Conference tournaments will decide the final 11 automatic qualifiers (AQ) by Sunday evening. The first two automatic qualifiers were earned last Sunday. North Carolina won the ACC by pulling away from Syracuse with a 9-0 run down the stretch for an 18-11 win, and USC went up big early in the second half and held off Colorado, 16-11, to win its final MPSF tournament before moving to the Pac-12. Both UNC and USC have NCAA final four potential. The remaining 13 teams for the NCAA tournament field of 26 will be announced Sunday night.

Atlantic 10

Can anyone stop UMass?

The last time that UMass lost to an Atlantic 10 team was April 18, 2010. Since then, they’ve won 54 straight conference games. The top-seeded Minutewomen will look to remain the most dominant team in any conference when they take on the winner of No. 4 seed George Mason vs. No. 5 Davidson in a semifinal Friday. No. 2 St. Joseph’s hosts the tournament and faces the winner of No. 3 Richmond and No. 6 La Salle in the other semifinal Friday. The championship is set for Sunday.

America East

Will Stony Brook get any competition?

The top-seeded Seawolves host the America East tournament and have won 11 straight games and cruised unbeaten through the America East. They host fourth-seeded New Hampshire on Friday. No. 2 seed Albany, which hosts No. 3 UMBC, is the only conference rival to keep a contest within 10 goals. Stony Brook handed Albany its only loss in its last 10 games. A better showing could cement Albany’s spot in the NCAA tournament.

Atlantic Sun

Can Coastal Carolina make more history?

The Chanticleers already won their first conference title, and now the Atlantic Sun newcomer is looking to seal up its first NCAA tournament berth. Coastal Carolina is the top seed. Its only loss came to Old Dominion, which last year broke Jacksonville’s three-year tournament title streak. Coastal Carolina is the only team to stop No. 2 seed Jacksonville this year and will have to do it again to earn the AQ. No. 3 Furman plays No. 6 Stetson, and No. 4 Mercer plays No. 5 ODU in the quarterfinals Thursday.

PHOTO BY JOHN STROHSACKER

Big East

Is one semifinal bigger than the final?

It is for third-seeded Denver, an NCAA tournament bubble team. The Pioneers need to knock off fast-improving second-seeded Georgetown, which upset them two weeks ago, in one semifinal Thursday and have a strong game in the final to improve their NCAA chances. Top-seeded Florida, which faces No. 4 Temple, is a huge favorite to win their third straight Big East crown. It would be their fifth conference title in six years (ALC in 2012 and 2014, and Big East in 2015 and 2016).

Big South

Is High Point here to stay?

Top-seeded High Point only has three seniors, but went unbeaten for the second time in Big South history and have reeled off 13 straight wins, the second-longest active streak in the nation. The Panthers haven’t been to the NCAAs since this year’s seniors were freshmen in 2014. They play No. 4 Liberty in the semifinals. The other side of the bracket features two-time defending champion No. 3 seed Winthrop vs. No. 2 Campbell.

Big Ten

Is Maryland better off losing the Big Ten tournament?

Crazy idea after a 17-0 start, but ultimately Maryland wants to win the NCAA tournament and doing so as an unbeaten isn’t easy. The last time the Terrapins were an unbeaten NCAA champion was 2001 when they went 23-0 under Cindy Timchal. Cathy Reese took over in 2007 and has won three national titles, all as one-loss teams. Maryland was unbeaten in 2013 and 2016 until NCAA title losses. They also were unbeaten in 2009 when they were knocked out in the NCAA semifinals.

Maryland is the top-seed and host for the Big Ten tournament. They host No. 4 seed Johns Hopkins on Friday and with a win would play the winner of the other Friday semifinal between second-seeded Penn State and third-seeded Northwestern on Sunday for the AQ.

“We’re excited to begin the next portion of our season this weekend,” said Maryland coach Cathy Reese. “We know everyone’s going to come out and play hard for all 60 minutes because getting the AQ is so important. Even though we’ve played these teams before, there is a different intensity and focus that comes with playoffs, and we know this will be a very competitive tournament.”

Penn State is the only team this year to keep Maryland within three goals, and they did so by being aggressive on offense and defense. Maryland took over in the second half with a 26-9 shot advantage keyed by a 12-7 edge in draw control. The Nittany Lions first will have to get by Northwestern, a team that it edged by a goal in the regular season, and they can’t get ahead of themselves.

“Given our first game, I don’t think you overlook anybody,” said Penn State coach Missy Doherty. “It was close. We both went on runs. When get on that level, you know it’s going to be a battle.”

Northwestern dominated draw controls in that meeting, but was 0-for-5 on free position shots. Getting those chances, however, is what makes them dangerous.

“They [have the] ability to get the draw,” Doherty said. “They always have more possessions, so that makes you play more defense. Our offense, being a high-scoring offense, you want to make sure you’re getting the possessions we need. Getting the draws is the key.”

CAA

Is any conference more unpredictable?

James Madison is the top seed, and though they dominated their first five CAA games, they left the door open with a puzzling loss to Delaware. Now they have to face the No. 4 seeded Blue Hens again in the CAA semifinals.

