Three No. 1 seeds went down in conference men’s lacrosse tournaments Thursday. Lucky for at-large hopefuls, none are considered a threat to be a bid thief come Sunday.

Stony Brook (America East), UMass (Colonial Athletic Association) and Mount St. Mary’s (Northeast Conference) all fell on their home fields.

We’ll stop short of calling the top seed a curse, considering Penn State (Big Ten), Denver (Big East) and High Point (Southern Conference) steamrolled their opponents.

The most notable result Thursday? Another win for Johns Hopkins over its rival Maryland. The Blue Jays, who after an April 21 beatdown at the hands of Penn State were flirting dangerously with the prospect of missing the NCAA tournament for just the third time in 49 years, now appear on solid footing regardless of how Saturday’s rematch with the Nittany Lions turns out.

It should be noted, the Big Ten tournament title and automatic qualifier has gone to either Hopkins or Maryland in each of the conference’s previous four years of existence. The Terps may have stumbled their way out of an NCAA tournament first-round home game.

PHOTO BY GREGORY A. SHEMITZ

AMERICA EAST
Stony Brook, N.Y.

Semifinals
(2) Vermont 13, (3) Albany 9
(4) UMBC 14, (1) Stony Brook 8

Championship
(2) Vermont vs. (4) UMBC
Saturday 12 p.m. (ESPNU)

For the first time since 2016 and just the second time in the last eight years, the America East men’s lacrosse championship trophy — and the NCAA tournament automatic bid that comes with it — will go to a team other than Albany.

The Great Danes (5-9), NCAA semifinalists a year ago, were eliminated by Vermont in the conference semifinals Thursday at Stony Brook.  The Catamounts scored the game’s final four goals to pull away. Dawes Milchling scored two of his game-high four goals during the game-ending run and added two assists for Vermont (8-6).

The Catamounts will face UMBC, which jumped out to an 8-1 halftime lead and defeated top-seeded Stony Brook 14-8. Brett McIntyre scored four goals and Trevor Patschorke added a goal and three assists for the Retrievers (5-8), who advanced to the America East championship game for the first time since 2014.

The Seawolves finished 9-6.

BIG EAST
Denver

Semifinals
(2) Georgetown 13, (3) Providence 12
(1) Denver 17, (4) Villanova 11.

Championship
(1) Denver vs. (2) Georgetown
Saturday, 4:30 p.m. (CBSSN)

Reigning Big East champion Georgetown trailed Providence by three goals going into the fourth quarter, but the Hoyas owned the final frame, scoring four unanswered goals to defeat the Friars 13-12 in the conference semifinals Thursday at the University of Denver’s Peter Barton Stadium.

Lucas Wittenberg set Georgetown’s single-game record with eight assists in the victory, which propelled the Hoyas (12-4) to Saturday’s championship game against host Denver — a rematch of last year’s emotional final.

The top-seeded Pioneers defeated Villanova easily in Thursday’s second semifinal, building a 10-goal cushion en route to a 17-11 victory. Six players scored at least two goals for Denver, which avenged a regular-season loss to the Wildcats (8-7). Austin French, Ethan Walker and Colton Jackson led the way with three goals apiece.

BIG TEN
Piscataway, N.J.

Semifinals

(1) Penn State 18, (4) Rutgers 6.
(2) Johns Hopkins 12, (3) Maryland 7

Championship
(1) Penn State vs. (2) Johns Hopkins
Saturday, 7 p.m. (BTN)

Johns Hopkins manhandled Maryland in the second half, turning a 6-2 deficit into a 12-7 victory Thursday in the Big Ten semifinals at Rutgers. The Blue Jays will defend their Big Ten championship against Penn State, which throttled the host Scarlet Knights 18-6.

Hopkins (8-6) came to life midway through the third quarter, scoring four goals in four minutes and then taking a 7-6 lead on Joey Epstein’s extra-man tally with 1:39 remaining.

Maryland’s Jared Bernhardt tied it 42 seconds into the fourth quarter, but Hopkins’ Alex Concannon answered 54 seconds later, catching a Joey Epstein skip feed and shooting low-to-low to beat Terps goalie Danny Dolan (15 saves).

The Blue Jays dominated from there, finishing the game on a five-goal run and defeating Maryland (11-4) for the second time in five days. Epstein and Cole Williams each contributed three goals and two assists, with Epstein surpassing Terry Riordan for Hopkins’ single-season record for goals by a freshman. His three goals boosted his season total 38, one more than Riordan scored in 1992.

Hopkins will have its hands full with Penn State, which blew out the Blue Jays 20-9 on April 21. The Nittany Lions (13-1) started slowly Thursday against Rutgers, but went on a 13-1 run spanning more than 35 minutes. Grant Ament and TJ Malone scored four goals apiece. Ament added three assists for a game-high seven points, giving him 95 on the season, a Big Ten record.

CAA
Amherst, Mass.

