The Penn State lacrosse team is No. 1 in the country and just one win away from the Final Four over Memorial Day weekend.

In Philadelphia, by the way.

The Nittany Lions won their first-round game, 25-10, over UMBC last week. That was the first NCAA tournament win in school history. Next up, it’s eighth-seeded Loyola at noon Sunday.

The 12-4 Greyhounds are solid. They have balance, boasting the eighth-best offense in the nation (14.06 goals per game). Plus, their defense ranks 11th, with a 10.0 goals-against average.

But Penn State comes in with the highest-scoring roster in the country (17.8 goals per game), the best scoring margin in the country (plus-7.56) and a 15-1 record. The team’s only loss on the season was a 14-13 defeat in New Haven against defending national champion Yale.

So coach Jeff Tambroni’s group is a machine right now. I talked to Tambroni and some of his players about how that high-powered offense is helping to engage fan interest, the growth of lacrosse across Pennsylvania and the emergence of the program on campus.

We also get into how the school is starting to win some recruiting battles in traditional blue-blood territory for lacrosse talent.

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