The first round this past weekend was surely not lacking excitement, as eight teams were eliminated, and eight teams moved onto the quarterfinals with a chance to punch their ticket to Memorial Day weekend staring at them in the face. The end goal of many teams – to get to Memorial Day weekend – is here. Anything can happen on the big stage, and some of the games this past weekend showed us that so let’s get right into it.
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SATURDAY RECAP
The weekend started off with the North Carolina and Monmouth game that we all expected to see. It was played at a slow pace which didn’t help Monmouth, who struggled to see quality looks offensively. UNC scored in 6 on 6 and in transition, which essentially buried the Hawks early. There were some offensive fireworks later in the game as both teams scored from essentially the same goal. Chris Gray finished with 4g, 2a while Perry had a goal and 4 assists. The Heels will move on to see Rutgers.
Rutgers got their first NCAA tournament win since 1990 when they handily took down Lehigh on Saturday afternoon in the battle of the Kirst family.
All three Kirst brothers had solid games. For Rutgers, Connor had a hat trick while Colin had 17 saves in net playing against his former team. While Cole had a goal and an assist for Lehigh who was playing without top attackman Tommy Shelling. The Scarlet Knights jumped all over that and jumped all over Lehigh and increased the speed of their offense throughout the game to come away with the 12-5 win. Despite Lehigh’s Mike Sisselberger having a 15/19 day at the faceoff X, Rutgers was able to get the stops they needed to turn them into goals on the other end. Rutgers and UNC should be a fun matchup.
Drexel put Notre Dame on upset alert for 58 minutes on Saturday until Wheaton Jackoboice came down the alley and put one past Ross Blumenthal (Friends) to take a 9-8 lead. Notre Dame added an insurance goal to take it by the final of 10-8, but Drexel had the Irish on their heels after overcoming a second half deficit to tie it. They did it by essentially shutting down the Irish attack, making them score out of the midfield. Will Yorke (1g) and Pat Kavanagh (2g) was all the Irish had from their attack. The Irish will have their hands full with the dangerous defense of the Terps next weekend in South Bend.
In the nightcap on Saturday, it was all Georgetown as the rout of Syracuse was on in College Park. Jake Carraway and Declan McDermott both had five goals a piece and got the Hoyas out to a fast start, leading 5-0 after five minutes. It was essentially the best start possible for Georgetown and the beginning of the end of a rollercoaster of a year for the Orange. The loss raises questions about longtime head coach John Desko’s tenure with Syracuse, and it makes Georgetown look like a legitimate championship contender. They have ended one ACC team, and we will see if they can do it again this weekend against Virginia.
SUNDAY RECAP
Virginia and Bryant was as good of a first round game I have seen in a while, as the pesky Bulldogs didn’t give Virginia an inch until it was too late. On a slick surface, Bryant was able to hold a 10-8 late in the third quarter in a game that Virginia didn’t look like themselves. Goalie Alex Rode (St. Paul’s) was a constant for the Hoos all day, making 18 saves including a few late to seal the lead for Virginia. After a lot didn’t fall for Virginia offensively all afternoon, they found it all in the fourth quarter and are moving on to take on a Georgetown team that looks for a huge win.
Maryland handled their business, beating Vermont handily 17-11. Jared Bernhardt looks more and more like the Tewaaraton favorite after scoring 6 goals and adding an assist in the win. Thomas McConvey showed he is capable of playing at a higher level as he is one of the best inside finishers in the game. He finished with 4 goals and 2 assists for Vermont. The main story with this game was just the dominance of the Terps from top to bottom. They don’t have a weak link in their starting lineup. They are deep and are poised for a deep run this spring. Notre Dame is next and could be the best game next weekend.
The same goes for Duke as they took down High Point on Sunday evening to advance to the quarterfinals. In Michael Sowers first postseason game, he went off for 4g and 4a in the first half before he was shut off, showing again why he is one of the most dangerous offensive players in the country. The thing with Duke is when you shut one person off, others have a field day like Sean Lowrie (3g) and Brennan O’Neill (2g, 1a). In all, Duke had nine different players score a goal and twelve register a point on the afternoon. High Point was able to reduce the 19 goal deficit from the first meeting to 6, but they were outmatched against Duke. An impressive season for High Point, they will go back to the drawing board and try to get back into the tournament next year.
Loyola is moving onto the quarterfinals after a buzzer beater save from Sam Shafer saved the season.
Loyola survived the thriller, beating Denver 14-13 after that final save iced the game. After Loyola failed to put in an empty netter and had a questionable heave to the corner, Denver gained possession and raced down the field. Hannah found Simmons who wasn’t able to get it past Shafer who had this to say about the goal.
The game itself was insane as well, as Loyola was dominant all game. Denver had a few runs to cut it close but never was able to tie it again. Denver’s TD Ierlan was unstoppable at the faceoff x, going 17-19 and willing the Pios back into the game. Jack Hannah had an amazing effort to make it a 14-13 game with three minutes to play but Devner was never able to tie it in the final three minutes. Loyola will move on to take on #2 Duke.
