“PROVIDENCE, R.I.” — It’s May 16, 2020, and the quarterfinal round of the NCAA lacrosse championships is set to begin in mere moments.
“Last year, we saw the best quarterfinal round in the history of the sport,” says Paul Carcaterra at the top of the ESPN broadcast. “This year promises to be better! We have star power and eight teams that could legitimately win the whole thing.”
Quint Kessenich reminds the audience that “no one remembers a quarterfinal loser.”
The action opens with defending champion Virginia, a No. 8 seed in this year’s field, squaring off with top-seeded Yale in a rematch of last year’s championship game.
TD Ierlan wins his first nine faceoffs. Jackson Morrill and Matt Brandau each register first half hat tricks and Yale storms into halftime with a 9-3 lead. Virginia responds in the third quarter. Jared Conners causes a turnover, scoops a ground ball, races down field and stings the lower-left corner to cut Yale’s lead to five. The Virginia bench erupts with emotion.
Six seconds later, Petey LaSalla scores off a clean faceoff exit to make it 9-5. Virginia scores five unanswered goals to close within a single goal. But Yale finds answers in the fourth quarter. Thomas Bragg blasts a pair of late tallies. Ierlan closes out the final frame by winning every fourth quarter draw, and the Elis avenge last year’s Memorial Day loss with a hard fought 13-11 victory. Yale books its third straight trip to Championship Weekend.
Fourth-seeded Penn State faces No. 5 Maryland in the day’s second game. The teams split their two regular season meetings. In the regular season, the Terps clipped the Nittany Lions in overtime, 15-14. Penn State found revenge with a four-goal win in the Big Ten title game. Both teams trade heavy artillery early. Grant Ament, who became the NCAA’s all-time assist leader earlier in the season, assists on four of the Nittany Lions’ first five goals. Mac O’Keefe, the nation’s top goal scorer, was on the receiving end of three of those passes. Maryland’s duo of Jared Bernhardt and Logan Wisnauskas combine for a pair of first half goals. After 30 minutes of play, both teams stand even, tied at 8.
Both teams continue to trade body blows in the second half. Penn State flashes its scoring depth as Jack Kelly, TJ Malone, Dylan Foulds and Kevin Hill add to the third quarter scoring party. Maryland finds offense from Bubba Fairman and Anthony DeMaio. Fairman, a Utah native, scores the game-tying goal with just 20 seconds left in regulation.
Gerard Arceri win the ensuing faceoff and quickly pushes the ball up to Ament in the attack box. Jeff Tambroni emphatically calls a timeout with 10 seconds left. Off the ensuing restart, Kelly moves the defense off an alley dodge and kicks it to Ament on the wing. A pick by Hill on the far side allows O’Keefe to separate from his defender. Ament sees it all unfold and threads a perfect cross-field pass. O’Keefe catches it in stride, drops his left hand and unleashes a missile from 15 yards out. The ball crosses the goal line with one second left on the clock.
Penn State celebrates a return trip to Championship Weekend. This time, there’s unfinished business.
“HEMPSTEAD, N.Y.” — The quarterfinals move to Hempstead on May 17 with No. 2 Syracuse facing No. 7 North Carolina in the day’s early game.
“These are the two best midfields in the country,” says Quint. “Syracuse has been scratching a seven-year itch to get back to Championship Weekend. But no one has been able to slow down Carolina’s offense all season.”
“UNC is the only team to beat Syracuse this season,” adds Carc, “and they did it twice. Chris Gray was unstoppable in both games.”
Gray continues to make his Tewaaraton push with one goal and two assists early. Caton Johnson makes nine first half saves, and the Heels lead 5-3 midway through the second quarter. Then both offenses explode. Brendan Curry and Tucker Dordevic connect on lasers for Syracuse. Tanner Cook scores off a rebound, and William Perry blasts a rocket from the outside. The two teams play frenetic end-to-end lacrosse and combine for 10 goals in the final six minutes of the opening half. UNC trots into the locker room with a 10-8 lead.
