Breaking down the men’s lacrosse semifinals full of storylines
The biggest event in lacrosse continues on Saturday, when it’s the men’s turn to take the field at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, for their NCAA tournament semifinal showdowns.
Like the women’s semis, both contests are rematches of regular season games. This year’s foursome includes a couple of teams with huge fan bases from Central New York hoping to end, by their lofty standards, lengthy title droughts. The other two are Big Ten squads, one of which is a long-time fixture in the sport while the other is hoping its third semifinal appearance will lead to its first-ever championship.
Here’s a look at the matchups, including the TV schedule and key participants.
No. 1 Cornell (16-1) vs. No. 5 Penn State (12-4)
Time/TV: noon ET, ESPN2
How they got here: Cornell – beat Albany 15-6, Richmond 13-12. Penn State – beat Colgate 13-11, Notre Dame 14-12.
National championships: Cornell three (last 1977), Penn State none.
Players to watch: Cornell – CJ Kirst (76 G, 32 A); Ryan Goldstein (38 G, 50 A); Michael Long (29 G, 38 A). Penn State – Matt Traynor (42 G, 17 A); Hunter Aquino (16 G, 21 A); Ethan Long (18 G, 17 A).
Quick sticks: Since emerging as one of the sport’s powerhouses in the ‘70’s, the Big Red are still trying to add to their three titles. They’ve been agonizingly close on a couple of occasions, most notably in 2009 when they led Syracuse in the final minute but fell in overtime. … Kirst already owns numerous scoring records and will likely add the Tewaaraton to his list of honors next weekend. … The Nittany Lions, however, are responsible for Cornell’s lone loss this season, a 13-12 overtime thriller on March 8. They’re also responsible for ending Notre Dame’s bid for a third consecutive title thanks to last week’s improbable comeback win in the quarterfinals.
No. 2 Maryland (13-3) vs. No. 6 Syracuse (13-5)
Time/TV: 2:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2
How they got here: Maryland – beat Air Force 13-5, Georgetown 9-6. Syracuse – beat Harvard 13-12, No. 3 Princeton 19-18.
National championships: Maryland four (last 2022), Syracuse 11 (last 2009).
Players to watch: Maryland – Eric Spanos (30 G, 16 A); Braden Erksa (30 G, 15 A); Daniel Kelly (32 G, 9 A). Syracuse – Joey Spallina (35 G, 53 A); Owen Hiltz (45 G, 27 A); Michael Leo (30 G, 12 A).
Quick sticks: The Terrapins are in their 30th NCAA semifinal, the most in Division I. The Orange haven’t reached championship weekend since 2013, an almost unthinkable absence for a program that was a fixture at the event for nearly two decades starting in the late 1980’s. … This figures to be a battle to control the pace of the game, which Maryland managed to do in an 11-7 victory in their encounter back on Feb. 15. But the Orange can win a single-digit game if needed, as they did in their 9-8 triumph against Duke in the ACC tournament.
