Top Seeds Denver, Hopkins Defeated in Big East, Big Ten Semifinals

Upset season has arrived.

In a matter of minutes Thursday, two teams ranked in the top three of this week’s USA Lacrosse Division I Men’s Top 20 and who went undefeated in their conferences were shoved into the NCAA tournament at-large pool.

Luke Raymond found a seam in the defense and Matt Liccata found Raymond inside for a goal with 36 seconds remaining to give fourth-seeded Villanova a 10-9 win over top-seeded Denver in the Big East semifinals.

It held up that way only after an apparent equalizer by Denver’s Michael Lampert with two seconds left was waived when officials determined he landed in the protective goal mouth.

The tournament’s predetermined host, Villanova jumped out to a 6-1 lead.

Denver, ranked No. 3 nationally, responded with a six-goal run. The Pioneers blanked the Wildcats in the third quarter.

But Villanova made one more play in the fourth quarter and thus will play at least one more game this season.

Denver wasn’t the only No. 1 seed to go down Thursday.

Top-seeded Johns Hopkins also jumped out to a 6-1 lead on Michigan. But last year’s Cinderella team had Michael Boehm on its side. The reigning Big Ten championship MVP scored five goals and the fourth-seeded Wolverines stormed back to defeat the Blue Jays 10-7 in the conference semifinals in Columbus, Ohio.

The Blue Jays’ offense went cold after Garrett Degnon scored his third goal to put them ahead by five goals early in the second quarter.  They did not score again until Russell Melendez put one in at the 7:25 mark of the third quarter and were blanked the rest of the way.

Michigan held Hopkins scoreless for stretches of 21:53 and 22:25. Neither team scored in the fourth quarter.

The Wolverines outshot the Blue Jays 48-25 despite Hopkins winning 17 of 26 faceoffs.  Michigan protected the ball better, committing just nine turnovers to the Blue Jays’ 17.

Both Denver and Hopkins have compelling at-large cases. According to Lacrosse Reference, their losses dropped them to No. 7 and No. 4, respectively, in the ratings percentage index (RPI) used by the NCAA men’s lacrosse tournament selection committee.

Still, bid thieves lurk, including the two teams that beat them Thursday.

Georgetown, Delaware Survive

The Big East final almost shaped up to be a 3-4 affair, as third-seeded Providence scored seven unanswered goals to put a scare into second seeded Georgetown.

The Hoyas, ranked ninth in the USA Lacrosse Division I Men’s Top 20 but a bubble team in the NCAA tournament at-large conversation, rallied to force overtime and won it when Aidan Carroll scored his seventh goal with less than minute remaining.

Coming out of a restart from behind, Carroll got above the goal line, slipped, regained his footing and fired a bullet for his second OT winner this spring. The first came at top-ranked Notre Dame, when Georgetown dealt the Fighting Irish their only loss of the season.

The Hoyas led the Friars 9-5 late in the second quarter. But Providence scored twice in the final 73 seconds and sustained that momentum with five unanswered goals to start the third quarter.

Georgetown capitalized on seven Friars turnovers in the fourth quarter to tie the game twice. Carroll also had a hand in the equalizer, assisting Alexander Vardaro’s goal with 3:50 left in regulation that made it 13 apiece.

Carroll finished with seven goals and two assists for the Hoyas, who will play Villanova for the Big East title Saturday.  Georgetown has won the last five conference champioships.

Another two seed, Delaware, escaped in the CAA semifinals at Towson. Mike Robinson, the Blue Hens’ all-time leading scorer, netted the game-tying and winning goals as the Blue Hens defeated Fairfield 13-12 in overtime.

Delaware will meet host Towson, an 18-8 winner over Drexel, in the CAA championship game Saturday. Bode Maurer set a CAA tournament record with seven goals in the Tigers' win.

Penn Statement

The Big Ten championship game, on the other hand, will feature the third and fourth seeds. After Michigan handled Hopkins in Columbus, third-seeded Penn State trounced second-seeded Maryland 19-9.

The Nittany Lions were surgical on offense, shooting better than 40 percent (19-for-47) from the field and overcoming a 20-11 disadvantage in faceoffs. Matt Traynor led the barrage with five goals.

Conference Finals Set

Top-seeded Sacred Heart will play third-seeded Manhattan for the MAAC championship.

The Pioneers led by as many as seven goals against Siena and held on to win 15-13. They've won a program-record 10 straight games and are eyeing their first-ever NCAA tournament berth.

The Jaspers scored five unanswered goals bridging halftime and defeated LIU 8-7. Quinn Bowler’s unassisted goal with 4:17 left held up as the game winner.

The Atlantic 10 was a dogfight as usual. Top-seeded Saint Joseph’s defeated fourth-seeded UMass 11-9 despite 19 saves from Minutemen goalie Matt Knote. Levi Anderson scored four goals for the Hawks, who will play second-seeded Richmond for the A10 title Saturday. The reigning champion Spiders will play in a conference final for the 10th straight year — an incredible streak — after holding off High Point 11-10.

Lance Madonna had four goals and three assists, feeding Lukas Olsson for the go-ahead goal with 1:54 left and adding an insurance tally of his own with 14 seconds remaining. High Point’s Collin Hebben won the ensuing faceoff and took it to the house five seconds later, but the Panthers did not get another opportunity on goal.

The America East final also is set. Top-seeded Albany will host second-seeded Vermont on Saturday after they defeated Merrimack and UMBC, respectively.  The Great Danes throttled the Warriors 18-7 while the Catamounts scored three late goals to eke past the Retrievers 10-8.