April 16, 2008

By Andrew Wible Daily Collegian

April 16, 2008

UNIVERSITY PARK, PA (UWIRE) --

As the Penn State men's lacrosse team finished shaking hands after last night's win over Bucknell, several Nittany Lion players began shouting, "300, we got 300."

Then every player began rushing toward coach Glenn Thiel, rubbing his head and shaking his hand.

With the win, Thiel became just the fourth coach in NCAA Division I history to reach the 300-win plateau. But ask him about the milestone, and he just laughs and deflects the credit to his players.

"That's just a longevity thing," said Thiel with a wide smile across his face.

"That doesn't mean much. The kids played the way they're capable of playing and that's an exciting thing for them to have some success."

Entering the game riding a three-game losing streak, Penn State's chances against the No. 9 Bison appeared grim.

But sophomore attackman Chris Mulqueen said the team was confident coming into the game and really wanted to get Thiel his landmark win in front of a home crowd.

"That's quite a feat," said Mulqueen, who scored the game-winning goal. "For us to be able to do that for him is kind of special, kind of cool."

The son of former Lion head coach Nick Thiel, Glenn is a 1966 Penn State graduate and former Lion co-captain. He is fourth all-time and second among active Division I coaches in wins.

He started his career at the Community College of Baltimore for two seasons and then spent eight years at Virginia before returning home to Happy Valley.

After returning to Penn State, Thiel set the school record for career wins and owns a 223-167 record at the Lions' helm.

But his contributions to the program are more than wins and losses, junior goalie Drew Adams said. He said Thiel is a great motivator and even better role model.

"It's awesome," Adams said. "Coach does a lot for us. He's really a staple of our program. It's really an honor to have his 300th win. It's great for Coach, very much deserved."

After removing their pads and congratulating each other, the players once again approached their coach. The team formed a huddle around Thiel and jumped up and down. Finally, the Lions ended the huddle with one final tribute to the newest member of the 300-win club.

"Thiel on three," the team shouted. "One-two-three, Thiel!"

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