NCAA Division I Men's Quarterfinals: Scores, Recaps, Semifinals Schedule

NOW FOR AN ENCORE.

Following a riveting first round that ensured a brand new elite eight, the NCAA Division I men’s lacrosse quarterfinals are set to take place this weekend at Albany and Navy.

​Here’s a primer on all four matchups and all eight teams, how they got here, what to watch for, the latest lines and more as we settle in for another epic weekend of college lacrosse.

QUARTERFINALS SCHEDULE

May 20 — (2) Virginia 17, (7) Georgetown 14
May 20 — (1) Duke 15, Michigan 8
May 21 — (5) Penn State 10, Army 9
May 21 — (3) Notre Dame 12, (6) Johns Hopkins 9

SEMIFINALS SCHEDULE
MAY 27 — PHILADELPHIA

12 p.m. — (1) Duke vs. (5) Penn State
2:30 p.m. — (2) Virginia vs. (3) Notre Dame

(2) VIRGINIA 17, (7) GEORGETOWN 14

Connor Shellenberger produced six goals and four assists, and second-seeded Virginia pulled away from seventh-seeded Georgetown in the second half of a 17-14 win at the University of Albany. Payton Cormier, Xander Dickson, Peter Garno and Griffin Schutz each chipped in two goals. Matthew Nunes made 13 saves.

It was evident early that this would not be a repeat of the last time Virginia and Georgetown met in the NCAA tournament, a 14-3 waxing by the Cavaliers in the 2021 quarterfinals. Virginia held a three-goal lead at the end of a high-scoring first quarter, but Georgetown kept punching back in response to each UVA goal.

Down 10-8 with 19 seconds before halftime — courtesy of a Garno goal assisted by Shellenberger — Georgetown did not limp into the break. Jacob Kelly fed Nicky Solomon — both North Carolina transfers — to make it 10-9 one second before the horn.

The second half opened with ties of 10-10 and 11-11, but a Cormier goal with 8:54 left in the third quarter gave UVA the lead for good. That was the start of a 3-0 run from which Georgetown could not dig out from. Georgetown hung around and kept things competitive, but the Hoyas ran out of steam in the fourth quarter.

READ MORE: Virginia Ousts Georgetown, Returns to Championship Weekend After One-Year Hiatus

THE ROAD AHEAD

Virginia plays third-seeded Notre Dame in the NCAA semifinals May 27 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.

(1) DUKE 15, MICHIGAN 8

Michigan’s offense had answers for everyone it faced during a five-game winning streak that transformed a sub-.500 season into a breakout year. Then the Wolverines ran into Duke.

The top-seeded Blue Devils (15-2) dispatched unseeded Michigan 15-8 at Casey Stadium, booking passage to their fourth NCAA semifinal appearance since 2018. Brennan O’Neill had six goals and an assist for Duke, which will face either fifth-seeded Penn State (10-4) or unseeded Army (13-3) next Saturday at Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field.

Josh Zawada had two goals and an assist for the Wolverines (10-7), who managed only three even-strength goals in the first 41 minutes — by which time they trailed 10-5.

Duke scored in bursts throughout an increasingly wet afternoon: Twice in less than a minute in the first quarter; three times in a span of 1:24 early in the second quarter; twice more in 20 seconds closer to halftime. O’Neill was in the middle of it all, on the way to matching his goal output from his March 31 masterpiece against Virginia.

Still, Michigan lingered on the fringe of making things interesting well into the fourth quarter before O’Neill deposited a behind-the-back shot to make it 12-7 with 10:17 remaining. Michigan got little traction on offense the rest of the way, going nearly 10 minutes between goals as Duke pulled away.

The Wolverines averaged nearly 16 goals over their previous five games, but their faceoff tandem of Justin Wietfeldt and Nick Rowlett could not create a massive possession imbalance against Duke’s Jake Naso, who was 14 of 27. Michigan’s eight goals matched a season-low; Notre Dame held the Wolverines to eight on March 18.

Andrew McAdorey and Dyson Williams both scored three goals, and William Helm made 14 saves for Duke, which will play in its 12th semifinal in 17 seasons under John Danowski. It is also the Blue Devils’ 14th all-time trip to the semifinals, tied with Cornell and North Carolina for the fifth most in tournament history.

READ MORE: 6 Goals by Brennan O'Neill Help Duke End Cinderalla Michigan's Run

THE ROAD AHEAD

The winner plays fifth-seeded Penn State in the NCAA semifinals May 27 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.

(5) PENN STATE 10, ARMY 9

TJ Malone is the only starter remaining from Penn State’s first appearance in the NCAA semifinals four years ago.

The attackman did his part to ensure he and the fifth-seeded Nittany Lions get a second shot at playing on Memorial Day Weekend, scoring four goals in a 10-9 defeat of unseeded Army at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. Penn State (11-4) will face top-seeded Duke in Philadelphia on Saturday.

Gunnar Fellows had three goals for the Patriot League champion Black Knights (13-4), who were making their first quarterfinal appearance since 2010 and seeking their first trip to the semifinals since 1984.

Army had a chance to tie it in the final 23.6 seconds after Penn State’s Sam Sweeney was called for a cross check to the head. But the Black Knights couldn’t get a look and Penn State escaped after a video review determined that Jacob Morin didn’t fire a shot off a loose-ball scrum until after the horn sounded.

Black Knights goalie Knox Dent made six of his eight saves in the second half. Penn State’s Jack Fracyon saved 11 shots.

Army scored the game’s first two goals, but were soon bottled up by the stingy Penn State close unit even after the Nittany Lions lost defenseman Jack Posey to a leg injury after he tripped over the back of the net early in the second quarter. The Black Knights managed just one goal in a span of nearly 33 minutes as Penn State pushed the lead to 8-3.

Yet Army scrapped back, scoring four of the next five before Penn State’s Kevin Winkoff responded with 7:38 remaining. The Black Knights closed within 10-9 on goals from Fellows and Finn McCullough, who again started on attack in place of the injured Paul Johnson after not playing in any regular-season games after March 18.

READ MORE: Panicless Penn State Staves Off Army, Advances to NCAA Semifinals

THE ROAD AHEAD

The winner plays top-seeded Duke in the NCAA semifinals May 27 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.

(3) NOTRE DAME 12, (6) JOHNS HOPKINS 9

Chris Kavanagh and Jack Simmons both scored three goals and added an assist, and Jake Taylor delivered a hat trick, as third-seeded Notre Dame ousted sixth-seeded Johns Hopkins 12-9 Sunday in an NCAA tournament quarterfinal before 13,354 at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.

Notre Dame reached the semifinals for the sixth time in program history and will play on Memorial Day weekend for the first time since 2015.

The Fighting Irish (12-2) will meet second-seeded Virginia (13-3) --- which dealt Notre Dame its only two losses this season --- in Saturday’s second semifinal in Philadelphia.

Matt Collison, Garrett Degnon, Russell Melendez and Johnathan Peshko each scored twice for the Blue Jays (12-6), who fell in their first quarterfinal appearance since 2018.

The Irish had control for much of the afternoon, only trailing for a little more than two minutes after Hopkins opened the scoring. Notre Dame built a 7-4 lead by halftime, and responded to back-to-back Blue Jays with a four-goal spurt of its own to go up 11-6 early in the fourth quarter.

Liam Entenmann made 10 saves for the Irish. Hopkins’ Tim Marcille stopped six shots.

READ MORE: Notre Dame Defense Smothers Johns Hopkins in 12-9 Quarterfinal Win

THE ROAD AHEAD

The winner plays second-seeded Virginia in the NCAA semifinals May 27 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.