“Honestly, we just need to be better all over the field,” said JMU coach Shelley Klaes-Bawcombe. “It was the same feeling we had as a team after two weeks of play leading into our conference opener with Towson. We just needed to be better if we wanted to win the game. Effort, attitudes and team work, every aspect of the game. Delaware is a good team and earned the win. We have moved on and are ready for another game.”

Delaware needed back-to-back wins over James Madison and Drexel just to get into the CAA tournament, and they can use that desperate attitude in the tournament. They are the one CAA team that will not get into the NCAA tournament unless they win the title.

The other semifinal pits tournament host No. 2 Towson against No. 3 Elon. Elon is just outside the Top 20 and Towson is just inside at No. 18. Both have had encouraging wins and some tough losses. Their semifinal game will give a big boost to the NCAA resume for the winner.

“If we continue to concentrate on the little things, competing as hard as we can and having fun we can play really really well,” said Elon coach Josh Hexter. “I absolutely believe our regular season resume is enough to get us in. We scheduled five ACC teams and beat two of them on the road. Plus we don’t have a single ‘bad’ loss.”

Just as Elon would love to avenge a loss to Towson in the regular season, Towson would love another shot at James Madison after they lost to them in their CAA opener.

"Our squad is coming into form, which is key," said Towson coach Sonia LaMonica. "While confidence is high, the strong message being sent is to remain humble and hungry, which our players are taking to heart. We simply have to keep improving our game if we want to come out on top in conference and go the distance in May. "

PHOTO BY JOHN STROHSACKER

Ivy League

Does hosting help or hurt Cornell?

The Big Red earned the No. 1 seed and the right to host the Ivy tournament based on goal differentials after finishing in a first-place tie with Penn and Princeton at 6-1 in Ivy action. Any of the top three could win the Ivy tournament and it wouldn’t be a surprise. Cornell has lost two of its last three games at its Schoellkopf Field and is 4-3 at home this season, 6-1 on the road. Cornell knocked off Harvard, 13-6, Saturday and will have to do it again in the second semifinal Friday night.

"Cornell is honored to host the 2017 Ivy League tournament," said Big Red coach Jenny Graap. "We take pride in traveling well and earned a lot of victories on the road this season, but we are excited to defend our Ivy Tournament title on Schoellkopf Field."

The first semifinal on Friday matches the two highest ranked teams of any conference semifinal pairing when No. 2 seed Penn faces No. 3 seed Princeton. Penn’s offense was the story in their first meeting, a 17-12 win by the Quakers, but they lost leading scorer Caroline Cummings for the season in that game.

“We have a lot of injuries this season and not much depth and each person who plays attack needed to step up their game and score more points for us to be competitive,” said Penn coach Karin Corbett. “They have really come together and are fighting for her and for each other. I’m really proud of them in how they have handled so much adversity this season.”

Princeton is anxious to prove that wasn’t its best game, and Penn is hoping it can get by Princeton again for another shot at a Cornell team that shut them down, 10-4, in the regular season. The final is slated for Sunday.

“We’ve got to be ready for how hard Penn moves on offense and defense,” Princeton coach Chris Sailer said. “We can’t start slow and we must compete on the 50-50 balls. Offensively, we’ll look to be more patient [against] their zone and discerning on our feeds, and defensively we have to move better, be alert on cutters and be ready to slide and crash sooner.”

Harvard is a dark horse. They lost overtime games to Boston College and Syracuse and lost by a goal to Stanford. If they should somehow pull back-to-back upsets to earn the Ivy’s AQ, it could give the league four teams in the NCAA tournament.

MAAC

Is there any chance Canisius looks ahead?

They’ve won five of the last six MAAC titles, yet after returning nine starters from last year, top-seeded Canisius can’t get caught looking at the potential to pull an NCAA upset without winning another conference crown. They host No. 4 Niagara in one semifinal Friday, while No. 2 seed Fairfield takes on No. 3 Marist in the other with the final slated for Sunday.

NEC

Can anyone buck a NEC trend?

Since Northeast tournament play began in 1998, only once has a team that did not win at least a share of the regular-season title win the tournament. That favors top-seeded Bryant, which is 7-0 at home and hosts the tournament and fourth-seeded Sacred Heart on Friday in the semifinals. Second-seeded Robert Morris, the only NEC team to keep a contest within five goals, hosts defending tournament and third-seeded Wagner.

PHOTO BY JOHN STROHSACKER

Patriot League

Can Loyola make it four straight?

Only one team in Patriot history has won four straight tournament titles – Navy from 2010-13. For the fourth straight season, Loyola is the No. 1 seed, and they are looking to continue their strong finish after starting the year 0-6 out of conference. The Greyhounds host fourth-seeded Boston University in the semifinals Friday after BU beat fifth-seeded Lafayette, 14-7, on Tuesday in the quarterfinals. Second-seeded Navy plays third-seeded Lehigh, which stopped sixth-seeded Bucknell, 15-5, on Tuesday.