Tournament time is finally here! The Men’s Division I Tournament got started on Wednesday with UMBC defeating Marist, but the other 15 teams get started this weekend with the first round. All games are on ESPNU and each day of four games begins at noon. For some, it could be the final games of competitive lacrosse ever. For others, it’s a chance to extend their college lacrosse seasons and time with their teammates. While reading, check out our first round NCAA Tournament preview edition of the College Crossecast. SATURDAY GAMES Syracuse vs. #8 Loyola (Noon, ESPNU) How They Got Here Syracuse: After a 2-2 start to their season which included a stunning home loss to Colgate, the Orange have looked like a very good team in the college lacrosse landscape, especially on defense. Syracuse has limited the opposition to single-digit goal totals seven times, all of them wins. But their ACC Tournament run ended too early for the team after a late collapse to UNC to pretty much push them out of being a seed. This will be the first time since 2012 the Orange started the NCAA Tournament away from the Carrier Dome. Loyola: The Greyhounds have one of the best players in all of college lacrosse in Pat Spencer. The senior, who sounds like will play college basketball next season, has not been to Championship Weekend since he was a freshman. And that team got destroyed by North Carolina in Philadelphia. He looks to return back to Philly three years later and give the Greyhounds their second ever national title. Loyola hosted the Patriot League Tournament as the regular season champion yet again, but was upset by Army West Point in the semifinals. Players To Watch Syracuse: There will be the obvious in defenseman Nick Mellen who will more than likely be defending Spencer. But also on the other side of the ball in Stephen Rehfuss. He started the season banged up and ill and had one point in three total games. For the rest of the season, he finished with one point only once. He will be the initiator down low. Loyola: Again, the obvious is there in Spencer. The Mellen-Spencer matchup might be the best overall one-on-one matchup in the entire NCAA Tournament in just the second game. While Spencer can do it all, Kevin Lindley is the known finisher with a team-high 57 goals. He will not be afraid to shoot with a team-best 85 shots on goal. Freshmen To Watch Syracuse: It’s one of those years where the Orange don’t have a stellar freshman playing. The lone rookie that’s gotten time in all 13 games this season has been Griffin Cook who’s been a part of the second midfield and can also play attack. He’s got four goals and four assists. Could this be his breakout game? Loyola: Chase Scanlan has been a top three freshman this season with 40 goals on the year and a potential All-American. He’s already played against the best while with the Iroquois in Netanya at the FIL World Championships last summer, so the pressure shouldn’t be a problem for him. Keys To Victory Syracuse: Control Pat Spencer’s production, and even shut off Lindley. Perhaps you find a way to shut off one of Spencer’s main finishers and make him and others step up more, especially with a great goalie in the cage in Drake Porter. And not have another late collapse. Loyola: Force 50/50 ground balls on faceoffs against Syracuse’s double pole and limit production from the midfield. The top three for the Orange are good, but the bigger key is limiting Jacob Buttermore on the second unit. Georgetown vs. #5 Yale (2:30, ESPNU) How They Got Here Georgetown: Despite an 11-4 regular season record, the Hoyas had an unimpressive resume. Their best win was Villanova at home. Not to worry, because the Hoyas yet again won the Big East Tournament with wins over Providence and Denver for their second consecutive conference title. Similar to last season, the Hoyas are playing the #5 seed. A year ago, Georgetown built an 8-3 lead midway through the third quarter against Johns Hopkins only to fall 10-9 in overtime. Yale: The defending national champions have lost players such as Ben Reeves, Chris Keating, and Tyler Warner in the offseason. But the transfer of TD Ierlan from Albany has done wonders for the Bulldogs. Despite falling short of an Ivy League title again, Ierlan has given Yale a huge possession advantage which has mattered in games such as the early season win over Penn State. All three of their losses were by a goal, with two of them coming in overtime. Players To Watch Georgetown: A one-two duo of Daniel Bucaro and Jake Carraway bolster the attack. Both players have 53 goals with Carraway adding 30 assists and Bucaro recording 25. Lucas Wittenberg up top at midfield has been an underrated offensive player and set a school record eight assists in the team’s win over Providence in the Big East semifinals. Defensively, Gibson Smith and SSDM Patrick Aslanian are the only two Hoyas with over 25 caused turnovers. Yale: With Reeves gone, Jackson Morrill has been the quarterback of the offense with 36 goals and 40 assists. Last season, Yale’s players and coaches praised Morrill’s high lacrosse IQ on the field. Matt Gaudet is a threat at the crease with 40 goals, while Jack Tigh, Joey Sessa, and second liner Brian Tevlin give the midfield some punch. Despite Chris Fake having a down year compared to his freshman campaign, he’s still a top defenseman. But I also really like Aidan Hynes, who had limited time as a reserve last season after he went down with an injury. Freshmen To Watch Georgetown: Chris Brandau came into the Providence game relieving Owen McElroy and also started the Big East title game where he made 15 saves for the win. Along with Brandau, midfielder Declan McDermott and defenseman Alex Mazzone have