Gray’s fourth goal and eighth point of the game give North Carolina a two-goal lead with 90 seconds left in regulation. Jakob Phaup wins the ensuing faceoff for Syracuse and finds Chase Scanlan on the wing. Scanlan, donning the storied No. 22 jersey, splits two defenders, absorbs a push from behind and still manages to score while crashing to the ground.
The Tar Heels still maintain a 16-15 edge with one minute left in regulation. UNC win the very next faceoff, and the Cuse jump into the 10-man ride. A perfectly timed Brett Kennedy stick check jars the ball loose in the restraining area. Peter Dearth vacuums and turbo boosts into transition. Before the defense can slide to Dearth, the All-American defensive midfielder fires a low torpedo to tie the score and force overtime.
In overtime, UNC gains possession first. Justin Anderson’s shot grazes the pipe, but the Heels’ Nicky Solomon retrieves the loose ball. Moments later, Gray finds Cook on the doorstep, but Orange goalie Drake Porter denies his fellow Canadian with a spectacular point-blank save. After a Syracuse timeout, the ball eventually finds Stephen Rehfuss behind the net. Rehfuss, among the national leaders in assists, hits Jamie Trimboli, who buries the game-winner and sends the Orange to Championship Weekend for the first time since 2013.
“You might be wondering how we top what we’ve seen so far,” says Carc. “The answer? Jeff Teat and Michael Sowers.”
“This place is going to run out of popcorn,” adds Quint.
In Ivy League showdown, No. 3 Cornell and No. 6 Princeton face off in a trilogy. It’s not just the third matchup of the season. It’s also the third tilt in a span of four weekends. Cornell won the previous two meetings, posting an 18-13 regular season win at Princeton before outlasting the Tigers 17-15 in an Ivy League semifinal.
Princeton starts fast behind goalie Erik Peters, who slams the door with five saves in the first quarter to keep Cornell’s precision offense at bay. With the Big Red defense zeroed in on Sowers, Princeton leans on a more than capable ensemble cast. Eight different players score in the first half. Princeton’s faceoff unit limits Cornell’s possessions and a late 4-0 blitz gives the Tigers a 9-5 halftime lead.
Teat finds John Piatelli for two quick strikes at the start of the third quarter. Angelo Petrakis leads a resurgence at the X, and Cornell begins the half with five straight possessions. Michael Long connects with Jonathan Donville on the equalizer, tying the score at 9 with more than eight minutes left in the third. Princeton finally gets back on the board off an inside roll from Sowers, but the Cornell flurry continues. Teat scores two more times, and Connor Fletcher proves why he’s one of the hardest players to guard.
Cornell rings up NINE goals in the third quarter and takes a 14-12 lead into the fourth.
The Big Red maintain their two goal margin until Sowers’ third goal brings Princeton within one at 18-17. With seven points on the afternoon, Sowers surpasses Lyle Thompson’s Division I single-season points record. Goals by Connor McCarthy and Phillip Robertson gave the Tigers a slim lead, but Cooper Telesco tied the scorfe at 19 with one minute left.
A Petrakis faceoff win gives Cornell the ball back in the final minutes, but Tigers defenseman George Baughan causes a turnover and gives Princeton one final chance to win it in regulation.
Princeton circles the ball behind the net, where the ball comfortably rests in Sowers’ cross. He surveys the field with ease, probing the defense while planning his method of attack. The entire stadium rises and holds its breath as Sowers intentionally lets the clock tick down. Twenty seconds. Nineteen seconds. Eighteen seconds ...
“These are the moments you dream about” says Carc as Sowers continues to bleed the clock.
They sure are.
ANISH's TOP 10
A different spin on a weekly staple.
10. Teammates
We’re all teammates now. Let’s be model teammates. We can all make some sacrifices in these times. We can all think about the person next to us. Be considerate. Be helpful. Be unselfish. Be a teammate.
