Army men and women lacrosse teams make NCAA Division I tourney, as do the Marist men
On one special night, West Point can be considered one of the capitals of collegiate lacrosse.
Army was one of seven schools to place its men’s and women’s lacrosse teams into the NCAA Division I tournament in brackets announced on Sunday night.
The men claimed their third Patriot League tourney championship with a 10-8 win over nemesis Loyola, Md. As a result, Army (12-3) gained the conference automatic bid and a first-round date at No. 4 Maryland at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.
The women reached the Patriot finals on Saturday only to bow to Loyola, Md., 13-8. With the automatic bid lost, the Black Knights (15-3) had to patiently wait for an at-large tourney bid which they got. Army will take on No. 7 James Madison at 2 p.m. Friday in Harrisonburg, Va.
Army, Johns Hopkins, Maryland, Michigan, Notre Dame, Penn State and Virginia are the only schools to put a men’s and women’s team into both Division I tournaments.
The Marist men also secured a berth with a 12-7 win over Siena in Saturday’s Metro Atlantic title match. Holding its fourth MAAC crown, the Red Foxes (10-7) have to play their way into the main draw, facing Delaware on the road at 7 p.m. Wednesday.
In Sunday’s final with Loyola, the No. 2 seeded Army men broke open a 3-3 match with six goals from the start of the second period. Faceoff specialist Will Coletti was named tournament MVP, winning 18 of 22 draws on Sunday following a 19-15 edge in Friday night’s semifinal win over Lehigh. Netkeeper Knox Dent made 14 stops against the Greyhounds. Ryan Sposito, Reese Burek, Paul Johnson and Jacob Morin each scored twice for the Black Knights.
“I’m so proud of our guys,’’ said Army coach Joe Alberici. “Excited for everybody. The Army lacrosse alumni and Army lacrosse family is just a strong one. Our guys on the field made many people proud and I couldn’t be more happy for them.’’
Army was picked for fourth in the Patriot preseason poll after losing a talented cast of seniors from a year earlier. Undaunted, the Black Knights won nine in a row following a season-opening defeat to Massachusetts and later added an 11-6 win at Navy.
“I think from the beginning we talked about over-delivering,’’ Alberici said. “We weren’t ranked in anybody’s top 25, anywhere. This is a proud program. There’s a lot going on on the front of that chest as opposed to the back with the number and names. Our guys had a lot of pride and wanted to show some people that we have some great players and we had a nice influx of young talent that helped offset (the personnel losses). We had guys fill the roles of leadership on the field and they did it with a chip on their shoulder.’’
The No. 2 seeded Army women won a thrilling 12-11, double-overtime match with Navy in the Thursday semifinals. In Saturday’s final against Loyola, the Greyhounds took a 6-4 lead into halftime and extended to 10-5 by the end of the third quarter. Brigid Duffy was held to two goals with six others held to single tallies.
Duffy, Julia Franzoni, Cathleen Parker and Kathleen Sullivan were named to the women’s all-tourney team.
Marist has won six in a row, including a 29-19 shootout over Quinnipiac in the quarterfinals and 19-7 win over Mount Saint Mary’s, Md., in Thursday’s semifinals. In Saturday’s title match, Marist busted open the game with a 5-1 second-quarter run, seizing a 7-3 halftime lead. Josh Balcarcel and Jamison Embury each had three goals for the Red Foxes. Balcarcel, Kurt Wessner and Dylan Bedell were named all-tourney and senior netminder Daniel O’Meara was the MVP.
Twitter: @KenMcMillanTHR
NCAA Division I men
Wednesday play-in
Marist (10-7) at Delaware (12-4), 7 p.m.
Saturday first-round
Richmond (11-4) at No. 2 Virginia (11-3), noon
Utah (12-4) at No. 3 Notre Dame (10-2), 2:30 p.m.
Yale (9-5) at No. 7 Georgetown (12-3), 5 p.m.
Army (12-3) at No. 4 Maryland (10-5), 7:30 p.m.
Sunday first-round
Bryant (12-4) at No. 6 Johns Hopkins (11-5), noon
Michigan (9-6) at No. 8 Cornell (11-3), 2:30 p.m.
Marist-Delaware winner at No. 1 Duke (13-2), 5 p.m.
Princeton (8-6) at No. 5 Penn State (9-4), 7:30 p.m.
Quarterfinals
Saturday, May 20
Marist/Delaware-Duke winner vs. Michigan-Cornell winner, at Albany, time TBD
Yale-Georgetown winner vs. Richmond-Virginia winner, at Albany, time TBD
Sunday, May 21
Princeton-Penn State winner vs. Army-Maryland winner, at Annapolis, time TBD
Utah-Notre Dame winner vs. Bryant-Johns Hopkins winner, at Annapolis, time TBD
(all men's games will appear on the ESPN networks and streamed on ESPN+)
NCAA Division I women
Friday first round (all on ESPN+)
Central Michigan (10-8) at Michigan (11-7), 7 p.m.; winner at No. 1 Northwestern (17-1), noon
Penn State (11-6) at Stony Brook (14-3), 3 p.m.
Fairfield (14-4) at No. 8 Loyola, Md. (17-2), noon
Southern California (16-3) at No. 5 Denver (19-0), 5 p.m.
Albany (12-6) at Virginia (11-6), 8 p.m.
Marquette (15-3) at Richmond (16-3), 5 p.m.
Sacred Heart (11-7) at No. 4 North Carolina (14-4), 2 p.m.
Connecticut (12-6) at Penn (13-4), 1 p.m.; winner at No. 3 Boston College (16-3), 1 p.m. Sunday
Mercer (17-2) at Notre Dame (13-5), 7 p.m.
Jacksonville (12-7) at No. 6 Florida (16-3), 4 p.m.
Army (15-3) at No. 7 James Madison (17-2), 2 p.m.
Drexel (12-5) at Maryland (14-6), 5 p.m.
Massachusetts (16-2) at Johns Hopkins (8-8), 2 p.m.; winner at No. 2 Syracuse (16-2), 3 p.m. Sunday
This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: NCAA college lacrosse Army Marist Division I men women tournament
