With an upset-filled first weekend of lacrosse in the books, eight teams remain on their quest to hoist the National Championship trophy in Philadelphia. The schools from Maryland showed up in the 1st round as the Terrapins, Towson, Navy, and Loyola all advanced to make up half of the remaining field. The biggest shock over the weekend was the defeat of the defending champs, the Denver Pioneers, at the hands of a play-in game winner, the Towson Tigers. Denver’s normally lethal attack unit was neutralized by Towson’s team-effort on defense and their ability to capitalize on their offensive chances. With that loss, Denver ended the season with back-to-back losses to Marquette and Towson…not the way you want to go out as one of the country’s top programs. This weekend’s games feature matchups of familiar foes as well as some upstart teams looking for their first Final Four appearances.

8 Syracuse Orange vs. 1 Maryland Terrapins

Saturday, 12 pm | Brown Stadium (Providence, RI)

Syracuse was down 6-2 to Albany after the 1st half last weekend, but came storming back to outscore the Great Danes 9-3 in the second, winning 11-9, and making it 6 straight for the Orange. Syracuse’s All-American FOGO Ben Williams (jr) went 12 of 19 at the X over the last three quarters and was paramount to their comeback effort. Syracuse’s first middy line picked up the slack as attackmen Dylan Donahue (sr) and Nick Mariano (jr) were essentially held in check, only scoring one goal each while totaling 0 assists combined. Sergio Salcido (jr), Tim Barber (sr), and Jordan Evans (jr) make up Cuse’s first midfield line, each tallying 2 goals in the win over Albany, and were responsible for 3 of Syracuse’s final 4 goals.

Maryland made it 14-straight wins Sunday with an opening round victory over the Quinnipiac Bobcats. The Terps pulled away with a 5-goal run in the third quarter, and were led by hat tricks from 3 different players, attackman Matt Rambo (jr), midfielder Bryan Cole (sr), and midfielder Henry West (sr). The most surprising part of their win was the play of their faceoff specialist, freshman Austin Henningsen, who won 14 of 17 faceoffs and raised his season win percentage to 63.5 (eighth in NCAA, and ahead of Syracuse’s Ben Williams-62.2%). Maryland certainly looked the part of the #1 overall seed in the country as they just had too many weapons on offense for the Bobcats to handle.

This is going to be one of the better games of the quarterfinals as both squads have very deep offensive units and come in as two of the hottest teams in the tourney. The battle at the faceoff X should be very fun to watch as the freshman FOGO for the Terps, Henningsen, will face his most difficult test versus All-American Ben Williams for Syracuse. Both offenses are going to hit their stride at some point in the game, so it’s going to come down to which defense can make the necessary adjustments or which goalie can make the bigger saves. Maryland’s All-American goalie Kyle Bernlohr (sr) should be the difference maker in this matchup as he and Syracuse goalie Evan Molloy (jr) will each have to face a barrage of shots throughout the game.

13 Navy Midshipmen vs. 5 Brown Bears

Saturday, 2:30 pm | Brown Stadium (Providence, RI)

Another huge upset over the first weekend was the Navy Midshipmen knocking off #5 seed Yale, 13-10, behind a huge performance from goalie John Connors (sr). Connors had 12 saves against the Bulldogs, including 8 in the second half behind another great game from the nation’s top defense led by Chris Fennell (jr). Navy’s offense converted on every necessary opportunity led by the selfless play of Patrick Keena (sr) who had 2 goals and 4 assists in the opening game. Keena is the quarterback of the Navy offense and plays with incredible vision as middy Casey Rees (soph) benefited with 4 goals, and fellow attackmen Jack Ray (soph) chipped in with 3 goals versus Yale.

Brown continued its dominant performance this season with a 17-8 beatdown of Johns Hopkins in the first round while owning almost every aspect of the game. Dylan Molloy is currently chasing Lyle Thompson’s Division 1 single-season points record of 121 points set in 2015, as Molloy finished with an 8-point game versus JHU (4 goals, 4 assists). He now has 112 points on the year and uses his 220-pound frame to his advantage while attacking the cage, and constantly draws a slide whenever he initiates a dodge. Brown’s FOGO Will Gural was also in the zone all game long, winning 20 of 28 faceoffs and scoring 2 goals off the draw, while Brown’s defensive unit absolutely blanketed Hopkins’ attack duo of Ryan Brown and Shack Stanwick.

This matchup will pit the nation’s toughest defense in Navy, allowing 7.13 goals/game (second in NCAA), against the nation’s most dynamic offense in Brown, averaging 16.76 goals/game (first in NCAA). The key matchup is going to be Molloy versus Fennell when Brown has the ball, but Navy’s entire defensive unit can match Brown’s attack. If Navy can play the game at a pace they dictate and convert on their offensive opportunities, they could make this a very good game, especially with a lights-out goalie in net. But Brown also has the goalie play to match Navy’s with their own brick wall, senior Jack Kelly, who had 11 saves in the first round game and holds nation’s best save percentage at 62.2 this season. Brown’s entire defensive unit did a tremendous job of suffocating the attack of Johns Hopkins, and could very well dominate again, especially with their luck of getting another home game. I think that the key to the game for Brown will be at the faceoff X, and if Will Gural can gain possession for the Bears on a consistent basis, they’re going to break through Navy’s defense eventually.

