The regular season has come and gone… but the best part has yet to come. We’re talking the highest of stakes – win or go home. It’s time for the NCAA tournament, and we are just as confused as the rest of the lacrosse community by some of the selections. The big news is only one ACC team making the cut – Virginia (well-deserved by the Cavs). No Notre Dame, no Duke. The Irish lost in the regular season to four teams that made the playoffs (Georgetown, Maryland, Ohio State, Virginia) which effectively kept them out of the tournament despite going on a six game winning streak to end the season. Duke had a few unexpected losses throughout the season, but they had beat Virginia and amassed some other dominant wins along the way. The biggest question heading into the tournament: will anyone step up and take down the dominant Terps Squad? Maryland is entering this post-season with no losses, and are showing no signs of slowing down, but we expect things to get very interesting.
Teams to Watch
Georgetown Hoyas (15-1) Big East Champions
We know the Hoyas are the two seed and this might seem like a no-brainer, but all the noise has been around the Terps, and Ivy League schools. We’ve seen this trend throughout the entirety of the season – the Hoyas have been slept on and raking in wins in the dark with little recognition. We think the Hoyas have a solid chance at winning it all this year. They’ve got Will Bowen and Gibson Smith to D-Up Owen McElroy. Then on offense you have Graham Bundy with a 67 point season as a midfielder, and an incredible supporting cast with 5 players with 30+ points this year. Keep an eye out for this Hoyas squad; they might just end up breaking some Terrapin hearts.
Boston University (12-4) Patriot League Champions
The big question surrounding the Terriers was their strength of schedule. Boston is ranked 12th in the RPI rankings and lost to Yale, Harvard, and Army in the regular season. But they went into another gear to take down Army in the Patriot League final. After that game, we think Boston has a solid shot to make a name for themselves. Their attack line is unstoppable to put it simply. Vince D’Alto has 75 points, Timmy Ley has 74, and Louis Perfetto has 65. Defenses are going to have to pick their poison against this rotation, because they are going to get their points. Defensively they have statistically the best defender in the country with Roy Meyer. This season he had 54 caused turnovers; an average of 3.38 per game, which leads the country.
Rutgers Scarlet Knights (13-3)
Head Coach Brian Brecht has been building this team for a long time, and many people thought their best team was last season, but, you could argue it’s this year. Ross Scott and Mitch Bartolo have been electric for the Scarlet Knights this year combining for 113 points so far. They’ve got a killer defense as well; their entire defensive unit including SSDM’s have 10+ caused turnovers each, on top of each having 20+ groundballs this year. On top of that, you have one of the best goalies in the country in Colin Kirst as the last line of defense. Their early regular season didn’t have many tough opponents, but the B1G Ten conference play certainly has them ready to get going for the tournament.
Key Games to Watch
If it were up to us, we would tell you to watch every game. There is some solid competition, and we are interested to see how the committee’s choices pan out as they face criticism for the chosen teams. The get it though, you’re busy, there aren’t enough hours in the day, yadda yadda. If you can’t catch all the action, here are the games on our list as “can’t-misses”
Princeton vs Boston University- Saturday May 14 12pm ESPNU
This game is going to be a dog fight (no pun intended). Princeton was looking like the clear Ivy League favorite toward the end of the season, until Brown came to the party and shook everything up. The Tigers weren’t in the conference championship, but still got blessed with an at-large bid. Boston had an incredible game in the Patriot League championship. So, we’ve got a fired up Princeton squad looking to make a comeback statement, and a Boston team that wants to continue to show the world that the Terriers are legit this year. This is one to definitely tune-in to.
Brown vs Virginia- Saturday May 14 7:30pm ESPNU
Lars Tiffany is heading back to his alma mater to take on the team he once coached to a semi-final appearance back in 2016. Brown has been a wild card all year long taking down some big opponents, so they will be welcoming the challenge of knocking out the defending back-to-back champions. The Cavaliers will have a full week of rest, where Brown just finished playing in their conference tournament last weekend. Connor Theriault is going to have the biggest test of the season coming up. Having to stop all of the weapons on the Cavalier offense is not going to be easy, Matt Moore, Connor Shellenberger, Payton Cormier, Griffin Schutz, and the list only goes on from there. Brown will have their hands full on both sides of the field.
Cornell vs Ohio State Sunday May 15 2:30 pm ESPNU
These two teams met in the regular season and battled all the way to the end. Cornell came away with the win 14-11 back in March. Cornell was on a roll all season long until the back end of their schedule came in to play. Ohio State on the other hand was not consistent at all. They went on a four game winning streak to start the season, and ever since they would only be able to string two wins in a row throughout the season. Gavin Adler vs Jack Myers is going to be the matchup to watch in this one. The catalyst for the Buckeyes has to be neutralized for the Big Red to get another win. Adler held Myers to just a single goal on 7 shots back in their first meeting. This one can really go either way.
Rutgers vs Harvard Sunday May 15 5pm ESPNU
The Scarlet Knights are in the tournament for a second consecutive season and we think they can make an unexpected run. This team loves to run in transition and fire the ball into the back of the net. They have four players with 40+ points and one sitting at 39. Rutgers has weapons and they know how to use them. They also have the defense to withstand the counter attack from opponents and are confident in getting stops. Ross Scott and Mitch Bartolo are going to be the key pieces for Rutgers. Harvard is a team that a lot of people have questions about regarding the legitimacy of their bid into the tournament. But, they’re here and ready to play, being led by Austin Madronic and Sam King. King is only a freshman, so that is a great sign for the Crimson future. Harvard has a balanced stat sheet for their offense with 6 guys at 20+ points this year. Keep an eye out for Greg Campisi at LSM: he’s got energizer bunny legs and will hound you until he gets the ball.
There’s no denying Maryland is the clear front-runner in this bracket. They have yet to lose, and in fact they have yet to even look sloppy, or as if they even could lose. Regardless, anything can happen on any given day, and that is the beauty of the sport we love. Good luck to all players and teams in the tournament, and a big shoutout to UNLTD Athlete Matt Moore!
