NCAA Tournament: Profiling the Eliminated

NCAA Lacrosse: Division I Men's Lacrosse Quarterfinals-Notre Dame vs Virginia

This past weekend, the NCAA men’s lacrosse tournament field was trimmed from 16 down to eight. While the lacrosse community points to the teams still competing for a national championship, it’s also important to recognize the teams that were eliminated — the ones that didn’t even earn a shot to play for a final four berth and didn’t come close to the ultimate goal of a title.

Even though their seasons ended in disappointment, we need to look back on the seasons they had.

Duke (12-6) — 16-11 loss to Ohio State

The Blue Devils’ national championship reign has come to an end. There will be a new champion this year as a result of the first round’s biggest upset. Duke went through a transition year as its starting attack included a freshman, a sophomore and a junior. Sophomore Jack Bruckner totaled three goals against Ohio State while freshman Justin Guterding scored twice. The players on the old Duke teams like Jordan Wolf, Brendan Fowler and Josh Dionne were gone. And their replacements couldn’t do enough to bring the Blue Devils back to glory.

While in the past, Duke’s attack carried the offense, this year it had to be its midfield since its attack was so young. But unfortunately for the Blue Devils, the middies didn’t show up like they needed to. Myles Jones and Deemer Class had just one goal each vs. OSU and the starting midfield only combined for five points in that game. The midfield didn’t step up and Duke will watch the rest of its tournament from its couch.

Virginia (10-5) — 19-7 loss to Johns Hopkins

So many will wonder how this season could have been different if James Pannell didn’t get hurt. But still, he probably wouldn’t have scored 12 goals in the first round to keep UVA on pace with JHU. The loss to Hopkins was a complete debacle, an unraveling of a once-great program. But going 0-4 in ACC play losing at home this weekend marred what could have been a strong season in Charlottesville. The Hoos won eight of its first 10 games thanks to a somewhat weak nonconference schedule. Down the stretch, the Cavs were exposed losing three of its last five games. Don’t look now, but all of a sudden, it’s a four-year final four drought for UVA.

Cornell (10-6) — 19-10 loss to Albany

Whichever team drew Albany in the first round was going to have a tough task at hand. And the Big Red couldn’t handle Lyle Thompson or Connor Fields. Even being at home wasn’t enough as the Great Danes carved up Cornell’s defense and created space where there seemingly was none. Cornell might have had a shot against almost any other team in the tournament but Thompson went to work and did what he does. Even when he was covered, he found others and had six assists. When he wasn’t, he capitalized with three goals.

After the loss, head coach Matt Kerwick thanked his seniors for what they did for Cornell’s program: three NCAA tournament appearances and a final four appearance. But just like last year, the Big Red got caught in a tough first-round matchup and came up short.

Towson (12-6) — 12-10 loss to Notre Dame

Welcome.

Welcome to the attention span of college lacrosse fans. Welcome to the NCAA tournament. And welcome to expectations.

Towson now has something to build off of. Losing by just two goals stings — obviously — but who would have thought they could give Notre Dame a run for their money? No one.

But here we are, three days since the loss and already Towson has momentum for next season. Justin Mabus’ goal in the CAA final was an all-time classic. The Tigers’ win over High Point gave the program credibility beyond flukiness. And its performance vs. Notre Dame put it on the map. Towson has strong recruiting classes coming in, so watch out as Towson builds for the future.

Yale (11-5) — 8-7 loss to Maryland

Yale’s season will be defined by one play. The play at the end of its game vs. Maryland. The play that everyone is talking about. But when you lose three conference games, you get matched up against a No. 6 seed. And while Maryland isn’t the best in the nation, the Terps are good enough to make plays when they matter. And luck is a result of being in the right spot. The Bulldogs were trailing at the end. That means they had to play desperate. If they had the lead late, roles might be reversed. But Yale has no one to blame but itself. A tough break at the end came as a result of not taking care of business earlier in the game and in the season.

Brown (12-5) — 15-9 loss to Denver

They had to know it would be tough. Going on the road against a team undefeated at home. And oh yeah, they have one of the most lethal offenses in the game. Yeah, good luck with that.

Colgate (10-6) — 19-12 loss to North Carolina

Colgate gave Syracuse a scare last week and won a challenging Patriot League. Looking back, it’s pretty surprising this game wasn’t more competitive. But the Tar Heels are on a mission right now. This team has everything it takes to make the final four. And unfortunately for Colgate, it ran into the wrong team at the wrong time. After a four-game losing streak in the middle of the season, Colgate won six straight. But the season came to a thumping end — that will happen when you allow 19 goals in May.

Marist (14-4) — 20-8 loss to Syracuse

After Marist’s win over Bryant, players discussed the opportunity they had against Syracuse. But the Red Foxes couldn’t get it done. Who could blame them? They played a weak schedule and weren’t battle tested.

Marist’s win over Bryant was the highlight of the season, satisfying enough for an automatic qualifier from a weak conference.