The quest for the top prize in collegiate men’s lacrosse is underway. Over the weekend the remaining 16 teams will be in action, with the ultimate aim of lifting the national championship trophy on Memorial Day in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
Regular followers of the sport will notice a few name-brand programs missing from the NCAA tournament field. Long-time powers Virginia and Johns Hopkins as well as past champions Denver and Loyola (Md.) didn’t make the cut. But that doesn’t necessarily mean we’ll add a new member to the first-time champions club. Most of the seeded teams have won titles before, though it’s been a while for some.
Here’s the weekend schedule, with seeded teams playing on their home fields. The winners will advance to quarterfinal sites next weekend in Hempstead, New York, and Annapolis, Maryland.
NCAA lacrosse tournament title contenders
In a parallel with the recently concluded men’s basketball tournament, there is a team seeking a rare three-peat but facing a difficult path to achieving it. Two-time defending champion Notre Dame is seeking a third title in a row, a feat last accomplished by Princeton from 1996-98. As mentioned, however, it will be a tough path for the Fighting Irish, who did enough to make the field but not enough to earn a seed. They’ll start their title defense on the road at Big Ten tournament champ Ohio State, coincidentally the school that kept the Irish from claiming the crown in football. While it’s undoubtedly the most compelling matchup in the round of 16, the committee did neither team a favor with this pairing. The Buckeyes picked up a 10-9 win at Notre Dame back on March 8, but a season-opening loss to Utah damaged OSU’s overall seed. The game in Columbus isn’t the only rematch of the weekend. Harvard picked up a 15-14 win at Syracuse back on Feb. 22, a result that ultimately helped the Crimson edge out Army for the last at-large spot in the field.
NCAA lacrosse tournament top players
The undisputed star of the sport this year is Cornell’s CJ Kirst. The Tewaaraton Award favorite broke the Division I record for career goals earlier in the season. He enters the tournament with 98 points on 68 goals and 30 assists thus far in the campaign, averaging a lofty 6.53 points per contest. With the help of his friends on the Big Red attack unit, Ryan Goldstein and Michael Long, Cornell leads the nation in scoring at 16.47 goals a game. But one shouldn’t overlook reigning Championship Weekend most outstanding player Chris Kavanagh, back in the tournament for Notre Dame. Other names to know include Syracuse attackman Joey Spallina, Maryland goalkeeper Logan McNaney and Duke do-everything midfielder Andrew McAdorey.
Most likely first-time NCAA lacrosse tournament champion
Ohio State and Penn State have both been to Championship Weekend but have yet to bring home the trophy. Unfortunately, at least one of them won’t be in Foxborough, as they’d be slated to meet in the quarterfinal round should they survive this weekend. Like the Buckeyes, however, the Nittany Lions have a tough draw of their own against a high-scoring Colgate squad that got hot at the right time in the Patriot League tournament.
NCAA lacrosse tournament schedule
(All times Eastern)
First round
Saturday, May 10
Richmond (13-3) at North Carolina (10-4), noon
Towson (11-5) at Princeton (12-3), 2:30 p.m.
Colgate (10-7) at Penn State (10-4), 5 p.m.
Georgetown (11-4) at Duke (12-5), 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, May 11
Notre Dame (8-4) at Ohio State (14-2), noon
Air Force (9-7) at Maryland (11-3), 2:30 p.m.
Harvard (10-4) at Syracuse (11-5), 5 p.m.
Albany (10-8) at Cornell (14-1), 7:30 p.m.