Good morning. Here’s the latest from around the lacrosse world:
1. North Carolina took home the ACC tournament title after rallying off wins over No. 1 Syracuse on Saturday and No. 8 Notre Dame on Sunday.
It’s a good thing the Tar Heels did, because at 6-7, the only possible way they could qualify for the NCAA tournament was to win the ACC tournament and finish with a winning record. By taking down the Irish 14-10, the Tar Heels all but assure they will make the tournament.
Celebrate with some championship-caliber highlights!#GoHeels #Champs pic.twitter.com/WgKxOWmJCA
— UNC Men's Lacrosse (@UNCMensLacrosse) April 30, 2017
Chris Cloutier, who will be remembered for his heroics last year, won tournament MVP honors. He had three goals and two assists on Sunday, following up on his three-goal semifinal performance against Syracuse.
Here are the other men’s storylines on a wild weekend:
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Loyola became the first team officially in the NCAA tournament field when it beat Army 13-4 in the Patriot League title game at Ridley Athletic Complex. Jacob Stover had 11 saves to fuel the win and earn tournament MVP honors. Pat Spencer had a goal and three assists to help him set a new Patriot League record for assists in a season.
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The Big Ten tournament field is set after this weekend. Matt Rambo had three goals and four assists to help No. 5 Maryland dominate No. 10 Johns Hopkins 12-5 and earn the Big Ten regular season title. The Terps will face fourth-seeded Penn State. With the loss, Johns Hopkins takes the No. 3 seed in the tournament.
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No. 16 Rutgers, a team still firmly on the NCAA tournament bubble, got a game-winning goal from Kieran Mullins to upset No. 3 Ohio State 12-11. The Buckeyes will have the second seed in the Big Ten tournament
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No. 13 Towson beat No. 9 Hofstra 10-8 on Saturday to clinch the CAA regular season title.
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Jeff Teat scored five goals and added seven assists to help Cornell upset Princeton 18-17 on Saturday. He passed Rob Pannell for Cornell’s highest scoring freshman season.
PHOTO BY PEYTON WILLIAMS
North Carolina women won its second straight ACC championship with an 18-11 victory over Syracuse.
2. North Carolina women followed the men’s team with an ACC title of its own. This time, however, it wasn’t as surprising. The top-seeded Tar Heels ended the game with nine straight goals to beat No. 10 Syracuse 18-11 and win its second consecutive conference championship.
Molly Hendrick had seven goals and two assists to help North Carolina recover from an early 4-0 deficit and pull away from the Orange late.
Syracuse scored five straight goals to take an 11-9 lead early in the second half. That’s when Hendrick led the Tar Heels on the 9-0 that clinched the ACC title.
Also in women's action over the weekend:
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No. 8 USC made it two straight MPSF championships with a 16-11 win over No. 9 Colorado on Sunday afternoon. Michaela Michael and Gabby McMahon each had four goals to lead the Trojans to the win. Up 8-5 at half, USC scored five straight out of halftime to put the game out of reach.
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No. 6 Penn blew out Yale 18-7 to clinch a share of the Ivy League regular season title. With wins from No. 7 Princeton and No. 11 Cornell on Saturday, all three teams finished at 6-1 in conference. Cornell will host the Ivy League tournament.
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No. 1 Maryland officially won the Big Ten regular season title with a 18-9 win over No. 12 Northwestern on Friday night.
3. The Tewaaraton Foundation announced its top 25 men’s and women’s nominees for the Tewaaraton Award. Connor Fields, Dylan Molloy and Ben Reeves highlight the men's side, while Kylie Ohlmiller, Marie McCool and Megan Whittle stand out on the women’s side.
PHOTO BY EZRA BRATHWAITE/PRETTY INSTANT
4. The Denver Outlaws used a steady defense to hold the New York Lizards in check and win 13-7 on Saturday. It was the first time New York was held under 10 goals since July 18, 2015. Also, in MLL action, the Ohio Machine took down the Charlotte Hounds 15-12 to move to 2-0 on the season despite injuries. The Florida Launch beat the Rochester Rattlers behind five points from Chazz Woodson and the Atlanta Blaze got by the Boston Cannons 13-10.
The Outlaws' win came in the first MLL game streamed live on Twitter. The league announced that Twitter will stream the MLL Game of the Week for the rest of the season.
5. No. 1 Bates advanced to the NESCAC semifinals on Saturday, continuing its undefeated season. Read how this team is using last year’s NCAA snub as motivation.
Also in Division III, No. 2 Salisbury got by York to win another CAC title. Gulls coach Jim Berkman stopped by the Fred Opie Show on Friday.
6. The NLL regular season is over, and the Georgia Swarm take the top overall seed into the playoffs. Leading the way for the Swarm is Lyle Thompson, who won the scoring title with 116 points. Check out how the playoff picture is looking after this weekend's games.