ASUN men's lacrosse tournament: What fans need to know as JU Dolphins head for the mountains
The Jacksonville University men’s lacrosse team is on a serious roll as the Dolphins head for the Rocky Mountains to play in the ASUN tournament.
The Dolphins won their fifth game in a row by routing Bellarmine 22-5 on Saturday at Rock Stadium to close the regular season 11-4 overall and 8-1 in the conference. JU tied Utah and Air Force for the best conference record but will be the third seed based on the conference tie-breakers. The Dolphins lost 16-14 to Utah at home on March 30 and beat Air Force 10-9 on April 20 in Colorado Springs.
JU now returns to the Air Force Academy’s Falcon Stadium for the tournament and as the third seed will open against No. 6 Robert Morris (5-9) at 4 p.m. on Tuesday. No. 4 Bellarmine (9-7) faces No. 5 Cleveland State (8-7) in the other quarterfinal games.
Utah, the top seed and defending champion, will play the Bellarmine-Cleveland State winner on Friday at 1 p.m. If JU wins, it will play No. 2 seeded Air Force at 4 p.m.
The championship game is May 5 at 1 p.m.
Here’s what to know about the ASUN men’s lacrosse tournament:
The Dolphins are peaking at the right time
JU’s five victories in a row have come by an average score of 18.4-7, outscoring its opponents 92-35. The victory over Bellarmine was the third time during that streak that the Dolphins scored 20 or more goals in a game, increasing their points per game average to 24.07 and their margin of victory average to 4.7, both first in the ASUN.
The Dolphins are sixth in the nation in scoring and fifth in margin of victory.
Jacksonville has a three-headed attack of senior Jacob Greiner (35 goals, 32 assists), junior Jackson Intrieri (29 and 20) and sophomore Nicky Brown (27 and 18). Greiner leads the ASUN with 4.13 points per game and is third in goals, Intrieri is fourth in the league in assists and seventh in goals and Brown is eighth in goals.
Sophomore Jack Taylor leads JU midfielders with 17 goals and 14 assists.
Starting goalkeeper Ryan Della Rocco is fourth in the conference in allowing 9.44 goals per game and leads all ASUN keepers in minutes played with more than 838.
JU trying to break the NCAA ice
There’s no question John Galloway has turned the Dolphins lacrosse program around. When he arrived in 2017 JU had an overall record of 36-56 (.391). Since then, the Dolphins have gone 64-48 (.571) and in the last three seasons are 37-10 (.787).
But it’s been one heartbreak after another in conference tournaments, both in the ASUN and Southern Conference. They are historically one-bid conferences, so to reach the NCAA Tournament, the Dolphins will have to win the ASUN.
The drought especially stings because JU has proven its mettle in difficult non-conference games against national powers such as Duke.
Galloway has guided Jacksonville to the semifinals three times and the championship game twice. In four of those five games, JU lost by three or fewer goals, twice to Richmond in the SoCon by one goal, in the 2018 championship game (in overtime) and in the 2022 semifinals.
The Dolphins will get another chance to exact more revenge on Robert Morris for a 9-8 loss in the ASUN quarterfinals last season. JU beat RMU 13-9 during the regular season.
Dolphins have been there, trying to do that
JU beat four of the other five teams in the tournament during the regular season, three of them at Rock Stadium. The Dolphins topped Robert Morris, Air Force, Cleveland State 18-6 and Bellarmine and fell to Utah by only two goals at home.
Jacksonville has a combined 20-22 record against its ASUN conference opponents. The Dolphins are 4-6 vs. RMU, 1-4 vs. Utah, 5-8 vs. Air Force, 8-4 vs. Bellarmine and 2-0 vs. Cleveland State.
Trying to conquer the West
The teams to beat, as usual under the current ASUN alignment are the top-seeded Utes and Air Force.
Since Utah and Air Force joined the ASUN in 2022, they are a combined 60-31 (.659) overall and 40-6 (.869) in conference games. The Utes have been the top seed in the ASUN tournament all three seasons and Air Force has been the No. 2 seed the last two years.
It’s no secret to their success. The Utes and Falcons are among the top three in the conference in fewest turnovers per game, forcing the most turnovers and allowing the fewest goals.
The defending champions have the top two players in the conference in average goals per game, Ryan Stines (2.77) and Jordan Hyde (2.7).
How to watch the ASUN men’s lacrosse tournament
All tournament games will be live-streamed on ESPN+, with the quarterfinal games on Tuesday and the semifinal games on Friday at 1 and 4 p.m.
The championship game will be on May 5 at 1 p.m.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville University heads for the Rockies for ASUN men's lacrosse
