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Lacrosse's most exciting weekend is almost upon us. We've reached the NCAA Division I Men's quarterfinals, where four teams will punch their tickets to the final four. Loyola, Yale, Denver and Albany will battle at Hofstra on Saturday, while Cornell, Maryland, Johns Hopkins and Duke will meet in Annapolis, Md. 

Who will continue their postseason run? Whose season ends this weekend? We'll find out soon enough. Here's a preview of a weekend that is sure to be entertaining.

No. 6 Loyola vs. No. 3 Yale

Saturday, 12 p.m., ESPNU

You want offense? You should get it in this matchup between two of Division I’s best offensive units. Yale enters Saturday scoring 13.94 goals per game, good for second in the nation. Loyola, conversely, scores 13.63 goals per game to sit fifth in Division I.

Ben Reeves, the Tewaaraton finalist, leads a Yale team that has had its challenges over the past two weeks but is looking to advance to its first final four since 1990. First came in the Ivy League final, where the Bulldogs tied a season-low with eight goals in the loss to Cornell. Then came a dogfight with a strong UMass squad — a game that Yale led 14-7 but eventually held on to win 15-13. Sophomore Jackson Morrill, who scored seven goals against the Minutemen, will be an x-factor.

Still, the Bulldogs have won seven of eight games and will be the favored team in this matchup.

As for Loyola, its offense runs through fellow Tewaaraton candidate Pat Spencer, The Greyhounds made it through an over-two-hour lightning delay to get by Virginia for the second time this season. Loyola hasn’t lost since March 24 to Bucknell — ironically the Bison also took down Yale a few days later.

The matchups to watch out for: Reeves against Loyola’s Foster Huggins, and Spencer against Yale’s Chris Fake. 

Denver vs. No. 2 Albany

Saturday, 2:30 p.m., ESPNU

All the talk this week surrounding Albany’s matchup with Denver has centered on the faceoff x. That’s where two of the best faceoff men in college lacrosse history — Denver’s Trevor Baptiste and Albany’s TD Ierlan — will meet in a what will be a blockbuster battle. 

As much as the attention will be on that meeting, each might negate the other from influencing the game as much as they have this season. This quarterfinal might be decided on one of the ends of the field — whether Albany’s offense against Denver’s defense or vice versa.

The Great Danes enter Saturday’s quarterfinal with the nation’s top offense. And that’s with star attackman Connor Fields, who did not make the Tewaaraton final cut, out with a knee injury for multiple weeks. Freshman Tehoka Nanticoke has stepped up this season, scoring 46 goals and adding 32 assists. Jakob Patterson also has scored 38 goals to help the Great Danes offense remain high-powered. Captain Troy Reh has also chipped in.

The Great Danes average a full three goals more than the Pioneers offense, led by Colton Jackson and Ethan Walker. But what has made this Denver team tick is its top-ranked defense, which has allowed opponents just 7.44 goals per game. 

The Pioneers have held opponents under 10 goals in 13 games this season. However, Denver has faced one top 10 offense this season — a 15-12 loss to Duke. The next best offense the Pioneers have faced is Georgetown, the team that downed them in the Big East final on May 5.

The key to this game could fall on Denver’s ability to halt Fields, Nanticoke and the Albany offense.

Cornell vs. No. 1 Maryland

Sunday, 12 p.m., ESPNU

Arguably the best player in the country matched up with arguably the best team in the country. Maryland, the defending national champions, are looking for their fifth consecutive trip to the final four, while Jeff Teat and Cornell are hoping to play the role of spoiler.

The question approaching this game has been the same for every Cornell game over the past few weeks: To shut off Teat or not to shut off Teat? The Maryland defense ranked 19th in Division I, allowing nine goals per game. It has the talent to keep up with Teat — Bryce Young and Chris Corley have been matchup nightmares throughout the season. 

In a matchup with the star duo of Albany’s Connor Fields and Tehoka Nanticoke, Young allowed just an assist from Nanticoke, while Fields scored four times and added two assists against Corley.

Cornell had mixed results in games that Teat has been shut off, falling to Princeton on April 28, but beating Brown on May 4 and Syracuse on May 13.

As for the Big Red defense, they’ll have the task of stopping a Connor Kelly-led Maryland offense that can spread the wealth, with five players with 19 or more goals. Cornell has played plenty of strong offenses (2-4 against top 10 offenses) but will have its hands full with the Terps. Goalie Christian Knight may need to step up once again.

No. 5 Johns Hopkins vs. No. 4 Duke

Sunday, 2:30 p.m., ESPNU

The pressure is on the Blue Devils on Sunday in Annapolis, Md. The Duke senior class, led by Tewaaraton candidate Justin Guterding, has never made a final four and is trying to avoid becoming the first class since 2004 to fail to make it to Memorial Day weekend.

Duke comes in as the higher seed, but it draws a Johns Hopkins team that has shown it can beat anyone this season. A team with which it is all too familiar. The Blue Jays are fortunate to have made it this far, clawing back from down 8-3 in the third quarter in the NCAA first round game against Georgetown. 

Johns Hopkins, too, has a strong senior class that is hoping to get the program back to Memorial Day weekend. Seniors Shack Stanwick and Joel Tinney lead an offense that includes junior Kyle Marr, whose five fourth-quarter goals led the Blue Jays back last weekend, and sophomore Cole Williams, the team’s second-leading scorer.

Guterding owns 27 percent of Duke’s offense, which also includes Brad Smith (27 goals, 33 assists) and Joe Robertson (41 goals, 11 assists). Smith and Robertson each had five points in the 17-11 win over Villanova last week.

Both offenses rank in the top 10 in Division I, but it could be the defenses that decide this game. Duke ranks 10th in Division I, allowing 8.41 goals per game, while Johns Hopkins lets up 9.44 goals per game. Duke is undefeated (2-0) against top 10 offense, while the Blue Jays sit at 2-2.

Breaking down Guterding — he’s tallied five goals and three assists in Duke’s three losses (2.7 per game), down from his season average of 5.82, good for second in the country. Guterding might draw Johns Hopkins’ Pat Foley in this game.