With Week 14’s end, the NCAA regular season is officially over. Most of the country has been sent home to pack while the select few have moved on to the NCAA tournament.
That puts us just a few weeks from the best weekend of the year: CHAMPIONSHIP WEEKEND!
So hopefully you enjoyed the last weekend of simultaneous games, because from now on, it is just a controlled IV drip of pure college lacrosse madness all weekend long. Buckle up!
Week 14 Scoreboard
Thursday 5/4
- 15 Hobart vs. Sacred Heart 9
- 12 Bryant vs. Robert Morris 3
- 8 Denver vs. Marquette 10
- 4 UMBC vs. Binghamton 9
- 11 Air Force vs. Jacksonville 8
- 8 Towson vs. Drexel 4
- 8 Maryland vs. Penn State 6
- 19 Albany vs. Stony Brook 6
- 10 Providence vs. Villanova 7
- 12 Hofstra vs. UMass 13
- 15 Ohio State vs. Johns Hopkins 13
- 13 Richmond vs. Furman 6
Friday 5/5
- 15 Princeton vs. Brown 17
- 11 Monmouth vs. Detroit Mercy 7
- 13 Yale vs. Penn 12 4 ot
- 8 Marist vs. Canisius 5
Saturday 5/6
- 20 Albany vs. Binghamton 8
- 9 Colgate vs. Syracuse 11
- 4 Hobart vs. Bryant 5
- 6 Richmond vs. Air Force 9
- 9 Towson vs. UMass 4
- 10 Army vs. Notre Dame 9 ot
- 9 Providence vs. Marquette 10
- 9 Ohio State vs. Maryland 10
Sunday 5/7
- 8 Marist vs. Monmouth 9
- 10 Yale vs. Brown 9
- 8 Boston U. vs. Duke 18
The Stat Freaks
This section will once again be back to highlight some of the best performances from the week. Each category has a specific range we’re looking for. It’s just fun to highlight some of the gaudy performances out there.
Freak of the week: This is honestly the toughest one I have had to decide this year. Almost every game had a team playing for their season’s hopes. Some were expectedly lopsided, while others were upsets. So which do you reward?
Isaac Paparo’s performance against Hofstra? Connor Fields against the whole conference? I decided to go with the strong underdog performance in an upset game. This time around, it’s Brandon Jones of Air Force. 7GBs, 1 CT, and an assist against Richmond for the Southern Conference title and an NCAA bid? That’ll do.
Offense: The minimum cutoff is 7 points (goals + assists)
| Connor Fields – Albany (NY): 2G, 5A, 10 Shots vs. Stony Brook |
| Teddy Hatfield – Richmond: 5G, 3A, 11 Shots vs. Furman |
| Connor Fields – Albany (NY): 3G, 6A, 5 Shots vs. Binghamton |
| Justin Guterding – Duke: 3G, 4A, 6 Shots vs. Boston U. |
Defense: For here, you need 8 GBs, CTs, and/or points
| Brandon Jones – Air Force: 5GB, 4CT, 1G vs. Jacksonville |
| Noel McGuinness – Hobart: 8GB vs. Sacred Heart |
| Christopher Willman – Hobart: 6GB, 3CT vs. Sacred Heart |
| Isaac Paparo – Massachusetts: 4GB, 4CT vs. Hofstra |
| Brendan Hynes – Richmond: 9GB, 2CT vs. Furman |
| Larken Kemp – Brown: 5GB, 3CT, 1G vs. Princeton |
| Zach Barrett – Binghamton: 7GB, 1CT, 1G vs. Albany (NY) |
| Brandon Jones – Air Force: 7GB, 1CT, 1A vs. Richmond |
| Brendan Hynes – Richmond: 3GB, 6CT vs. Air Force |
| Aidan Hynes – Yale: 5GB, 3CT vs. Brown |
| Cade Van Raaphorst – Duke: 7GB, 2CT, 1G vs. Boston U. |
Faceoffs: Greater than 70%, at least 10 attempts
| TD Ierlan – Albany (NY): 22/23, 16 GB vs. Stony Brook |
| Kenny Massa – Bryant: 14/17, 8 GB vs. Robert Morris |
| Peter Moran – Richmond: 16/20, 7 GB vs. Furman |
| Alex Woodall – Towson: 14/16, 9 GB vs. Drexel |
| TD Ierlan – Albany (NY): 21/29, 12 GB vs. Binghamton |
| Colin Keating – Providence: 19/23, 9 GB vs. Marquette |
| Kyle Rowe – Duke: 14/16, 8 GB vs. Boston U. |
Goalies: Greater than 70%
| James Werner – Bryant: 12/15 Saves, 4GB vs. Robert Morris |
| Dan Morris – Maryland: 16/22 Saves, 3GB vs. Penn St. |
| Brian Corrigan – Marist: 17/22 Saves, 1GB vs. Canisius |
| James Werner – Bryant: 10/14 Saves, 5GB vs. Hobart |
The Big Games, Upsets, and Surprises
Big East Tournament
- 8 Denver vs. Marquette 10
- 10 Providence vs. Villanova 7
- 9 Providence vs. Marquette 10
For the second straight year, Marquette scored a big upset win over Denver in the Big East tournament. That win dashed the hopes for NCAA bubble teams since it meant Denver was going to take one of the few at large bids out there.
