May Madness, you say? Look no further than a couple of No. 4 seeds that clinched conference titles about 280 miles apart Saturday — and you’ll be hard-pressed to find anyone that wants to face UMBC or Robert Morris next week.

UMBC, which hasn’t had a winning record since 2014 and started the year 1-6, is headed to the NCAA tournament after defeating Vermont 14-13 in the America East men’s lacrosse championship game Saturday in Stony Brook, N.Y..

Robert Morris, meanwhile, started the season 1-7 but has not lost since, its about face culminating Saturday in an 11-10 win over Hobart in the Northeast Conference championship game in Emmitsburg, Md.

The Retrievers and Colonials were among seven conference champions crowned Saturday, including six that earned automatic bids to the NCAA tournament.

RETRIEVER FEVER

Trevor Patschorke scored the game-winning goal with 1:06 remaining, beating the shot clock on a sharp-angled finish near the goal line off a wing dodge, and UMBC held on to claim its first America East title and NCAA tournament berth since 2009 with a 14-13 win over Vermont.

Patschorke, a sophomore attackman, and junior line mates Ryan Frawley and Brett McIntyre each scored four goals in the win.

"I am really proud of our guys' resiliency all season," UMBC coach Ryan Moran said. "What you saw on the field today was just not an isolated incident… I was extremely happy to see them rewarded on the biggest stage."  

The Retrievers appeared dead in the water after an April 20 loss to UMass Lowell dropped them to 3-8 overall, 1-4 in conference play. They qualified for the America East tournament by the skin of their teeth, earning the fourth seed by virtue of a four-way tiebreaker. And after stunning top-seeded Stony Brook 14-8 in the semifinals Thursday, UMBC came back from 5-2 and 10-6 deficits to defeat the Catamounts on Saturday.

‘DEAD SOLDIERS’ DANCING

Robert Morris, which memorably gave top-seeded Maryland fits in the first round of the NCAA tournament last year, hardly seemed a likely candidate to return to the dance after stumbling to a 1-7 start, including an 0-2 mark in the Northeast Conference.

But the Colonials, whom coach Andrew McMinn has referred to as “dead soldiers fighting,” went on a five-goal run starting late in the third quarter and then survived a pulse-pounding finish to defeat Hobart 11-10 and punch its ticket. They’ve now rattled off eight straight wins, including a theatrical overtime upset of host and top seed Mount St. Mary’s in the semifinals Thursday.

PENN STATE BEATS HOPKINS IN OT THRILLER

Penn State was not to be denied. Not this year. Not this team.

Mac O’Keefe punctuated one of the most riveting games of this college lacrosse season, scoring his sixth goal on the first possession of overtime to lift the top-ranked and top-seeded Nittany Lions to an 18-17 victory over 15th-ranked and second-seeded Johns Hopkins in the Big Ten championship game Saturday in Piscataway, N.J.

O’Keefe added two assists for a team-high eight points, while Grant Ament set the NCAA single-season record for assists. Ament’s setup of a Jack Kelly man-up goal in the third quarter was his fourth assist of the game and 78th of the season, moving him past Albany’s Lyle Thompson (2014) and UMBC’s Steve Marohl (1992) for the record.

Joey Epstein, Johns Hopkins’ sensational freshman, scored seven goals and added two assists in what was a slugfest from the outset.

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UVA WINS FIRST ACC TITLE SINCE 2010

Remember when Virginia couldn’t win an ACC game to save its life? Those days are long gone.

Remember when the Cavaliers’ defense consistently got shredded by conference foes? Also a relic of the past.

Thanks to a stifling defensive effort, top-seeded Virginia won its first ACC championship since 2010, defeating third-seeded Notre Dame 10-4 at Klockner Stadium on Saturday.

The Cavaliers frustrated the Fighting Irish into committing 23 turnovers, seven of which were caused by Logan Greco (four) and Jared Conners (three). Goalie Alex Rode backstopped the effort with 11 saves, as Virginia kept Notre Dame scoreless for more than 42 minutes spanning the second, third and fourth quarters.

Dox Aitken led the Cavaliers with three goals.

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RICHMOND UPENDS HIGH POINT IN SOCON FINAL

Richmond outscored top-seeded High Point 10-3 in the second half and never trailed on its way to a dominant 15-7 win, claiming its second straight Southern Conference tournament title. The Spiders claim and conference’s NCAA tournament automatic qualifier and send the Panthers — ranked No. 16 in the Nike/US Lacrosse Division I Men’s Top 20, with wins over top-five RPI teams Virginia and Duke to their credit — into the perilous waters of the at-large pool.

TOWSON HOLDS OFF DREXEL

Tyler Canto made 17 saves and four different players scored hat tricks to lead Towson to a 16-14 victory over Drexel in the CAA championship game Saturday in Amherst, Mass., as the Tigers claimed their eighth conference title.

Towson, which will make its fourth NCAA tournament appearance in the last five years, scored five unanswered goals in a span of 5:21 at the end of the second quarter to break a 7-all tie and led 16-9 going into the fourth quarter.

The Dragons, who upset top seed UMass in the semifinals Saturday, nearly came all the way back, scoring five fourth-quarter goals.

 

GEORGETOWN REPEATS AS BIG EAST CHAMP

Daniel Bucaro (pictured) scored four goals, becoming Georgetown’s all-time leader with 145 for his career, as the Hoyas started hot and finished strong to defeat host Denver 12-9 in the Big East championship game Saturday.

Georgetown foiled the Pioneers in the final for the second straight year, though this time it threatens to keep Denver out of the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2009. The Pioneers now fall into a sea of at-large candidates and sit on the bubble alongside Cornell, High Point and Maryland.

MARIST WINS THIRD MAAC TITLE

Top-seeded Marist battled back from an early-three goal deficit to defeat Quinnipiac 15-14 in the MAAC championship game Saturday in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. Freshman Jamison Embury had four goals and two assists for the Red Foxes, who claimed the third conference title in school history.

CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP SCOREBOARD

ACC
(1) Virginia 10, (3) Notre Dame 4

AMERICA EAST
(4) UMBC 14, (2) Vermont 13

BIG EAST
(2) Georgetown 12, (1) Denver 9

BIG TEN
(1) Penn State 18, (2) Johns Hopkins 17 (OT)

CAA
(2) Towson 16, (4) Drexel 14

MAAC
(1) Marist 15, (2) Quinnipiac 14

NEC
(4) Robert Morris 11, (2) Hobart 10

SOCON
(3) Richmond 15, (1) High Point 7