9. Grow the Game
Find a sports fan who is unfamiliar with lacrosse. Ask them to watch the 1989 national championship game with you. They’ll want to see more. Higher quality feeds can be found from the past decade. The 2010 national semifinal between Duke and Virginia was my favorite high stakes game of the past decade. Tewaaraton finalists Ned Crotty and Ken Clauson going eye-to-eye in the final moments delivered an epic conclusion.
8. The Boys’ Latin Lost and Found
We’ve made a lot of jokes at the expense of the Boys’ Latin lost and found over the years. They can play along. I was hoping to wear these on the air at some point this year. Alas, we’ll have to wait until next year.
Opened the mail and saw a package from @BoysLatinLax.
— Anish Shroff (@AnishESPN) February 26, 2020
One is from the bookstore and one from the lost and found (well played). Thank you BL and Coach Brian Farrell!@BoysLatinLax is on its way to becoming the official neckwear provider of ESPN lax. pic.twitter.com/Zfb7gab35v
7. Lax Dad?
I never had lacrosse in my life growing up. My high school didn’t have it, and it was an alien sport in the neighborhood I grew up in. But I’d like to give my daughter a chance to fall in love with lax. She’s only two but already has an affinity for sports. I planned on getting some beginner plastic sticks this summer. I’m ready to be a lax dad. I’m open to all suggestions — do’s AND don’ts. Tweet me @AnishESPN.
6. Creativity
Imaginative freedom defines lacrosse. Whether it’s behind-the-back passes, around-the-waist goals or hand-crafted pocket squares, we’ll all miss the flair and unpredictability this sport gives us. There’s a “wow” moment in every game.
5. The Men in the Arena
So much of our coverage is based on access. Over the years, so many coaches and players have been incredibly generous with access, time, trust and insight. That has helped us tell stories beyond their statistics. Thank you.
4. Next Season
It’s a long wait, and there will be so many moving parts. Returning seniors. Transfers. Logistics. NCAA red tape. But next spring promises the greatest amount of talent in the sport of collegiate lacrosse than at any other time in the history of the sport. The roaring 20s may have begun with a whimper. But the roar may never be louder than next season. There’s plenty of time between now and then, but it will most certainly be worth the wait.
3. Readers
To everyone who has read this column in its brief existence, thank you. The kind words, shares, tweets and encouragement have been appreciated. Thank you to Matt Hamilton and his team at US Lacrosse Magazine for trusting me with this space. This fast became a labor of love.
2. Quint, Carc and Our Entire ESPN Lacrosse Crew
I’ll miss the car rides and postgame dinners with Quint, Carc and the crew. I’ll miss the on-air banter, the off-air juvenile laughs and the even more juvenile arguments. Quint’s dedication and attention to detail make all of us better. He cares about the game and never shies from an honest opinion. Quint has the most quirks of any of us (and that’s a high bar), but I learn PHD level lacrosse every time I call a game with him.
Carc always brings a humanity to our broadcast. He works tirelessly to bring players’ and coaches’ stories to life and reveal the soul of the sport. He always finds a quality Italian restaurant on the road, and that’s the real reason we get in a car with him.
Our coordinating producer John Vassallo gives us vast amounts of creative freedom and encourages our group to push boundaries and be creative. Producer John Kettering succeeds at the impossible task of getting Quint, Carc and I on the same page. So many others are part of our lax family — Richie Basille, Heather Lee Claggett, Ryan Hoff, Ryan Fulham and Russ Dlin are just some of the wizards behind the scenes. I’ll miss the whole crew.
1. Medicine Game
Memorial Day was the single worst day of my life. My mom passed away on Memorial Day when I was a senior in high school. I dreaded that weekend for years. Covering lacrosse on Memorial Day Weekend has been my medicine game. That weekend represents more than just personal tragedy now. It’s a chance to work with friends. It’s a chance to watch a different kind of human drama unfold — one that culminates in triumph.
Lacrosse gave me a reason to smile on Memorial Day. I’ll miss that the most this year.