Michigan will host the Big Ten men’s lacrosse tournament next week in Ann Arbor, and Penn State is not invited. The Wolverines made sure of that Saturday.
Michigan, which had not won a conference game since 2015, played the role of spoiler Saturday, upsetting the No. 14-ranked Nittany Lions 10-9 on Decker Curran’s goal 58 seconds into overtime.
Ohio State then sealed Penn State’s postseason fate by defeating Rutgers. The Nittany Lions, with an RPI of 19 coming into Saturday, are unlikely to receive an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament.
The Wolverines jumped out to a 3-0 and held Penn State scoreless for the first 21:41 of the contest. The Nittany Lions came alive with four unanswered goals in the third quarter and led 7-5 going into the fourth.
Curran, the junior midfielder who played a big role in Michigan’s upset of Notre Dame in March, scored three fourth-quarter goals, twice tying the game. After Penn State’s Mac O’Keefe gave the Nittany Lions a 9-8 lead with 40 seconds remaining in regulation, the Wolverines countered when Rocco Sutherland fed Curran for the equalizer with 22 seconds left.
In overtime, Michigan’s Connor Cronin won the lone faceoff of the session. Following a cycle through Michigan's offensive set, Curran was able to find space and send home a crank shot from 10 yards out to lift the Wolverines to the second Big Ten win in program history and first since they defeated Rutgers in 2015.
The Big Ten semifinals will put top-seeded Maryland, which edged archrival Johns Hopkins in triple overtime Saturday, against fourth-seeded Rutgers and second-seeded Johns Hopkins against third-seeded Ohio State.
Several more conference tournament fields were finalized Saturday. Scroll to the bottom of this article for a snapshot.
FRESHMEN LEAD BUCKEYES PAST RUTGERS
After a midseason swoon, Ohio State has rediscovered the combination of stifling defense and efficient offense that propelled the Buckeyes to their first final four and NCAA championship game a year ago.
Ohio State closed out the regular season with a 10-7 win over Rutgers thanks to a dominant faceoff performance by freshman Justin Inacio (18-for-21). Although it was Senior Day in Columbus, the rookies ruled the day, with freshman Jackson Reid scoring a game-high three goals in the win.
The Buckeyes, who lost five straight games and went more than a month without a win, have now won three straight, knocking off Michigan, Maryland and Rutgers to clinch a spot in the postseason.
YALE HAMMERS HARVARD TO CAP PERFECT IVY CAMPAIGN
No. 2 Yale scored the first five goals and rolled to a 16-8 win Saturday over Harvard, finishing perfect in Ivy League play for first time since 1956. The Bulldogs have won five straight games by a combined score of 88-40. Two-time Tewaaraton finalist had four goals and three assists. Matt Gaudet added a career-high four goals in the victory, which, combined with Duke’s loss to Notre Dame in the ACC semifinals Friday, likely will propel the Bulldogs to the No. 1 spot in the Nike/US Lacrosse Division I Men’s Top 20. Yale outshot Harvard 56-21, peppering Crimson goalie Robert Shaw (18 saves) early and often.
PRINCETON UPSET OF CORNELL NOT ENOUGH TO EARN IVY BID
Princeton defenseman George Baughan shut out Cornell sensation Jeff Teat, leading the Tigers to a 14-8 upset of No. 8-ranked Cornell. It wasn’t enough to get the Tigers into the Ivy League tournament — Brown’s win over Dartmouth eliminated Princeton from contention — but the future sure looked bright with Baughan, a freshman, locking down one end and Michael Sowers, the sophomore sensation, setting records on the other. Sowers finished with two goals and two assists, giving him 83 points on the season, breaking the school single-season record of 82, which he happened to set as a freshman a year ago.
ALBANY REBOUNDS, FIELDS PLAYS
Albany locked up a share of the America East regular season title and the No. 1 seed with a 16-6 win over Hartford on Saturday. More importantly, star attackman Connor Fields started and played into the third quarter, finishing with a goal and four assists. Fields, who missed two games with a sprained MCL earlier this season, was considered doubtful after he exited last week’s loss to Yale when he appeared to aggravate the injury. An MRI revealed no further damage in his knee.