I was also thrilled to see Providence win their opener against Nova. The Friars were host this year in their gorgeous built-for-lacrosse facility. When they were building it, they had this specific tournament in mind. To be only two goals from also winning their conference on their own field is big, but winning would have been bigger. The college invested some big money into lacrosse. It is great to see some of that beginning to pay off. Oh, and Marquette won the league’s AQ.
CAA Tournament
- 8 Towson vs. Drexel 4
- 12 Hofstra vs. UMass 13
- 9 Towson vs. UMass 4
Towson was the favorite heading into this tournament, but it was expected that they would face Hofstra. Unfortunately for Hofstra, UMass played their game of the year.
They also had the buzzer beater of the year after a bizarre end of game sequence that resulted in UMass taking a shot from near the faceoff wing line and scoring as time expired. It was a hard way for Hofstra’s season to end. That’s an understatement. I have no words to say how that must have felt.
Ivy Tournament
- 15 Princeton vs. Brown 17
- 13 Yale vs. Penn 12 4OT
- 10 Yale vs. Brown 9
Brown scored the slight opening round upset over Princeton, but it was the Yale/Penn game that was the game of the weekend. 4 overtime that were full of chance after chance and save after save. Penn’s Reed Junkin had one of the best goalie performances in those overtimes that you will ever see. He was saving everything the Yale threw at him, and they were hardly one-dimensional shooters.
Unfortunately, they threw just one too many his way. Yale would go on to take the League championship and will go on the road to Syracuse for the first round. Winning the Ivy used to mean something, you know.
SoCon Tournament
- 13 Richmond vs. Furman 6
- 11 Air Force vs. Jacksonville 8
- 6 Richmond vs. Air Force 9
As mentioned earlier, this was one of the few upset bids in the country. Richmond was the heavy favorite, and the smart money was also on Air Force giving them a tough game.
Credit to Jacksonville for making sure Air Force had to work for it, but they move on and then made life miserable for the Spiders…again. They beat Richmond for the second time this season and are now going to visit Denver in round one.
Big Ten Tournament
- 8 Maryland vs. Penn State 6
- 15 Ohio State vs. Johns Hopkins 13
- 9 Ohio State vs. Maryland 10
Now, this tournament had everyone’s eyes on it. All four teams would wind up getting seeded in the NCAA, so this was all about who would be seeded ahead of who.
In this case, Maryland winning here gave them the number one overall seed. Ohio State also turned their strong performance into a three seed.
America East Tournament
- 4 UMBC vs. Binghamton 9
- 19 Albany vs. Stony Brook 6
- 20 Albany vs. Binghamton 8
This tournament pretty much followed the script. Albany won in a pair of blowout wins. I had hoped Binghamton would have put up more of a fight, but Albany is very driven right now. They are out to prove that they are better than their weak schedule. That weak schedule earned them an eight seed.
I really was shocked to see them fall so far in the seedings. Sure, their schedule was weak, but their only losses were by a goal to the top two seeds. That ain’t bad.
MAAC Tournament
- 11 Monmouth vs. Detroit Mercy 7
- 8 Marist vs. Canisius 5
- 8 Marist vs. Monmouth 9
The MAAC was an interesting one just because of who won. Young programs are really making strides right now and Monmouth added their name to that list. By winning this AQ, the fourth year program is entering the NCAA tournament for the first time. They are in the play-in game against Bryant, and will play up in Rhode Island. Survive that, and they are off to face Maryland.
Northeast Tournament
- 15 Hobart vs. Sacred Heart 9
- 12 Bryant vs. Robert Morris 3
- 4 Hobart vs. Bryant 5
Speaking of Bryant, the Bulldogs won the Northeast conference once again, and are headed to the play-in game. Bryant is such a puzzling team. They have plenty of good players, a great coach, but seem to limp their way through the season and still wind up in the NCAA tournament.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GB3PPe4THFg
When they get hot, they can be dangerous. I’m still just not quite feeling it this year, though.
Unofficial ACC/Patriot Challenge
- 9 Colgate vs. Syracuse 11 Syracuse won another one goal game in an upstate NY battle. Did I say one goal? Well, it was just one goal, but a flukey full field heave as time expires that is almost tradition from goalies, actually went in. That gave the Orange’s Evan Molloy a goal and a two point win. Syracuse just continues to play down or up to whoever they face.
- 10 Army vs. Notre Dame 9 OT Notre Dame was resting their stars, but this was still a big win for Army and almost earned them a spot in the NCAA tournament. It gave their home fans something to be happy about and the overtime game winner was a beaut.
- 8 Boston U. vs. Duke 18 This game was actually played in Long Island, so it served as a bit of a recruiting trip for both teams. Especially BU, who doesn’t get into that area much, some more visibility is good for them. Unfortunately, for the Terriers, Duke is play really well right now.
Weekend Games to Watch
I’m not sure if you’ve heard about this little tournament going on, but the NCAA is having a couple of teams play. You should check it out. Find some of the details in my Bracket Buster post.