11 North Carolina Tar Heels vs. 3 Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Sunday, 12 pm | Ohio Stadium (Columbus, OH)

UNC narrowly avoided being another step in Marquette’s Cinderella run after winning a back-and-forth contest in the very first NCAA tournament game in Wisconsin. Marquette’s defense lived up to the hype in that game and the Golden Eagles proved that they can hang with top D1 opponents in only their fourth year as a program. Luke Goldstock (jr) was virtually shutout out of the game, but Steve Pontrello (sr) & Chris Cloutier were able to step up when needed with 2 goals each against the stifling Marquette defense. With the Tar Heels’ attack under duress all game long, it was midfielder Michael Tagliaferri who led UNC in points with 3 goals and 1 assist.

Notre Dame’s defense continued its terrific play that’s been the focal point to the team’s success all season. But it’s the offense that appears to be clicking at the right time with their most recent 15-7 rout of Air Force in round one action. 9 different Notre Dame players scored last weekend, and attackman Mikey Wynne (soph) reaped the rewards of constant ball movement with 5 goals and 1 assist as the team’s go-to crease finisher. ND’s top performers Matt Kavanagh (sr) and Sergio Perkovic only had one goal each but played into the Irish game-plan of constant ball movement and not forcing a ton of one-on-one battles. Also, head coach Kevin Corrigan made a key postseason switch by putting two longpoles on the wings during faceoffs in order to try and even out the crucial possession battle at the X.

The Irish and Tar Heels faced off in Chapel Hill on April 23rd in a thrilling 17-15 comeback win by North Carolina. UNC was forced to start freshman goalie Colin Reder for most of the game while sophomore Brian Balkam dealt with an illness. Reeder made six saves while allowing 12 goals, but Balkam came back out to play with the momentum shifting at the end of the 3rd quarter. UNC outscored Notre Dame 8-1 in the 4th quarter to finish the epic comeback win behind two 4-goal performances by Pontrello & Goldstock. Brian Balkam will be starting in net this time for the Tar Heels, but I would expect much of the same offensive fireworks as in their last meeting. Notre Dame’s defense features All-American Matt Landis (sr), who will shadow Pontrello all game, and is anchored by goalie Shane Doss (jr), who has a 57.1 save percentage this season (fifth in NCAA). I think the difference in the game will be goalie play, especially experience if it gets close at the end.

15 Towson Tigers vs. 7 Loyola (MD) Greyhounds

Sunday, 2:30 pm | Ohio Stadium (Columbus, OH)

Completing arguably the biggest upset in NCAA tournament history, the Towson Tigers went into Denver and upset the defending champion Pioneers. After opening up a 5-2 halftime lead, the Tigers allowed Denver to come back and tie it at 7-7 with 11:35 left in the 4th quarter. Towson then went on a 3-goal run and held off for the improbable 10-9 victory to advance. Towson was led by the play of attackman Spencer Parks (sr) who had 4 goals and 2 assists, including 2 goals to seal the deal in their 4th quarter run. The Tigers’ defense is made up of all seniors, including their leader, goalie Tyler White. All longpoles and defensive midfielders work as a complete unit to constantly put pressure on ball handlers knowing that there will be a slide coming (Towson forced 14 turnovers in the win over Denver).

The Greyhounds continued to roll, winning their 9th straight game in a convincing first round victory over Duke, 16-11. Head coach Charlie Toomey made a critical change in his defensive gameplan to put pressure on Duke’s talented midfielders at the top of the box, and it worked to his advantage as Duke committed 19 turnovers in the game. Loyola’s offense was led by freshman phenom, Pat Spencer, who finished with an 8-point game (3 goals and 5 assists). Not to be outdone offensively, running mate Zach Herreweyers (sr) put in 6 goals and was always there to finish as the slide came to Spencer. Another talented freshman shining in tournament time for the Greyhounds, goalie Jack Stover had an impressive 16 save performance, but had his struggles with rebound opportunities that kept Duke in the game.

These two newer rivals played way back in March where Towson beat Loyola on the road 10-8 behind a strong defensive effort from the Tigers, who shut down Spencer & Herreweyers (combined 2 goals and 1 assist). It has been a long time since that game, and both team’s are playing their best lacrosse on their own respective winning streaks. The Tigers have the defensive unit and goalie play to mitigate Loyola’s offensive attack (allowing a national-best 7.11 goals/game), but Loyola’s dynamic defense is capable of doing the same to Towson. This secretly could be the best game of the weekend with state bragging rights, winning streaks, and a possible trip to the Final Four in Philadelphia on the line. I think coaching will ultimately be the difference as each team will have to make adjustments after seeing each other earlier in the year. Whoever adjusts their approach more effectively will win the game.

MY PICKS: Maryland, Brown, Notre Dame, Loyola

1st Round record: 6/8 correct (L’s were Denver over Towson & Duke over Loyola)

Follow @ACAllAmericans for quality, up-to-date sports reporting.