There will be plenty of championship pedigree on the field in Philadelphia this weekend for the NCAA men’s lacrosse Final Four.
With Virginia, Maryland, Notre Dame, and Denver, the winners of 6 of the last 8 National Championships are on hand. Denver won in 2015 and Notre Dame took the title in 2023, while UVA and Maryland account for two each in that span with the Hoos claiming the 2019 and 2021 crowns and the Terps triumphing in 2017 and 2022. The Irish and Pioneers face off first in Philly with a scheduled noon start. The Cavaliers and Terrapins meet in the second semifinal on Saturday at 2:30 p.m.
Virginia enters with the momentum of a double overtime victory against Johns Hopkins in the NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals. Connor Shellenberger, who had the game-winning goal, and Payton Cormier had joked earlier in the week about never winning an OT game before coming through on a big stage. Cavalier coach Lars Tiffany hopes that serves as a springboard and not as a final salvo from his team.
“Any time you win in overtime, boy that’s an extra juice of confidence isn’t it? And certainly when you’re losing most of the game to win the game, that can help,” Tiffany said. “Now moving forward, how do we propel from this? Hopefully, we’re not looking back on this year saying wow that was an incredible quarterfinal win and that was the peak of the season. … Can this help propel and build more confidence?”
UVA and Maryland played earlier this season with the Hoos prevailing 14-10 on March 16. That was the program’s first win in College Park since 2012 and snapped a three-game losing streak in the series (Maryland leads 50-47 all time). Griffin Schutz led the offense that day with 4 goals and 2 assists. McCabe Millon added 3 goals, while Shellenberger tallied 2 goals and 1 assist. Virginia caused 12 turnovers and goalie Matt Nunes had 11 saves (UVA pulled Nunes in the quarterfinals and will make a decision on the starter for this rematch).
The Cavaliers also picked up three penalties in the first meeting with the Terps, who scored 1 extra man goal. So far in the NCAA Tournament, Virginia has 10 penalties in two games. That included six against St. Joseph’s in the first round and four against Hopkins last week. The Hawks scored 2 extra man goals, while the Blue Jays scored 3 extra man goals.
That’s a fine line to walk for a team that takes on the mentality of the “hunter” vs. “the hunted” but Tiffany wants his team to try to balance it as much as possible.
“This team really gravitates toward that mentality and that can lead to a lot of man-downs and too many penalities. You try to balance that,” Tiffany said. “Typically in the month of May, it’s a little bit of what they call playoff NHL hockey, you can get away with a little bit more, especially later in the game. The way we like to be physical and aggressive typically matches up well with games in the month of May. So we can’t stop being who we are.”
Who Will Win 2024 Final Four Lacrosse Matchup?
- Virginia (88%, 7 Votes)
- Maryland (13%, 1 Votes)
Total Voters: 8
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