Good morning. Here’s the latest from around the lacrosse world:

1. No 1. Maryland and No. 4 Penn State kick off championship weekend, competing in the first women’s semifinal today at 5 p.m. in Gillette Stadium. Megan Schneider previews the Big Ten rematch between the only remaining seeded teams.

"Playing Maryland is always exciting,” said Penn State coach Missy Doherty. “In order to go where we want to go, you have to go through teams like Maryland and these top teams. We’re up to that challenge and excited for it."

Added Maryland coach Cathy Reese: “Every game’s a fight. Every team that’s coming is bringing its all. It’s not about secrets.” 

2. Boston College is sending a clear message to the lacrosse world – “Don’t forget about us,” writes Jonathan Sigal.

The Eagles’ first trip to the final four is getting lost in Navy’s Cinderella run, but they’re staying grounded despite being overlooked.

“Yeah, we’ve never been to a Final Four, but our job is certainly not done,” said coach Acacia Walker. “We won’t be satisfied with this, which I think a lot of people probably think we will be. We won’t. We’re here, so we want to win.”

The Eagles face the Mids in the second semifinal tonight at 7:30 p.m. in Gillette Stadium.

3. Towson advanced to the final four thanks to attackmen Ryan Drenner and Joe Seider, faceoff specialist Alex Woodall and defenders Tyler Mayes and Jack Adams, writes Gary Lambrecht. But it’s the two-way midfielders Zach Goodrich and Tyler Young that allowed the Tigers to thrive.

On the other side of the bracket, it’s Denver’s defense that sent the 2015 NCAA champion dancing, despite having a solid faceoff specialist in Trevor Baptiste, according to coach Bill Tierney. The Pioneers’ defense is led by All-American Christian Burgdorf.

4. Delaware officially announced the hiring of Ben DeLuca as the successor to its legendary men’s coach Bob Shillinglaw. DeLuca is the ninth coach in the 67-year history of the sport at Delaware.

“We want to be great in the sport of lacrosse, but we want to be excellent in the classroom and leaders in the community as well,” said DeLuca, who added he was excited to lead the “renaissance” of a program he considered a “gold mine.”

5. The MLL draft takes place on Sunday in Foxborough, Mass., where the NCAA championships are also taking place. Phil Shore takes a look at the top prospects, starting with Syracuse’s Sergio Salcido who has moved up the draft boards.

What We’re Reading

• Here’s your guide to the NCAA championship weekend at Gillette Stadium.

• Maryland senior captain Zoe Stukenberg does it all – she’s been starting since freshman year, while maintaining a perfect GPA majoring in biological sciences and being a teaching assistant with office hours.

• Stukenberg earned the third straight Elite 90 Award for the 2017 Division I Women’s Lacrosse Championship on Thursday, which is presented to student-athlete with the highest cumulative GPA participating at the finals.

• ESPN’s Vicki Friedman poses the biggest question for this year’s Cinderella team: Could Navy actually win the NCAA women’s lacrosse national championship?

• Did former Maryland coach Cindy Timchal build Navy into a national power?

• Penn State is ready for its rematch with Big Ten rival Maryland after learning from its regular season, two-goal loss to the Terps.

• Boston College two-sport star Kenzie Kent (ice hockey, lacrosse) will be playing in her second final four this season.

• ABC 2 News looks at the Maryland women’s alumnae that dominate the final four.

  Final Four #TerpFam! pic.twitter.com/NGh7xP5al1

  — Maryland Women's Lax (@MarylandWLax) May 26, 2017

• There’s no question Maryland men and women want to win both titles at Gillette this year, writes the Washington Times.

• Connor Cannizzaro leads Denver into the semifinals against his former team Maryland.

• The Ohio State men is preparing for its final four game against unranked Towson.

• Short-stick defender Nick Manis is the unsung hero for Maryland.

• Towson’s Alex Woodall injured his hamstring, but it won’t stop him from playing this weekend.

• Could we see a championship between state rivals? Press Box looks at the possibility for a Maryland-Towson men’s final.

• Why are you a fan of lacrosse? College Crosse shares their reasons.

What We’re Watching

New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick gave a warm welcome to the men’s and women’s final four teams at Gillette Stadium on Thursday night at the annual NCAA Lacrosse Division I Banquet.

“I’m not in charge of the weather here, just coach the football team,” Belichick joked, after the women’s teams practiced in the rain earlier that day. “We’re really excited to have this event here. I have such a love for lacrosse.”

.@Patriots' head coach Bill Belichick with a surprise appearance at the #NCAALax Division I Banquet! pic.twitter.com/hu0WGASNvK

— NCAA Lacrosse (@NCAA_Lax) May 25, 2017

As the designated home team, hailing from Massachusetts, the Boston College women’s lacrosse team helped break down the Patriots’ huddle at practice. 

With the @NCAA_Lax Championships at @GilletteStadium this weekend, @BCwlax helped break down today's huddle.

: https://t.co/Nb1Tjpj2Gi pic.twitter.com/VBnATFQAic

— New England Patriots (@Patriots) May 25, 2017

Be sure to follow each team on social media, plus @USLacrosseMag, to follow the road to the championship. 

What’s On Tap

• The NCAA Division I women’s lacrosse final four starts today, first with Maryland-Penn State at 5 p.m., followed by Boston College-Navy at 7:30 p.m. in Gillette Stadium. The championship is on Sunday at 11 a.m.

• Justin Feil takes one last look at Navy women, the Cinderella story of this year’s NCAA tournament. Stay tuned to find out how assistant Aly Messinger, former North Carolina standout as the 2016 NCAA Championship Most Outstanding Player, has changed the Mids’ game.

• The men’s final four teams have arrived in FoxBorough and will practice Friday before the women’s games. Matt Hamilton will preview the seeded matchup between No. 1 Maryland and No. 5 Denver later this morning.

• The men’s semifinals begin on Saturday with No. 3 Ohio State facing off against Towson at noon, followed by the Terps squaring off against the Pioneers at 2:30 p.m. Winners will advance to the final on Monday at 1 p.m. at Gillette.

• Also at Gillette, the Division II and III men’s finals take place with Merrimack vs. Limestone at 2 p.m. and Salisbury vs. RIT at 5 p.m., both on May 28.

• In Division III women, the semifinals between TCNJ-Washington & Lee and Gettysburg-Trinity will be played on Saturday at noon and 3 p.m., respectively, with the championship on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. at Kerr Stadium in Salem, Va.

• The U.S. women’s national team will make an appearance at the first women’s semifinal on Friday before playing in an exhibition against Canada on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. at Yale.

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