With its playoff life hanging in the balance, defending national champion North Carolina made its case for a NCAA tournament berth with a 14-10 victory over No. 8 Notre Dame in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game on Sunday at Duke’s Koskinen Stadium.

The ACC does not have an AQ berth into the NCAA’s, but the victory pushes the No. 19 Tar Heels over the needed .500 mark with an 8-7 record. UNC boasts an impressive slate of victories, including Syracuse, Denver and Notre Dame, and will be a strong contender for an at-large berth.

Chris Cloutier, the hero of last year’s national championship run, earned tournament MVP honors. He had three goals and two assists on Sunday, following up on his three-goal semifinal performance against Syracuse that include a draw-jopping one-handed behind-the-back shot.

Just like Friday night’s win over Syracuse, the Tar Heels started fast, scoring the first four goals of the game. North Carolina pushed the lead to five goals in the third quarter, but Notre Dame seemed to gain momentum, scoring three goals in the final four minutes of the third quarter to cut the lead to 8-6 entering the final frame.

North Carolina quickly flipped the script, scoring three goals in the opening three minutes of the fourth quarter and Luke Goldstock made sure there would be no more Irish comeback attempt. Goldstock scored all four of his goals in the fourth quarter, two of them assisted by Cloutier.

Brian Balkam made 11 saves to earn the victory for the Tar Heels, who also got a goal and three assists from Andy Matthews and two goals and one assist from William Perry.

Brendan Gleason had three goals to lead Notre Dame and Bryan Costabile came up big again with two goals and an assist. Shane Doss made 12 saves.

The Tar Heels stuggled on faceoffs through the first three quarters of the game, but won 10-of-11 in the final quarter to even the category 14-to-14.

Notre Dame (8-4) finishes up the regular season next Saturday at Army.

PHOTO BY JOHN STROHSACKER

Loyola Wins Patriot League

No. 15 Loyola became the first team to officially punch its ticket to the NCAA tournament, by beating No. 17 Army West Point 13-4 on Sunday in the Patriot League championship game at the Ridley Athletic Complex. The Greyhounds (10-5) beat the Black Knights fro the second time in the last nine days.

Army scored first and back-to-back goals by David Symmes late in the first quarter tied the game at 3-3, but Loyola owned the second quarter, outscoring the Black Knights 5-0. Over the final 45:04 of the game, Loyola’s defense limited Army to just one goal.

Loyola goalie Jacob Stover made 11 saves to earn the victory and was named the Patriot League Tournament MVP.  Brian Sherlock and Jay Drapeau each had had tricks for the Greyhounds. Pat Spencer had a goal and three assists, giving him 55 assists for the season to set a new school and Patriot League record.

Symmes led Army with two goals. The Black Knights (11-4) host Notre Dame next weekend in a final chance to state their case for an at-large NCAA bid.

Two of the 11 saves @PL_MLAX Championships MVP Jacob Stover made today for the Greyhounds! pic.twitter.com/Mmr7lOFtCI

— Loyola Men's Lax (@LoyolaMLAX) April 30, 2017

Penn State Ties School Mark with 12^th Win

Senior Nick Aponte had five goals and four assists as No. 7 Penn State pulled away for a 17-13 victory over Michigan on Sunday at Michigan Stadium. The victory was the 12^th of the season, tying the school record set by the Nittany Lions’ 2013 NCAA tournament team.

Consecutive goals by Michigan’s Brent Noseworthy tied the game 9-9 late in the third quarter, but Penn State then went on an 8-2 run to take command.

Freshman Mac O’Keefe had four goals in the game, giving him a Penn State freshman record of 46 goals this season.

Mikie Scholosser had four goals for Michigan and Mike McDonnell won 20-of-32 faceoffs. Michigan finished the season 8-6, setting a record for wins in a season since it moved to the varsity ranks.

Penn State is the No. 4 seed for the Big Ten Tournament and will play No. 1 seed Maryland this coming Thursday at Ohio State.

Nike/US Lacrosse Division I Top 20 Scoreboard

No. 7 Penn State 17, Michigan 13
No. 19 North Carolina 17, No. 8 Notre Dame 13
No. 15 Loyola 13, No. 17 Army West Point 4

Nike/US Lacrosse Division II Top 20 Scoreboard

No. 2 Limestone 18, No. 11 Belmont Abbey 11
No. 8 Tampa 12, Florida Tech 8

No. 2 Limestone won the Carolinas Conference for the 10^th time in the last 11 seasons with an 18-11 victory over No. 11 Belmont Abbey. Senior Kevin Reisman won 20-of-23 faceoffs in the contest and Charlie Sheehan had four goals and an assist, one of three Saints to record a hat trick.

No. 8 Tampa downed Florida Tech 12-8 to with the Sunshine State Conference for the fourth consecutive year. Conor Whipple had two goals and two assists and was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Tournament.

Nike/US Lacrosse Division III Top 20 Scoreboard

No. 4 Denison 16, No. 19 Ohio Wesleyan 8

No. 4 Denison overcame an early 3-1 deficit to down rival Ohio Wesleyan 16-8 to win the North Coast Athletic Conference championship. Since losing its opener to Washington and Lee, the Big Red have won 15 consecutive games.

Will Donohue led the Denison offense with five goals, Henry DeCamp won 17-of-23 faceoffs and Stephan Paras made 10 saves.