Four No. 1 Seeds Fall in Division I Men's Lacrosse Conference Semifinals

This is May Madness.

Four No. 1 seeds fell in conference semifinals Thursday, with several upstart teams booking trips to their conference championship games. 

Here are the results. Be sure to check USA Lacrosse Magazine’s Division I Championship Central and TV Listings for guides to this weekend’s action.

AMERICA EAST

(4) Albany 10, (1) Vermont 4

Well then.

Entering the America East tournament at 5-9 and facing Vermont, which beat Albany 14-7 on March 25, clearly did not matter to the Great Danes.

Tommy Heller stood on his head, making 19 saves in a 10-4 upset of the two-time defending conference champs. Heller helped overcome a 5-for-18 showing on faceoffs against the Catamounts.

Eight of Albany’s 10 goals were scored by freshmen Silas Richmond, Ben Wimmer and Alex Pfeiffer.

“My staff had our guys dialed in and the boys came through,” coach Scott Marr said. ”Unbelievable performance from Tommy Heller in net.  We’re so proud of him for sticking with an up-and-down season.  We have had some major injuries as well and the guys who had to step in performed like they had been playing all year.”

(2) Bryant 12, (3) Binghamton 11

America East newcomer Bryant will have the chance to compete for the conference title in its first season, as the Bulldogs held off Binghamton 12-11 in a hard-fought semifinal.

Bryant led from start to finish but never by more than three goals. Aidan Goltz paced the offense with four goals and an assist. Jacob Alexander won 11 of 17 faceoffs and scored a goal and goalie Teagan Alexander made six saves in the fourth quarter.

America East Championship — (4) Albany vs. (2) Bryant, Saturday, May 6, 1 p.m. (ESPNU)

ATLANTIC 10

(4) High Point 16, (1) Saint Joseph’s 14

Trailing by five at halftime and down three late in the third quarter, High Point came back to defeat Saint Joseph’s 16-14, pushing the Panthers to the precipice of their second NCAA tournament appearance.

Jack VanOverbeke led the rally with three goals and four assists. Hunter Vines added three goals and two assists.

Carter Page and Matt Bohmer each had a hat trick for the Hawks, who were unbeaten in conference play during the regular season. 

(2) Richmond 15, (3) UMass 8

New conference, same result for Richmond, which will compete in a conference championship game for the ninth consecutive season.

The host Spiders will play former SoCon and ASUN foe High Point in the inaugural Atlantic 10 final after defeating UMass 15-8.

Atlantic 10 Offensive Player of the Year Dalton Young tied a career high with eight points (five goals, three assists) and Richmond used an eight-goal run to put away the Minutemen.

A-10 Championship — (4) High Point vs. (2) Richmond, Saturday, May 6, 12 p.m. (ESPN+)

BIG EAST

(1) Georgetown 19, (4) Providence 8

Top seeds in peril? Georgetown did not get the memo.

Tucker Dordevic set a Big East tournament single-game record with 10 points on seven goals and three assists, leading the Hoyas to a 19-8 victory in Milwaukee.

Georgetown shot nearly 50 percent from the field (19-for-40) and goalie Danny Hincks made 14 saves to keep the Friars at bay on the other end. The Hoyas are vying for their fifth straight Big East championship.

(2) Denver 16, (3) Villanova 9

Bill Tierney’s last ride continues — and likely will longer into May.

Denver prevailed in what USA Lacrosse Magazine bracketologist Patrick Stevens positioned earlier this week as a “de facto NCAA tournament play-in contest,” defeating Villanova 16-9 in the second semifinal in Milwaukee.

The Pioneers’ patented ball movement was on full display, yielding quality opportunities as they finished near 50-percent shooting (16-for-34). They led by as many as eight goals.

The Wildcats did pull within four thanks to a four-goal run bridging the third and fourth quarters, but Denver finished them off by scoring four of the last five goals, including two in a 38-second span.

JJ Sillstrop scored four goal, Michael Lampert had three goals and two assists aand Noah Manning added a hat trick to lead the Pioneers to their sixth straight win.

