July 6, 2013
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - A trio of freshman Nittany Lion midfielders shined in Saturday night's Under Armour All-America Game at Johnny Unitas Stadium in Towson, Md. Midfielders Nick Mazza (Davidsonville, Md.) and Mike Sutton (Sewell, N.J.) helped lead the South to a 28-24 victory, while Nick Aponte (West Islip, N.Y.) tallied a hat trick for the losing North side.
Mazza, who was named one of 10 players that impressed by the Inside Lacrosse staff, notched a hat trick. Mazza highlighted a fantastic night for the future Nittany Lion midfield as the trio tallied a combined eight goals. Mazza had three goals, while Sutton tallied two for the South.
Penn State was one of just eight programs to have at least three representatives participate in last night's game. PSU was among the company of 2013 national champion Duke (5), national runner-up Syracuse (6) and fellow NCAA Tournament participants Maryland (6) and North Carolina (5). Virginia (4), Harvard (3) and Johns Hopkins (3) rounded out the group of eight.
Mazza and Aponte were both ranked as top 50 juniors in 2012 by ESPNHS. Mazza, which was ranked 21st by ESPNHS, helped lead his Calverton squad to its fifth straight Maryland Independence Lacrosse League title this season. Aponte has helped his West Islip squad to New York Class A titles in 2010 and 2012. Sutton was a 2012 U.S. Lacrosse All-American as well.
Along with transfer Cole Yeager (Wayne, Pa.), those three will comprise part of head coach Jeff Tambroni's incoming class for the 2013-14 academic year. The rest of the class will be announced later this summer.
The All-America Game, which was televised live on ESPNU, featured the top 44 players in the nation. The teams were selected by a panel of lacrosse experts from Inside Lacrosse as well as high school and college coaches.
Penn State men's lacrosse produced one of its most successful seasons ever in 2013, winning a school-record 12 games and earning its third NCAA postseason berth while hosting both the CAA and NCAA Tournaments.