NIKE/US LACROSSE
TOP 20 SCOREBOARD
No. 2 Yale 16, Harvard 8
No. 3 Denver 7, Marquette 4
No. 4 Albany 16, Hartford 6
No. 5 Maryland 8, No. 7 Johns Hopkins 7 (3OT)
Princeton 14, No. 8 Cornell 8
No. 19 Ohio State, 10, No. 9 Rutgers 7
Michigan 10, No. 14 Penn State 9 (OT)
No. 16 Georgetown 11, St. John’s 6
No. 17 Villanova 10, Providence 9
CONFERENCE TOURNAMENTS
ACC
Charlottesville, Va.
Semifinals
Friday, April 27
(3) Notre Dame 14, (2) Duke 11
(4) Virginia 11, (1) Syracuse 10
Championship Game
Sunday, April 29
(4) Virginia vs. (3) Notre Dame
12 p.m. (ESPNU)
AMERICA EAST
Albany, N.Y.
Semifinals
Thursday, May 3
(3) Vermont vs. (2) Stony Brook
4:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
(4) UMass Lowell vs. (1) Albany
7 p.m. (ESPN+)
Championship Game
Saturday, May 5
12 p.m. (ESPNU)
BIG EAST
Villanova, Pa.
Semifinals
Thursday, May 3
(4) Marquette vs. (1) Denver
4:30 p.m. (CBSSN)
(3) Georgetown vs. (2) Villanova
7 p.m. (CBSSN)
Championship Game
Saturday, May 5
2 p.m. (CBSSN)
BIG TEN
Ann Arbor, Mich.
Semifinals
Thursday, May 3
(4) Rutgers vs. (1) Maryland
5 p.m. (BTN)
(3) Ohio State vs. (2) Johns Hopkins
7:30 p.m. (BTN)
Championship Game
Saturday, May 5
7 p.m. (BTN)
CAA
Amherst, Mass.
Semifinals
Thursday, May 3
(4) Hofstra vs. (1) UMass
5 p.m. (LSN)
(3) Delaware vs. (2) Towson
7:30 p.m. (LSN)
Championship Game
Saturday, May 5
1 p.m. (LSN)
IVY LEAGUE
New York, N.Y.
Semifinals
Friday, May 4
(4) Penn vs. (1) Yale
6 p.m. (ESPNU)
(3) Brown vs. (2) Cornell
8:30 p.m. (ESPNU)
Championship Game
Sunday, May 6
12 p.m. (ESPNU)
MAAC
Long Branch, N.J.
Semifinals
Thursday, May 3
(4) Canisius vs. (1) Quinnipiac
12 p.m. (ESPN+)
(3) Monmouth vs. (2) Detroit Mercy
3 p.m. (ESPN+)
Championship Game
Saturday, May 5
10 a.m. (ESPNU)
NEC
Philadelphia
Semifinals
Thursday, May 3
(4) Sacred Heart vs. (1) Saint Joseph’s
Time TBD (NEC Front Row)
(3) Robert Morris vs. (2) Bryant
Time TBD (NEC Front Row)
Championship Game
Saturday, May 5
Time TBD (NEC Front Row)
PATRIOT LEAGUE
Baltimore
Quarterfinals
Tuesday, April 24
(4) Lehigh 11, (5) Colgate 6
(6) Boston University 12, (3) Bucknell 11
Semifinals
Friday, April 27
(1) Loyola 13, (6) Boston University 8
(4) Lehigh 10, (2) Navy 9 (OT)
Championship Game
Sunday, April 29
(4) Lehigh vs. (1) Loyola
12 p.m. (CBSSN)
SOUTHERN CONFERENCE
Richmond, Va.
Semifinals
Thursday, May 3
(4) Furman vs. (1) Richmond
5:30 p.m. (SDN)
(3) Jacksonville vs. (2) High Point
8 p.m. (SDN)
Championship Game
Saturday, May 5
2 p.m. (SDN)