MLax: 2014 NCAA CHAMPS!!!!

[burnspbesq]

In a mild surprise, Duke is the overall number one seed. A 3-1 non-conference record against the field of 18 pretty clearly didn't hurt.

Here's a link to the bracket.

http://www.ncaa.com/interactive-bracket/lacrosse-men/d1

Duke plays the Richmond - Air Force winner at Koskinen at 5:15 p.m. on Sunday.

Three must-see games on the first weekend: Loyola-Albany, Uva-Hop, and Denver-Evil.

A double order of schadenfreude seeing Carolina be the only ACC team to go unseeded--and get put on a plane and forced to play against a high-octane offense at altitude. The selection committee clearly loves this matchup, as we get it for the third year in succession. Apparently, ESPN loves it too, as it gets priority placement in prime time on Saturday.

Some key matchups to watch in the first round.

Ryan Feuerstein, Albany midfielder vs. Pat Laconi, Loyola SSDM. Laconi is almost certainly going to be a first-team A-A. When Albany gets offense from its midfield, it makes the Thompson Show that much more lethal because they get to work against defenses that are already being stretched out of shape.

Austin Pifani, North Carolina defender vs. Zach Miller, Denver attack. Arguably the two best freshmen in the country at their respective positions. Berg is going to get his. Adamson is going to get his. If Carolina can keep the rest of the Denver offense in check, huge advantage to them.

Matt Kavanaugh, Notre Dame attack vs. Steven Jahelka, Harvard defense. Teams that have shut down Kavanaugh have beaten ND. Simple as that.

This is going to be fun.

[BigWayne]

UNC got sent to Denver because seeds 6/7/8 are all ACC teams.
With this scenario next year, they would likely be at MD.

[MCFinARL]

This is a fairly promising draw for Duke, assuming the team plays the way they are capable of playing. The first two rounds will provide increasing challenges to build, if all goes well, to Memorial Day weekend. The second round opponent, Virginia or Hopkins, will be a big challenge but not an insurmountable one. And I'm very glad that Loyola is on the other side of the bracket; that's a team I would not want to have to beat to get to the Final Four. Hopefully the team will be able to figure out how to work around the absence of Luke Duprey.

[chrishoke]

This is a fairly promising draw for Duke, assuming the team plays the way they are capable of playing. The first two rounds will provide increasing challenges to build, if all goes well, to Memorial Day weekend. The second round opponent, Virginia or Hopkins, will be a big challenge but not an insurmountable one. And I'm very glad that Loyola is on the other side of the bracket; that's a team I would not want to have to beat to get to the Final Four. Hopefully the team will be able to figure out how to work around the absence of Luke Duprey.

The defense has been very poor since losing Luke , giving up a 4 goal lead late to Syracuse and then yesterday giving up an astonishing 11 goals to a 2 win Boston U team. At least we have a home game against a modest opponent to continue shore up the D. It's hard to win a championship with just offense.

[greybeard]

Very surprised that my guys, Cornell, made it. Terrible end of season stretch. Would have liked to see a match up with DeLuca. Duke has a good shot to make Championship weekend. Cornell, not so much. To Duke, play like it's yours.

[burnspbesq]

In today's play-in games, Bryant held on to beat Siena, 9-8, and Air Force dominated Richmond, 13-5.

The Falcons come to Koskinen on Sunday at 1715 EDT to play Duke in the first round.

[burnspbesq]

Congrats to Duke senior attackman Jordan Wolf on being named one of the five finalists for the men's Teewaaraton Trophy, the highest honor a college player can earn.

The other finalists are attackmen Lyle Thompson and Miles Thompson of Albany, midfielder Tom Schreiber of Princeton, and defenseman Joe Fletcher of Loyola.

I don't know anyone who doesn't think Lyle Thompson is going to win it, but if the Great Danes crash and burn against Loyola on Saturday, and Jordan scores 15+ goals to lead Duke to the championship game, you never know ...

[MCFinARL]

Congrats to Duke senior attackman Jordan Wolf on being named one of the five finalists for the men's Teewaaraton Trophy, the highest honor a college player can earn.

The other finalists are attackmen Lyle Thompson and Miles Thompson of Albany, midfielder Tom Schreiber of Princeton, and defenseman Joe Fletcher of Loyola.

I don't know anyone who doesn't think Lyle Thompson is going to win it, but if the Great Danes crash and burn against Loyola on Saturday, and Jordan scores 15+ goals to lead Duke to the championship game, you never know ...

Yes, realistically, Wolf is probably the only person on this list with a chance to beat out Lyle Thompson, but it will depend on a short tournament for Albany and really exceptional tournament play from Wolf.

