The Penn State men's lacrosse team held its 27th annual Fall Tournament this past Sunday at the Multi Sports Field.
The Nittany Lions were the tournament winners coming out on top in the four-team round robin format against Le Moyne College, Bucknell and St. Joseph's.
The Lions defeated Le Moyne in the first game, 11-3, with goals from senior attacker Luke Oglesby, All- American junior defender Rob Bateman and freshman mid-fielder Elliot Jones.
Six goals from freshman attacker Nate Whitaker helped the Lions defeat St. Joseph's 14-6 in the second game.
With strong defense and senior captain Chris Garrity in goal, the Lions went on to seal the tournament with a 7-2 win against Bucknell in the third and final game. Senior midfielder Rob Booth and freshman attacker Chris Gannett scored early to ensure the win.
The Lions proved offensively that they can dominate, especially in the 14-6 win over St. Joseph's. Eleven players chipped in to score one or more goals in the three-game tournament. Five of the 11 goal scorers were freshmen. Booth was successful in face-offs.
Defensively, the Lions played strong and were able to capitalize on turnovers. Last year's defensive player of the year, senior Matt Zappia, helped the lead the defensive effort, especially in the 7-2 win against Bucknell.
Goalies Chris Garrity, Josh LaGrow and Mike Stoltz switched off, allowing only 11 goals in the three games.
"This is the first step in the season, our excitement is high," Penn State men's lacrosse coach Glenn Thiel said. "We are off to a great start. We did a lot of good things."
"We played well, the freshmen stepped up, it was a good time for them to make a point. We played good team offense and defense," senior goalie Chris Garrity said. "We are looking forward to a new year. We have 13-14 games to play to make the (ECAC) tournament."
The team has 12 seniors and eight returning starters from last season, along with six freshmen. The Lions finished the 2002 season 8-5, and will open the 2003 season at home on March 23, against rival Notre Dame.
