In the Colonial Athletic Association, UMass coach Greg Cannella likes his team’s chances, but he also recognizes that this conference title is up for grabs.

“Everybody’s got a shot here,” said Cannella on Wednesday, hours before he was named the conference’s coach of the year. “This is very tight. All of our games with these teams were very tight. We’re playing Drexel first, a very, very good team.”

UMass snuck past Drexel on March 30 with a 10-9 win despite trailing by as many as four goals. The Minutemen can play accordingly this time around and have the luxury of experiencing more growth from sophomore Chris Connolly, who Cannella described as a leader on offense despite his relative inexperience.

“We’re asking a lot of Chris to obviously be a distributor, a ball-handler and a leader, as a sophomore,” Cannella said of Connolly, who leads the team with 61 points (26 goals). “And that’s a heavy burden for a young guy.”

For a UMass offense that can score at a healthy clip, he’s a key factor.

 

COLONIAL ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION TOURNAMENT

WHEN: THURSDAY, MAY 2, AND SATURDAY, MAY 4
WHERE: GARBER FIELD, UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS
SEMIFINAL: (4) Drexel vs. (1) UMass — Thursday, 5 PM
SEMIFINAL: (3) Delaware vs. (2) Towson — Thursday, 7:30 PM 
CHAMPIONSHIP: Saturday, 1 PM
WATCH: Lax Sports Network

If the offense should stumble at times, UMass has the support to weather the storm. Tom Meyers has been a stalwart at the X, and his matchup against Jimmeh Koita of Drexel will be an exciting matchup. Defensively, Sean Sconone has dominated at times between the pipes and can carry UMass when needed.

“I think this year for Sean, he’s playing with a lot of confidence,” Cannella said. “The guys in front of him feel more comfortable playing out there knowing that if they make a mistake, Sean has their back. Those guys will play harder for him, and he’s always played hard for them.”

Towson-Delaware represents a rematch of April 20’s 14-12 win for Towson. Delaware followed that loss with another loss to UMass, but those results aren’t too telling of the Blue Hens’ talent. Every team here is capable of making a run at the automatic bid.

Atlantic Coast Conference
Chapel Hill, N.C.

First Round
(5) North Carolina 11, (4) Syracuse 10

Semifinals
(1) Virginia 14, (5) North Carolina 13
(3) Notre Dame 12, (2) Duke 10

Championship
(3) Notre Dame at (1) Virginia, Saturday, 2 p.m. (ESPNU)

Notre Dame and Virginia squared off on March 16, and Virginia earned a 13-11 win. The Cavaliers overcame a five-goal deficit in the second half, buoyed by an 8-1 run in the final 23:59. Ian Laviano, an expert finisher, scored three of his five goals during the stretch. Since then, Virginia’s only hiccup came against Duke, while Notre Dame suffered losses to Ohio State, Duke and Cornell. One of the most important players in this rematch is Jared Conners, a long pole who will likely be at the forefront of Virginia’s defensive plan to slow down Bryan Costabile and Brendan Gleason. The Fighting Irish can win if the offense plays at a high level against an occasionally vulnerable Virginia defense.

America East
Stony Brook, N.Y.

Semifinals
(2) Vermont vs. (3) Albany – Thursday, 4:30 p.m.
(1) Stony Brook vs. (4) UMBC – Thursday, 7 p.m.

Championship
Saturday, 12 p.m. (ESPNU)

Stony Brook’s the hottest team in the conference, entering the tournament on a three-game winning streak and locking up the top seed in the process. The Seawolves draw UMBC in the first round, a team they beat handily (14-7) on March 23. It’s the other semifinal between Vermont and Albany that is a tossup. Vermont won the regular-season matchup, 10-9, even though Nate Siekierski made 14 saves for the Great Danes. Albany actually led for most of that game, but Vermont was resilient and won on Dawes Milchling’s goal. For what it’s worth, Stony Brook played close games against both teams this spring.

Big East
Denver

Semifinals
(2) Georgetown vs. (3) Providence – Thursday, 6:30 p.m.
(1) Denver vs. (4) Villanova – Thursday, 9 p.m.

Championship
Saturday, 4:30 p.m. (CBS Sports)

A wide-open tournament on the surface. Top-seeded Denver lost to Villanova, 12-11, on April 6, and draws the Wildcats in the semifinals. Nova’s freshman goalkeeper Will Vitton saved 19 of 30 shots, an incredible performance but one that will be difficult to duplicate. Denver has the advantage throughout this tournament with freshman Brett Boos dominating at the faceoff X. He’s won .608 percent of his faceoffs (188-309), and that’s an element Denver can lean on. Don’t take much stock in regular-season matchups here.

Big Ten
Piscataway, N.J.

Semifinals
(1) Penn State vs. (4) Rutgers – Thursday, 5 p.m.
(2) Johns Hopkins vs. (3) Maryland – Thursday, 7 p.m.

