Delaware’s Sunday night stunner — a 10-9 upset of second-seeded Georgetown punctuated by JP Ward’s game-winning goal with eight seconds remaining — was one of three NCAA Division I men’s lacrosse tournament first-round games that went down to the wire.
Penn almost went down to Richmond as well. But the third-seeded Quakers survived, eking past Richmond 11-10 in overtime thanks to a fortuitous failed clear and Ben Smith’s late-game heroics.
Saint Joseph’s had Yale on the ropes, too, before the fourth-seeded Bulldogs pulled away late for an 18-16 win.
Delaware and Virginia, a 17-10 winner over eighth-seeded Brown, were the only unseeded teams to advance. Both of their NCAA quarterfinal matchups have juicy subplots. The Blue Hens will play Cornell, coach Ben DeLuca’s former team. The Cavaliers meet Maryland, a rematch of last year’s national championship game.
Here’s every first-round result, the NCAA quarterfinal matchups and links to our coverage from the weekend.
FIRST-ROUND SCORES
(1) Maryland 21, Vermont 5 | Recap
Delaware 10, (2) Georgetown 9 | Recap
(3) Penn 11, Richmond 10 (OT) | Recap
(4) Yale 18, Saint Joseph’s 16 | Recap
(5) Princeton 12, Boston University 5 | Recap
(6) Rutgers 19, Harvard 9 | Recap
(7) Cornell 15, Ohio State 8 | Recap
Virginia 17, (8) Brown 10 | Recap
QUARTERFINALS
Hempstead, N.Y.
(6) Rutgers vs. (3) Penn – Saturday, 12 p.m. ET
(5) Princeton vs. (4) Yale – Saturday, 2:30 p.m. ET
Columbus, Ohio
Delaware vs. (7) Cornell – Sunday, 12 p.m. ET
Virginia vs. (1) Maryland – Sunday, 2:30 p.m. ET
Princeton’s First NCAA Win Since 2009
It had been 13 years since Princeton last tasted a postseason victory, but there were more immediate history lessons that fueled the Tigers’ 12-5 win over Boston University. … [READ MORE]
Cardiac Quakes Lean on Smith in OT
Freshman Ben Smith golfed the tying goal into the net with 29 seconds left in regulation and then scored 17 seconds into overtime as the Quakers escaped with an 11-10 win before 1,538 fans at Penn Park. … [READ MORE]
Yale Duo Outduels St. Joe’s Cole
In a contest that felt like a full 60-minute sprint, Yale faceoff men James Ball and Nicholas Ramsey were able to outduel Hawks ace Zach Cole in the fourth quarter. That signaled a clear momentum shift from the first three quarters, giving Yale the edge in an 18-16 win at Reese Stadium. … [READ MORE]
Eight-Goal Run Propels UVA Past Brown
Atlantic Coast Conference apologists still stewing over the omissions of Duke and Notre Dame from the NCAA men’s lacrosse tournament were partially vindicated Saturday night, as Virginia exploded for eight unanswered goals to defeat eighth-seeded Brown 17-10 in a first-round game at Stevenson-Pincince Field in Providence, Rhode Island. Tewaaraton Award finalist and reigning NCAA championship MVP Connor Shellenberger continued to stake his claim as Mr. May with four goals and four assists. … [READ MORE]
Maryland, Virginia to Meet Again
Maryland men’s lacrosse coach John Tillman annually makes little secret of his concern about the opening weekend of the NCAA tournament since it coincides with finals. He need not have worried Sunday. It remains to be seen how the tests and papers went for the top-seeded Terrapins, but they aced their on-field exam with a 21-5 rout of Vermont before 2,672 at Maryland Stadium. … [READ MORE]
Kirst Scores 7; Big Read Beat Ohio State
The Kirst family’s May magic has carried over to 2022. CJ Kirst, the fourth Kirst brother to play Division I lacrosse, tied Cornell’s NCAA tournament single-game record with seven goals to lead the seventh-seeded Big Red to a 15-8 victory Sunday over Ohio State at Schoellkopf Field in Ithaca, New York. … [READ MORE]
Rutgers Rewards 5,000-Plus Fans
The NASCAR offense went green Sunday. Rutgers run-and-gun offense, it turns out, is just as explosive on grass as it is on turf. And the people of New Jersey loved it. Ross Scott scored eight goals, one shy of an NCAA tournament single-game record, to lead the sixth-seeded Scarlet Knights to a 19-9 win over visiting Harvard at Yurcak Field — a 5,000-seat soccer stadium that was over capacity with an announced crowd of 5,212. … [READ MORE]
Hens Stun Hoyas in First-Round Finale
JP Ward scored with 8.8 seconds left as Delaware upset No. 2 seed Georgetown 10-9 to close out the NCAA tournament's first round Sunday. The Blue Hens will face coach Ben DeLuca's former team, Cornell, in their first NCAA quarterfinal appearance since 2007. They knocked off a No. 2 seed that year too. … [READ MORE]