the youngest, Steve, just began his career at Syracuse.

While many brothers battle each other on the driveway basketball court, the Vallones had it out in front of a lacrosse goal in the backyard.

"After I decided to become a goalie in eighth grade, I'd have to strap on the pads and play goalie in the yard," Vallone said. "That just really made it fun. We couldn't have games, but we made contests out of it, seeing how many each one of my brothers could get past me."

Matt's brothers also enjoyed the back yard games.

"It was fun because we could always play together," Steve said. "We could have two-on-two games, or just play catch in the yard."

They all played at Corning East High School in Corning, N.Y., a lacrosse oasis in the southwestern part of the state, and a Class C powerhouse. Though the region was sparse in lacrosse programs, Corning had as many resources for young lacrosse players as for those who played baseball or basketball. There were summer leagues and spring leagues starting for kids in first grade, and continuing to a men's league.

The Vallone family had moved from Corning when the brothers were young, and had picked up baseball and soccer while living in Muskogee, Okla., but they returned to Corning and received a letter from high school coach Bob Steeten asking the boys to come to his lacrosse camp. They decided to go, and eventually all four brothers fell in love with the sport. They became one-sport athletes, dropping baseball to focus on lacrosse.

"The most advantageous thing that ever happened for this program was when the oldest Vallone (Mike) got cut when he tried out for the eighth grade baseball team," Steeten said. "The rest is history."

The brothers helped make Corning East's lacrosse program one of the best small school teams in New York. They made the state finals seven of the last 12 seasons, including all four of Matt's years in high school. In both of his seasons as a starter, he was defeated by one goal in the state final.

"Matt was one of the most dominant goalies I ever had," Steeten said. "We had to work him really hard, because in the years he started, he never had a backup."

Vallone's parents, Tony and Mary Lou, were very involved in their sons' activities. Tony would often have to get up at 5:30 a.m. to take them to early morning preseason practices, and traveled to most of their games which often required two-hour trips to Syracuse.

That involvement has continued as the Vallone brothers entered the college ranks. The Vallones have added a lot of miles to the odometer of the family car traveling to Matt, Chris and Steve's games, often attempting to make more than one game per weekend.

"It's definitely a family adventure every week," Tony said. "But we don't mind it. They're great sons, and this is important to them and a major part of their lives right now."

The Vallone parents have seen their sons have a lot of success in college lacrosse. Chris led RIT with 35 goals last season. Steve just scored the first goal of his Syracuse career in a win for the No. 1 Orangemen over No. 2 Princeton, but Matt may be having the best season of the group, dominating inside the goal in his first season as an undisputed starter.

After two years of getting little playing time behind Kevin Keenan, second all time in save percentage for the Nittany Lions, Vallone entered last season as the starter. He had a decent start, but during a game against the University of Maryland-Baltimore County, Vallone was pulled for sophomore Chris Garrity after allowing seven goals in 20 minutes.

With 90 saves and just 52 goals allowed in his next four games as starter, Garrity managed to earn second team All-ECAC honors and a spot on the first team in the preseason. Vallone managed to earn starts in the last two games, and Penn State men's lacrosse coach Glenn Thiel left the position open in the offseason.

Vallone stepped up and took what was his.

"He really stepped up in practice and set the tone early," Thiel said. "He didn't leave any questions as to who the starter should be."

Vallone has been superb in the Nittany Lions' first seven games, with four games with 14 saves or more. With 103 saves and 55 goals, his 65.1 save percentage ranks him among the best goalies in the nation.

He has enjoyed not having to worry about earning the starting job from week to week and being able to focus on himself.

"It has definitely been easier for me to be able to focus on myself, thinking, 'Hey, I've gotta step up and be the man this weekend instead of worrying about what the other guys are doing."

Vallone's brothers, who keep up with each other on a weekly basis, have also noticed that Matt is much more comfortable this season.

"He seems really confident," Steve said. "He's really comfortable knowing he's the starter. He feels like he's a leader now."

Matt, Chris and Steve have also been playing together in a summer league in Lake Placid. This past season, they won their division.

"It's been a great thing for us to play together," Matt said. "We had a lot of fun in that league."

Their father couldn't be happier with their success.

"I'm very proud of all of them," Tony said. "They've all worked at this for years, given up all of the other sports, and it's nice to see them all succeeding."