It comes as no surprise to followers of lacrosse that nearly every team in this year’s NCAA men’s lacrosse tournament has at least one representative from the Washington area. Only one of eight first-round games — Towson at Cornell — features two teams currently without a single local player.
The rest of next weekend’s contests not only include former region standouts, but area players who are likely to figure heavily in their teams’ tourney fortunes.
The Main Event
Princeton (10-3) at No. 6 Georgetown (11-2)
The two highest-ranked teams in the USILA coaches poll to meet in the first round feature a combined 17 players from the Washington area, the most of any first round game.
Princeton sophomore Mark Kovler (Landon), an honorable mention All-American as a freshman, is second on the team with 21 goals, and senior Scott Sowanick (10 goals, 14 assists) is one of the Tigers’ top set-up men.
At the other end of the field, Kovler’s high-school classmate Jake Samperton (10 goals, 3 assists) and Georgetown Prep alum Andrew Brancaccio (17 goals) are two of Georgetown’s top underclassmen. Senior attack Trevor Casey (Georgetown Prep) is a Hoyas team captain.
Local 0ffense vs. Local Defense
Notre Dame (11-3) at
No. 3 Johns Hopkins (9-4)
A brutal schedule didn’t stop the Blue Jays from getting respect from the selection committee and hasn’t stopped Paul Rabil (DeMatha) from registering a team-high 23 goals and 16 assists. To get his team to the second round, Rabil must to score past Fighting Irish netminder Joey Kemp (Georgetown Prep), who ranks among the nation’s best in goals-against average (6.47) and save percentage (.630).
UMBC (10-5) at
No. 7 Maryland (10-5)
Retrievers senior Andy Gallagher (DeMatha) has 32 goals and 14 assists this season, but he had just two assists in an 11-7 loss to the Terrapins earlier in the year. The assignment won’t be any easier a second time around against Maryland All-American senior defender Steve Whittenberg (Lake Braddock) and senior goalkeeper Harry Alford (St. Albans), who was injured for much of the season.
Navy (11-3) at No. 8 North Carolina (9-5)
Former DeMatha standout Billy Looney (17 goals, 13 assists) is Navy’s senior anchor in the midfield and one of the nation’s best two-way players. He’ll be a supreme challenge for promising Tar Heels freshman Sean Jackson (W.T. Woodson), who’s seen increasing minutes of late.
Root for these guys
Delaware (11-5) at No. 2 Virginia (12-3)
Hardworking senior Adam Fassnacht (Robinson) gets the Cavaliers started with a .570 percentage in face-offs while sophomore Danny Glading’s (Georgetown Prep) scoring numbers — 27 goals, 16 assists — are second-best on the team. Delaware sophomore Sean Calabrese (DeMatha) has three goals and two assists.
Providence (7-9) at No. 1 Duke (14-2)
The Blue Devils’ surge to the top seed has included timely contributions from Peter Lamade (Landon, seven goals, seven assists), Gibbs Fogarty (Landon, eight goals, three assists) and Brad Ross (Bullis, 14 goals, five assists).
Loyola (7-5) at No. 5 Albany (14-2)
The Greyhounds are back in the NCAAs for the first time since 2001 due in large part to the swift scoring of Dan Bauers (Oakton), who has team-high 28 goals and four assists.