Big East Championship — (2) Denver vs. (1) Georgetown, Saturday, May 6, 4:30 p.m. (CBS Sports Network)

BIG TEN

(4) Michigan 17, (1) Penn State 15

Michigan is looking like a real threat to what was once believed to be a top-heavy Big Ten. The Wolverines dispatched top-seeded Penn State 17-15 Thursday afternoon, with an 8-1 run to begin the second half representing the 20-minute stretch that shifted the momentum. Michael Boehm led Michigan (8-6) with three goals and three assists, while Josh Zawada was close behind with three goals and two assists. Hunter Taylor, a freshman, came on in the second half to make eight saves.

Down 10-8 at halftime, Michigan opened the scoring in the first half when Kevin Pimental finished a feed from Josh Zawada. Taylor then killed two Penn State possessions with saves before Boehm knotted the score at 10 with 9:56 left in the third. Michigan then poured in three more for a 13-10 lead.

Penn State twice cut the deficit to two goals (16-14, 17-15), but didn’t have enough firepower to come back after surrendering the lead.

Patrick Stevens had more from Homewood Field.

PHOTO BY JOHN STROHSACKER

(3) Maryland 14, (2) Johns Hopkins 9

Two weeks after a one-goal loss to Johns Hopkins in College Park, Maryland returned the favor by beating the Blue Jays on their home turf. This time, though, the stakes were far greater. Maryland allowed just five goals in the second half, besting the Jays 14-9 in the Big Ten semifinals. Maryland will face Michigan, another team it lost to in the regular season, in the championship game.

Owen Murphy netted a hat trick for the Terps, and Zach Whittier produced a team-high four points (two goals, two assists). Brian Ruppel made 11 saves.

Big Ten Championship — (4) Michigan vs. (3) Maryland, Saturday, May 6, 5:30 p.m. (BTN)

PHOTO BY KEVIN P. TUCKER

CAA

(1) Delaware 11, (4) Towson 8

A week after upsetting Delaware in the regular season finale, Towson went up 3-0 early but ran out of magic Thursday, as the top-seeded Blue Hens advanced to Saturday’s final with an 11-8 victory.

JP Ward scored three goals and Tate Wasson anchored a strong defensive effort with four caused turnovers and five ground balls for Delaware, the reigning CAA champion and an NCAA quarterfinalist a year ago.

(3) Stony Brook 13, (2) Drexel 10

First-year CAA program Stony Brook will try to dethrone Delaware as conference champion after defeating Drexel 13-10 in Newark, Del.

Trailing 2-0 early, the Seawolves stunned the Dragons with a 10-goal barrage spanning 16 minutes, 16 seconds in the first half. They stretched the lead to nine when Jonathan Huber scored his game-high fifth goal to make it 13-4 with 9:45 left in the third quarter.

Drexel made a game of it, however, scoring six unanswered goals before running out of gas. Neither team scored in the last 7:26. Stony Brook goalie Jamison MacLachlan picked up the win with 15 saves.

CAA Championship — (3) Stony Brook vs. (1) Delaware, Saturday, May 6, 3:30 p.m. (Lacrosse TV)

MAAC

(3) Marist 19, (2) Mount St. Mary’s 7

Nearly one month ago, Marist lost by three to Mount St. Mary’s. What a difference those four weeks made. The Red Foxes dominated the Mount in the MAAC semifinals, winning 19-7 behind six goals and two assists from Jamison Embury. Jojo Pirreca scored five goals, and Hunter Embury had one goal and four assists.

The Mount took an early one-goal lead, but Marist ripped off the next eight goals — creating much-needed separation. The game never really got close from there, as the Mountaineers made it as close as 9-4 before Marist opened it up completely, 18-4.

(4) Siena 11, (1) Manhattan 8

Second-team All-MAAC goalie Christopher Yanchoris outdueled first-team All-MAAC goalie Joseph Persico, making five of his 12 saves in the fourth quarter as Siena defeated defending MAAC champion and top seed Manhattan 11-8.

Winless two years ago and 6-9 last year, the Saints appeared to be on their way to another losing season after a loss to Marist dropped them to 5-6 on April 12. They have since won five straight and will meet Marist again, this time for the conference title and a chance to play in the NCAA tournament.

“We’ve been in playoffs for about four weeks now, continually grinding and wanting it more,” attackman Pratt Reynolds said on the ESPN+ broadcast afterward.

Reynolds led Siena with three goals.

MAAC Championship — (3) Marist vs. (4) Siena, Saturday, May 6, TBD (ESPN+)