Semifinals
(4) Drexel 15, (1) UMass 12
(2) Towson 18, (3) Delaware 11

Championship
(2) Towson vs. (4) Drexel
Saturday, 1 p.m. (LSN)

Drexel raced to a 9-2 lead and held on for a 15-12 win over top-seeded and 13th-ranked UMass, advancing to the CAA championship game for the first time since 2014.

The Dragons (7-7), whose seven losses during the regular season included six that were by three goals or fewer, rode the hot hand of Matt Varian, who had three goals and three assists. Marshal King and Collin Mailman added three goals apiece.

UMass fell to 10-5 and likely out of NCAA tournament contention.

Drexel’s opponent Saturday will be Towson (10-4), which has rediscovered its early-season swagger despite being without the services of injured All-American faceoff specialist Alex Woodall.

Woodall’s backup, Jack McNallen, set a CAA tournament and school record with 27 faceoff wins (on 31 attempts) in the Tigers’ 18-11 victory over Delaware.

Brendan Sunday also tied a CAA tournament record with eight points on three goals and five assists. Towson outshot Delaware 57-33, the lone bright spots for the Blue Hens (10-5) being Joe Eisele (game-high four goals) and Matt DeLuca (16 saves).

MAAC
Poughkeepsie, N.Y.

Semifinals
(2) Quinnipiac 19, (3) Detroit Mercy 10
(1) Marist 11, (4) Canisius 10

Championship
(1) Marist vs. (2) Quinnipiac
Saturday, 10 a.m. (ESPNU)

Just seven months after being suspended by the university and losing their head coach amid a hazing investigation, the Quinnipiac men’s lacrosse team is one step away from the NCAA tournament.

The Bobcats (9-6) exploded for a season-high 19 goals Thursday in a 19-10 MAAC semifinal victory over Detroit Mercy, advancing to the conference championship game for the first time since 2016. Senior Mike Fletcher led the way with a career-high seven goals and two assists.

Quinnipiac will meet top-seeded Marist, the MAAC tournament host, in the final Saturday morning. The Red Foxes (9-6) blanked Canisius in the third quarter and had a key man-down defensive stop in the final minutes of the fourth quarter, during which goalie Jake Macgregor made three saves, in an 11-10 victory.

Joe Tierney (four goals) and Jamison Embury (three goals, two assists) led the Marist offense.

NORTHEAST CONFERENCE
Emmitsburg, Md.

Semifinals
(4) Robert Morris 13, (1) Mount St. Mary’s 12 (OT)
(2) Hobart 14, (3) Sacred Heart 13

Championship
(2) Hobart vs. (4) Robert Morris
Saturday, 4 p.m. (NEC Front Row)

Bobby Mo is making noise again.

Fourth-seeded Robert Morris, which captured lacrosse fans’ attention with a near-upset of Maryland in last year’s NCAA tournament, has come all the way back from a 1-6 start to again be on the verge of the big dance.

Tyson Gibson got his defender hung up on the crease, came around the opposite side, faked and scored with 1:47 remaining in overtime to lift the Colonials to a 13-12 win over top-seeded Mount St. Mary’s in the Northeast Conference semifinals Thursday.

Gibson also scored the OT winner in last year’s NEC final against Saint Joseph’s.

Robert Morris (8-7) trailed 12-7 late in the third quarter after the Mountaineers (9-7) scored five unanswered goals. But Eddie Smith halted the run and, who else, Gibson scored unassisted with three seconds remaining to give the Colonials the momentum entering the fourth quarter.

Brandon Sulhof converted a Jake Boudreau feed with 39 seconds left in regulation to send the game to overtime.

Thursday’s second semifinal between Hobart and Sacred Heart also was decided by one goal, but in much different fashion. The Statesmen led 14-8 going into the fourth quarter, a score that held up for most of the frame before the Pioneers exploded for five goals in five minutes to pull within one.

Matthew Pedicine (22-for-31) won a crucial faceoff with 1:51 remaining, Hobart drew a penalty on the ensuing possession, and the Statesmen held on for a 14-13 win.

Hobart improved to 11-4, the most wins in a season in the program's Division I era. Sacred Heart finished 9-6.

SOUTHERN CONFERENCE
High Point, N.C.

Semifinals
(1) High Point 17, (4) Jacksonville 3
(3) Richmond 7, (2) Air Force 6

Championship
(1) High Point vs. (3) Richmond
Saturday, 12 p.m. (ESPN+)

Tate Gallagher scored the go-ahead goal with 3:20 remaining, as third-seeded Richmond defeated second-seeded Air Force 7-6 in the Southern Conference semifinals Thursday at High Point.

The Spiders (9-6) will play in a conference championship game for the sixth time in their six years as an NCAA Division I program. They’ll meet top seed and host High Point which, like Towson, appears to have regained some of its early-season swagger. The Panthers avenged a 12-10 loss to Jacksonville on March 23 by defeating the Dolphins 17-3, the most lopsided game in SoCon tournament history. Hunter Vines led High Point with four goals.