However, given that when Wolf came to Duke, there were a lot of naysayers who said he was really too small to play well at the college level, it has to feel pretty sweet for him to end his college career as a Tewaaraton finalist with at least 3 Final Fours and at least one national championship on his resume.

[burnspbesq]

Four first-round games today, starting at noon EDT on ESPNU and the Watch ESPN app. Loyola-Albany is up first, followed by ND-Harvard, Maryland-Cornell, and finally Denver-Carolina at 1930 EDT.

There will be a game-day post at collegecrosse.com that will turn into a chat involving some pretty knowledgeable guys. The best place for quick score updates is insidelacrosse.com; just click on the "D1" icon in the upper right of the home page.

While we're at it, congrats to both Duke women's teams. The varsity handled Stanford, 13-8, in their first-round NCAA Tounament game, scoring three goals in the first 57 seconds and never looking back. Kerrin Maurer led the Blue Devils with four goals and an assist, while Kelsey Duryea racked up nine saves. They will play ND at ND on Sunday.

The women's club team made it to the semis of the WCLA D2 tournament for the second year in a row, before falling to James Madison (their third loss of the season to the Dukes). The Devils beat third-seeded Utah (17-16 in OT) and UC San Diego to advance out of pool play. Well done, ladies!

[MCFinARL]

Albany leading Loyola 9-3 in the third. At this point, Loyola looks shell shocked; they will have to really pull it together quickly to get back in this game. Thompsons look amazing--think they can start engraving Lyle's name on the Tewaaraton right now.

[burnspbesq]

Sure didn't see that coming.

The goal Lyle scored with seven seconds to go in the first half was just beyond belief. How he kept the ball in his stick after the pass fake is ... And to follow that with a backhander from a low release point ... # sportscentertopplays.

[Bob Green]

What does the scouting report say about Air Force? I'm looking forward to watching today's 1st Round action and would appreciate one of the knowledgeable lacrosse posters giving us novice fans a heads up on what to expect from the Jet Jockeys.

[burnspbesq]

Air Force comes in at 11-5, ranked 18 in the latest Warrior media poll. They won the ECAC tournament at the expense of favored Fairfield. However, they suffered what is generally regarded as the worst upset loss of 2014 when they lost to VMI in March; they can be good, but they can also be quite bad.

The Falcons are led by senior attackman Mike Crampton, who set the school's single-season scoring record in the win over Richmond on Wednesday. They have good balance offensively, with two 20-goal scorers (Erik Smith and Kyle Cassidy) at midfield.

Like Denver and Syracuse, AF employs a goaltending rotation. Brett Dadiego, who plays the first half, was very good against Richmond on Wednesday.

This is a game Duke should win, and could win easily, but on Graduation Day emotions will need to be held in check.

The other games today are Hopkins-Virginia at 1300 EDT, followed by the neighborhood brawl between Penn and Drexel. Following the Duke game, Syracuse and Bryand round out the first weekend at 1930 EDT.

In case you missed it last night, Carolina was dominated and destroyed by Denver, 9-5. Maryland's Mike Chanenchuk scored with two seconds to go to complete a remarkable comeback for Maryland against Cornell, 8-7 (somebody go to Graybeard's house and check on him please).

And the Duke women are underway against ND in the second round of the women's tournament.

[burnspbesq]

Two Myles Jones Goals by Myles Jones and a buzzer-beater from Dionne.

In the early games, both lower seeded teams advanced: Hop over UVa and and Drexel over Penn. Ivy League goes three-and-out. Can't remember the last time two of the top four seeds went out in the first round.

[burnspbesq]

Jones has three goals and two assists. Keenan with a pair. Fowler 12-for-16. Duke's close D is dominating Air Force's attack.

Dionne limping. Don't think we'll see him in the second half. Move Keenan or Cohan down to attack and put Shaffer on the second midfield.

[burnspbesq]

Duke continuing to roll.

Hipps took a heavy slash (penalty was called), went off holding his left arm, and hasn't returned.

[MCFinARL]

Duke continuing to roll.

Hipps took a heavy slash (penalty was called), went off holding his left arm, and hasn't returned.

Dionne back in the game, still no sign of Hipps though. That is a big concern. The slash was at an angle that definitely could have caused a significant injury. Duke can't afford to lose defensemen.

[MCFinARL]

Hipps now on the sideline with his helmet on, so that is a reasonably good sign.

This Air Force team is really a rough team. Very agressive on defense, and they don't look like they care whether they hurt people.

[burnspbesq]

Duke reserves play the Air Force starters even.

Hop is next.

Note to MCF: That's pretty typical of service-academy teams. You have to match their toughness to beat them.

[DukieInKansas]

Congratulations to Coach Pressler and the Bryant Bulldogs!