QUARTERFINAL PREVIEW
Virginia vs. Georgetown – Saturday, 12pm
Georgetown has a major chance to take down another ACC team en route to the Final Four. After beating Syracuse by ten last week, Georgetown takes on a team that lost to Syracuse in the regular season twice. After almost a month off, Virginia struggled with Bryant but was able to pull away from big games out of Rode, Shellenberger and Moore. But Georgetown will present a much tougher task for the Hoos.
Led by Carraway, Bundy and McDermott, Georgetown has a deep offense to match that of Virginia’s and they have a First-Team All-American in the cage in Owen McElroy. Dylan Hess is a freshman that makes plays all over the field and the Hoyas will grind you down just like Bryant did on Sunday.
Lars Tiffany’s squad is going to need to replicate their fourth quarter effort from last Sunday in every quarter this coming weekend. Virginia needs big games out of more than just Connor Shellenberger and Matt Moore. They need to have a resurgence from Dox Aitken, they need threats of Cormier and Bertrand from the left and right side, and they need to show McElroy plenty of different looks to be successful.
I don’t expect a blowout, or even a high scoring game. It is going to be a slugfest to start out the quarterfinals. But I give the edge to Georgetown the way they have been playing since the Loyola loss. Georgetown 12, Virginia 10.
North Carolina vs. Rutgers – Saturday, 2:30pm
I love the matchup of these two high powered offenses. The line for the over/under is set at 28.5 so expect some fireworks early from two offenses who have plenty of weapons. What I am curious to see is how slow UNC plays when they have the ball. Last week they were methodical with possession, pushing transition when they had numbers and not forcing much they didn’t have.
For Rutgers, I think their defense is going to have a hard time slowing down Chris Gray and co., so I will be looking for that matchup all day. If Rutgers is going to be successful, they need to get stops on the defensive end, which may eventually be up to Colin Kirst in the cage. The goalies are going to be huge in this game. With two offenses who love to shoot, Krieg and Kirst will play a major role in the outcome. If one of the two is hot the outcome should swing that way, but if both play well, I think this will be a close game.
I like Rutgers in this spot to make some noise and potentially pull an upset, but my pick is the Heels, they are too dangerous offensively and have the advantage at the faceoff x. North Carolina 15, Rutgers 13.
Duke vs. Loyola – Sunday, 12pm
21 straight years that Duke and Loyola have played, and they get to continue that thanks to Loyola’s win against Denver. The Hounds are coming in with all of the momentum after a few good wins to end the season and their win last weekend. They are playing with house money and have nothing to lose. For Duke, the overwhelming preseason national championship favorite, they have it all to lose, including plenty of graduating talent on their roster.
How is Loyola going to guard Michael Sowers? In the first half last week, High Point played him straight up to the tune of 4g, 4a. In the second half they locked him off and held him scoreless, only to see his teammates rack up the points. I think Cam Wyers has the length and strength to play him straight up and try to limit his production. I think the issue that arises is the depth that Duke presents offensively and the plan for limiting Robertson, O’Neill, Montgomery, Quigley, etc. to have a big day. Either way I think Duke finds success offensively.
Loyola has been one of the more inconsistent offenses all season. In their last five wins they have averaged 12.6 goals per game and limited opponents to 9.6 goals per game. The problem? They haven’t seen a team like Duke in that run. By no means am I saying a win for Loyola is out of the table, they are just going to need the cards to fall perfect on Sunday afternoon. Duke 14, Loyola 10.
Maryland vs. Notre Dame – Sunday, 2:30pm
I think they saved the best for last this weekend. Like I said last week, if you told me this was the national championship matchup, I would have to agree with you. But due to the seeding these two meet in the quarterfinals.
Twice now this season the Notre Dame attack has been shut down and relied on their midfield to do the heavy lifting offensively. Nick Grill, Brett Makar and Matt Rahill will have their hands full with Pat Kavanagh and his playmaking ability but limiting the ND attack is not out of the question. Maryland’s team is deep all over the board. But I think the key in this one is going to be Logan McNaney. He is only averaging a 45% save percentage in their last four games and will need to make critical stops to keep the Terps in this game. If he has another off day, expect a toss-up or a Notre Dame win.
What offense will we see from Notre Dame, the one that will run mostly from the midfield or attack? They will need some production from their attack to stay in this game. My other question is how Jack Kielty will guard Jared Bernhardt. If Bernhardt is able to produce and have a game, it will draw attention from the other defenders allowing the other Terps to have chances to produce. I think this is going to be a close one and will depend on the defensive efforts from McNaney and Entenmann in cage for ND. Maryland 13, Notre Dame 12.
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Another big weekend of lacrosse on the horizon. Four great games on tap for Saturday and Sunday where four teams will punch their ticket to East Hartford for Memorial Day Weekend. Follow along on the message board or check the scores on the Inside Lacrosse scoreboard here.
Lacrosse Analyst
Sam Kuhn currently is the graduate assistant for the men’s lacrosse program at Heidelberg University in Tiffin, Ohio and is working to complete his Masters of Business Administration in 2020. Sam graduated from the College of Wooster in 2018, where he received his Bachelors Degree in English and played lacrosse as well. In his four years, Sam was a two time All-NCAC selection, a first team All-Region selection in 2018, and surpassed 100 goals for his career, one of seven members in program history to do so. Sam has interned with Inside Lacrosse, and wrote for the sports section of The Wooster Voice.