As fans of the sport, we all love to see underdogs make their way from the bottom of the Selection Sunday pile to the pinnacle of the sport. Last year we saw a six-loss Western New England team make a run to the quarterfinals before bowing out to Cortland. There has been no such magic this year.
Instead, the eight teams left standing after the weekend’s second round contests are truly the best eight teams in the country. Preseason title favorites RIT, Stevenson, Cortland and Salisbury remain standing with a slew of teams that have hung around the top of the USILA poll for much of the season. Denison hasn’t lost yet. Union has only lost to teams that are still playing this weekend. Tufts and Washington College have been strong from start to finish.
These are the best of the best, and even if we might think we would rather see a Cinderella run, we are about to see some of the highest quality lacrosse at any level on this Wednesday, May 14. Let’s dive right in.
RIT vs. Union—Wednesday, 4:00 pm
The combined record of these two teams entering Wednesday’s regional semifinal is 34-3 with all three losses belonging to the Dutchmen. Two of those losses came courtesy of the Tigers, including the Liberty League championship game played just 10 days ago. These teams have already gone to war twice, but neither had the gravity of Wednesday’s contest.
Ryan Lee and Kyle Aquin each notched hat tricks against Ithaca over the weekend and come in as hotter than Jake Coon could possibly have hoped for. Bookends for the Tigers’ top four scorers, Lee and Aquin pace the offense from their respective positions. As strong as Casey Jackson and Allister Warren have been, scoring 67 and 58 points, respectively, the success of the Tigers in their third matchup with Union begins and ends with Lee and Aquin.
The bell weather player for Union is attackman Rob Santangelo and he’s coming in on a bit of a tear himself. Santangelo scored four goals with two assists in the second-round win over Amherst on Saturday after handing out three assists in the opening round against New England College. In two games against RIT this year, he’s got three goals and two assists and they will need more of that production to get the win.
Prediction: RIT, 14-12
Tufts vs. Cortland—Wednesday, 3:30 pm
Two of the more successful programs in the North over the last few seasons, Tufts and Cortland will face off for the right to knock the Tigers from their pedestal atop the region and clinch a spot in Baltimore. There is a little less intrigue to this one than the aforementioned matchup, but that says more about that game than it does about the Jumbos and Red Dragons.
Tufts is battle-tested, plain and simple. After ripping through the ultra-competitive NESCAC and earning the league’s title for the fifth straight year, the Jumbos had to hold off Endicott in the second round to earn a spot in the quarterfinals. Chris Schoenhut and Peter Bowers notched hat tricks while standouts Beau Wood and Connor Helfricht were held to just an assist between the two of them. If Cortland can hold down those two and stem some of the production from the other two, they could walk away from Medford with a comfortable win.
The Red Dragons easily handled a tough Springfield team in the second round, leading 14-4 before winning 14-10. Joe Slavik scored three goals and added four assists and Zach Hopps added two goals and an assist of his own. Goaltender Scott Tota made nine saves and allowed just four goals before bowing out of the game and comes into this game with a goals against average of 6.58 and a 60.3 save percentage. Big games from those three, coupled with a strong defensive showing against Wood and Helfricht could see a repeat performance of Saturday for Cortland.
Prediction: Tufts, 9-8
Salisbury vs. Denison—Wednesday, 7:00 pm
This game between the Seagulls and Big Red could give us this tournament’s version of the Kentucky/Wichita State classic back in March. On one side we have the perennial power, loaded to the hilt with top flight talent that has played big games from start to finish. On the other, we have the unbeaten squad out of a one-bid league with its fair share of top talent just waiting for the opportunity to showcase it on the big stage. This is that stage—can Denison pull it off?
In order to do that Denison will have to figure out a way to beat Salisbury’s stout defense. The Seagulls have allowed double-digit goals just twice this season and haven’t allowed more than six in their last three games. Goaltender Alex Taylor has been on fire of late, and the Salisbury defense has been doing its part to keep shots off of him. Over this three game span, Taylor has made 22 saves on 38 shots, facing just 11 in each of the last two games.
On the other side, Denison has scored in single digits just twice all season and have scored 44 goals in its last three games. The attack duo of Eddie Vita (73 points) and Luke Walsh (70 points) has been extremely potent and both will need to have strong games in order to solve Taylor. Vita is coming off a five-assist game against Aurora, a game in which Walsh poured in four goals with two helpers. If those two can play well and get some help from the other big offensive names, Denison might just do what the Shockers could not—beat the big guy.
Prediction: Salisbury, 12-10
Stevenson vs. Washington College – Wednesday, 7:00 pm
Much like the Cortland/Tufts matchup on the other side of the bracket, this game doesn’t have quite the same intrigue as its regional counterpart. What we have in this one is two very good teams who have only lost to other teams still playing in the tournament. Both teams have hung around all year. Both teams won their conferences. Both teams lost to Salisbury and both teams want another shot at the Seagulls.
Last season’s national champion, the Mustangs came into this year as the No. 1 team before falling to RIT early in the year. Their non-conference schedule included games against RIT, Tufts, Salisbury, Western New England, Roanoke, Nazareth, Lynchburg, and Cortland—a veritable murder’s row of opponents. Cal Robinson is one of the best defenders in the country, their offense is as potent as they come, and Paul Cantabene has seen the top of the mountain—and it is good. All the stands between them and a second national championship are the Shoremen, the Seagulls, and the Tigers. That’s the way they want it.
The Centennial Conference champion ended up being the league’s lone representative, and the Shoremen have to represent for their compatriots. Their lone loss this season came at the hands of Salisbury and since then all they have done is win 12-straight games while allowing double-digit goals just once. Hunter Nowicki has put up monster numbers this year—32 goals, 36 assists—with nine of them coming during this NCAA Tournament. A big game from him, will be necessary to keep pace with Stevenson’s offense and give the Shoremen a second chance at Salisbury.
Prediction: Washington, 16-15