Championship
Saturday, 7 p.m. (Big Ten Network)

With the best player in the conference on its side, Penn State has the leg up. Grant Ament dominated against every Big Ten opponent except Maryland, but he was limited with an injury in that game. The Nittany Lions will get past Rutgers if they can limit the Scarlet Knights’ offense, something that wasn’t easy in the regular-season meeting. Maryland and Johns Hopkins could come down to how well Danny Dolan plays for the Terps between the pipes. He allowed 16 goals against Hopkins on Sunday, so it’s definitely not a given.

Ivy League
New York, N.Y.

Semifinals
(1) Penn vs. (4) Brown – Friday, 6 p.m.
(2) Yale vs. (3) Cornell – Friday, 8:30 p.m.

Championship
Sunday, 12 p.m. (ESPNU)

A league known for its parity makes for an interesting tournament. Yale, the defending national champion, lost to Penn and was given the second seed. Penn finished the regular season on a nine-game winning streak after beginning the season 0-3 against the gauntlet of Maryland, Duke and Penn State. Perhaps the battle-tested the Quakers for its rigorous Ivy League schedule. According to IvyLeague.com, only six times in 18 opportunities has the top seed actually won the tournament. The top three seeds are all formidable teams.

Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Poughkeepsie, N.Y.

Semifinals
(2) Quinnipiac vs. (3) Detroit Mercy – Thursday, 4 p.m.
(1) Marist vs. (4) Canisius – Thursday, 7 p.m.

Championship
Saturday, 10 a.m. (ESPNU)

Marist captured the top seed after beating Canisius on April 26. Canisius is the defending MAAC champ despite being the fourth seed for the second year in a row. The 10-8 win for Marist against Canisius signifies just how closely packed these teams are in the tournament. Marist, Quinnipiac and Detroit Mercy each finished 8-6 overall. Canisius was 8-7. Marist does a lot well but lacks a true game-changing offensive talent, meaning defenses that can hold the Red Foxes down can have success. In this one-bid league, anything could happen.

Patriot League
Baltimore

Quarterfinals
(5) Holy Cross at (4) Army – Tuesday, 3 p.m.
(6) Bucknell at (3) Boston University – Tuesday, 7 p.m.

Semifinals
Lower Seed at No. 1 Loyola – Friday, 5 p.m.
Higher Seed vs. No. 2 Lehigh – Friday, 8 p.m.

Championship
Sunday, 12 p.m. (CBS Sports)

Loyola needs Pat Spencer to be the Pat Spencer that has put himself in the discussion as a probable Tewaaraton finalist. If Army’s Johnny Surdick is able to cause problems for Spencer, players like Kevin Lindley and even Aidan Olmstead will need to step up for the Greyhounds. Boston U and Lehigh will be interesting. Lehigh won 10-8 when these teams played on March 30, but Chris Gray as a dominating presence can’t be overlooked. The sophomore can go off at any moment, giving Boston U a fighter’s chance against almost anyone.

Northeast Conference
Emmitsburg, Md.

Semifinals
(1) Mount St. Mary’s vs. (4) Robert Morris – Thursday, 5:30 p.m.
(2) Hobart vs. (3) Sacred Heart – Thursday, 8:30 p.m.

Championship
Saturday, 4 p.m. (NEC Front Row)

There might not be a hotter team in the conference than fourth-seeded Robert Morris, which enters the tournament on a six-game winning streak — including a 13-12 win over Lehigh and a 16-15 win over Hobart. The other four teams during that stretch weren’t great, but Robert Morris took care of business and is dangerous. Top-seeded Mount St. Mary’s did win the head-to-head with Robert Morris, 14-11, but that was over a month ago. Three potent goal-scorers in Chris DiPretoro, Luke Frankeny and Joe Bethke make Mount St. Mary’s a threat offensively. In the other semifinal, Hobart and Sacred Heart square off in a rematch of March 23’s 10-9 win for Hobart. Led by Matthew Pedicine, Hobart won 13 of 22 draws in that game.

Southern Conference
High Point, N.C.

Semifinals
(1) High Point vs. (4) Jacksonville – Thursday, 5:30 p.m.
(2) Air Force vs. (3) Richmond – Thursday, 8 p.m.

Championship
​Saturday, 12 p.m. (ESPN+)

High Point and Air Force are the teams that have generated the most buzz this spring in the Nike/US Lacrosse Division I Men’s Top 20, but that’s not to say that Richmond or Jacksonville can’t make a run here. Each of these four teams rank within the top 32 in the nation in scoring offense, with High Point at No. 4 with 14.86 and Air Force at No. 32 with 11.64. Defense could be at a premium here, which means the defensive unit that shows up could decide the outcome of what figures to be a high-scoring weekend.