been key contributors as starters, with Zachary Geddes being a nice compliment to the underrated Aslanian at short stick. Yale: Yale’s only freshman worth noting is Chris’ twin brother Matt Brandau, an attackman. He’s started only once this season despite being second on the team with 52 points. He will play a big part in an offense that’s second in the country in scoring on Saturday, and he should score against his brother. Just like good old times. Keys To Victory Georgetown: Since winning faceoffs will be hard, it won’t be that big of an issue. The Hoyas did that last season against Trevor Baptiste. Forcing ground balls on the draws will help, but playing solid defense against Yale’s extra possessions will turn Ierlan’s faceoff dominance into really nothing. On offense, get something going on midfield against Yale’s LSMs and SSDMs. Yale: Keep locks on Bucaro and Carraway. Similar to Penn State, Georgetown has other contributors that can aid in the overall offensive output. Jack Starr will have to play very well with a save percentage below 50%. Army West Point vs. #4 Penn (5 PM, ESPNU) How They Got Here Army West Point: Army finally got over the Patriot League Tournament struggles and defeated Loyola and Lehigh last weekend for their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2010 after a record-setting 13-win year. They allowed only five goals to the Greyhounds and seven two days later against the Mountain Hawks. A defense led by Johnny Surdick and AJ Barretto in goal has Army boasting the second best scoring defense in the country, allowing only 8.35 goals per game. Penn: On the other hand, Penn has the third highest scoring offense with 14.86 goals per game. After losing their first three games, the Quakers have won 11 straight, including their first Ivy League title since 2014. They swept the Ivy League and are led by a mixture of upper and underclassmen. Players To Watch Army West Point: The bread and butter is on defense with Surdick, Griffin Schultz, and Barretto. Surdick has 34 caused turnovers which is more than double second place on the Black Knights. He is easily capable of shutting off the opposition’s top threat at attack.<doc-sep>Instead of playing in their usual first-round home game, the Terps will open this year’s NCAA tournament Sunday about an hour’s drive north at sixth-seeded Towson (11-4). There, Maryland will aim to advance by beating a team that features Alex Woodall, whose faceoff winning percentage of nearly 75 percent ranks second in the nation but who dealt with an injury during last week’s conference tournament. The Tigers’ 6-foot-6 goalkeeper, Tyler Canto, will be a challenge in the cage, and the team’s leading attackman, Brendan Sunday, averages three goals a game, the same mark as Jared Bernhardt, Maryland’s top scorer and Tewaaraton Award finalist.<doc-sep>The Syracuse Orange will open the NCAA men’s lacrosse tournament on the road Saturday against eighth-seeded Loyola at the Ridley Athletic Complex in Baltimore. It’s the 12th consecutive NCAA bid for the Orange, and 36th in the last 37 seasons. It’s the first time since 2012, though, that Syracuse isn’t opening the tournament at home. The Orange, 9-4 and ranked No. 11 in the latest USILA coaches poll, are coming off an 11-10 loss to North Carolina in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament. Loyola is 11-4 and ranked No. 7. The game is scheduled to start at noon and will be telecast on ESPNU. Below is the list of channel numbers for ESPNU in the Syracuse area: Spectrum: Channel 370 (SD & HD) Verizon Fios: Channel 573 (HD) and 73 (SD) DirectTV: Channel 208 (SD & HD) Dish Network: Channel 141 (SD & HD) New Visions: Channel 759 (HD) and 73 (SD) You can also watch online through Watch ESPN or by using the Watch ESPN app for tablets, mobile and streaming devices. You’ll need the online sign-in info for your cable or satellite provider to access WatchESPN.<doc-sep>
The Tewaaraton Foundation on Thursday released the list of five finalists for the 2019 men's Tewaaraton Award, given to the most outstanding player in NCAA DI men's lacrosse. This year's five finalists include representatives from three conferences: the Big Ten, Ivy League and Patriot League. Ben Reeves won the award in 2018, his final season at Yale. One of his teammates is up for the award this season: junior TD Ierlan. WHY IS IS CALLED THE TEWAARATON? That, plus other things to know about the award Maryland will look to make it two winners in three years with finalist Jared Bernhardt, while a Grant Ament win would be another step on Penn State's ascension in the sport. Princeton's Michael Sowers and Loyola Maryland's Patrick Spencer are also looking to be the first male winners in their respective schools' histories. 5 finalists for the 2019 men's Tewaaraton Award Grant Ament, Penn State, junior, attack Penn State is having its best season ever, and Ament is a big reason why. He leads the nation in assists with a whopping 5.57 per game. The next-highest total is 3.79. Jared Bernhardt, Maryland, junior, attack He's been a steady presence for the Terps, ranking 11th in the nation in goals per game while cracking the top 40 in assists per game. TD Ierlan, Yale, junior, faceoff specialist It's not easy to get on this list if you're a faceoff specialist, but Ierlan, who broke an NCAA record with a 26-for-26 day in the X this season, deserves it. Michael Sowers, Princeton Sowers is second in the country in assists per game, and is still in the top 30 for goals per game. He's involved in everything Princeton does. Patrick Spencer, Loyola Spencer is another assist maven. He's fourth in the country with 3.6 assists per game, and is No. 4 in the country in total points per game.