Thoughts after Penn State men’s lacrosse annual Blue-White Game

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.-- Jeff Tambroni’s squad laced up their cleats and took the field under the lights at Panzer Stadium on Friday night for an intrasquad scrimmage to kick off their annual alumni weekend celebrations.

This is a Nittany Lions team that graduated a few key pieces and will have some major holes to fill on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball. This year’s squad has a mixture of experience as well as young, unproven talent.

One of the major question marks for this team is how they are going to replace the production of PLL Rookie of the Year TJ Malone. Malone left the program tied for third in all-time points, after being the only player ever to win back-to-back Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year.

That’s enough about last year’s team, let’s turn our attention to this year’s team. Both squads came out flying and ready to play in front of alumni, family and friends. Some takeaways from Friday’s action:

Fast and physical defense

Losing one captain, let alone two on the defense is difficult to replace. Let alone the caliber of Grant Haus and Jack Posey. Along with losing key depth pieces in Kyle Aldridge and Sam Sweeney, this is a unit that will need some players to step up into a bigger role

Despite these departures, the Nittany Lions still bring back a ton of experience on that side of the ball. Junior Alex Ross and Senior Kevin Parnham have been multi-year starters, along with Junior Will Costin who made a name for himself last season.

With two-time All-American Jack Fracyon behind them, this unit has the potential to be one of the best defensive units in the country.

Both defensive units were playing with an incredible amount of intensity. Two forced turnovers early for the White team led to two pole goals from Sophomore Patrick Kennan and Parnham.

The defensive midfield units for both squads were playing scrappy. These guys were fighting for every loose ball. Junior Jon King and Sophomore Brendan Leary are the most experienced of the group. For a relatively young unit, they will need some new faces to step up.

As the game progressed, neither unit slowed down. Both squads were working together as a unit as well as battling until the whistle, making all of the little plays. Both teams rotated their entire roster so a lot of young players got some type of action.

This is exactly what you want to see out of this unit at this point in the preseason. Still shaking some rust off, but this is a unit that will turn some heads come March.

New look offense

As I mentioned earlier, it is impossible to replace a guy like TJ Malone. You cannot forget about guys like Mac Costin and Jake Morin, who have been steady contributors to this unit since 2022.

The Nittany Lions have to replace a lot of offensive production, returning only five guys who recorded points last season.

Leading goal scorer Matt Traynor returns after netting 45 goals a season ago. Kyle Lehman, Luke Walstrum, and Ethan Long are major returning players for Tambroni and Co. Traynor and Walstrum were not in action on Friday night.

Both units came out playing sloppy. There was a fair amount of turnover in the first couple of possessions. Both sides settled in as the game progressed.

Mac Hobbs is a name you want to keep an eye out for, as he had a dominant performance for the Blue team. The Dallas, Texas native had a hat-trick in this contest. Look for guys like Hobbs and Michael Farone, who had two goals himself, to step up as contributors in this offense.

All in all, you cannot expect to replace these departures in the fall. This was a step in the right direction, as guys are starting to step into bigger roles as the ball continues.

First action for new faces

Coach Tambroni has had success in the transfer portal era, with guys like Kevin Winkoff, Chase Mullins, and Chris Jordan. Tambroni only brought in one transfer this offseason, graduate student Jack Aimone.

Aimone has played a huge role for conference foe Rutgers the past few seasons. The Ringoes, New Jersey native accumulated 54 goals for the Scarlet Knights during his tenure in Piscataway.

Aimone looked good in his first action in the blue and white. He did not get much action early on but got more time as the game progressed. Aimone spent time running out of the midfield, as well as down at attack. He played both positions throughout his Rutgers career.

We got the first look at the incoming freshman donning the blue and white. This class includes ten recruits, eight of which are Pennsylvania natives.

Despite being the new guys on campus, they did not wait to make their presence known on the field.

The DiBartolomeo brothers made their stamp on this one early. Roman caused multiple turnovers throughout the course of the scrimmage, while Lucca was causing chaos in the middle of the field. Enzo Grieco and Hunter Aquino both notched one for the Blue team.

This is a class that has a lot of talent, and that was on full display Friday night. Will be interesting to see how they continue to grow and adapt to the college game.

There is still a long way to go before the season opener in March. The Nittany Lions came out buzzing as they started this new season, aiming for another appearance in the Big Ten Championship.

Jack Kiefer is a fourth-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email jak6707@psu.edu.