Maryland schools represent one-quarter of the field for the upcoming 16-team NCAA men?s lacrosse tournament.
And all four teams ? Maryland, Johns Hopkins, Maryland-Baltimore County and Navy ? are playing like they could make a run at the national championship game to be played Memorial Day at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.
The highest-ranked state school is No. 2 Maryland (10-4), which is preparing for a Saturday home game against Denver, the Great Western Lacrosse League champion. The Terps have improved dramatically offensively since a sluggish start to the season, something that needs to continue for them to get to the championship game after falling in the Final Four two of the past three years.
“We?ve been getting our shots, but we have to continue to take smart shots,” Maryland coach Dave Cottle said. “There are no easy games here.”
Maryland?s offensive outburst began April 15 with an 11-4 win over Johns Hopkins. This game also marked a turning point for the defending national champion Blue Jays (8-4). They rebounded to win three straight one-goal games and secure their 35th consecutive tournament berth, the No. 4 seed and a home game Saturday against Pennsylvania (10-3). The Quakers, coached by former Blue Jay Brian Volker, went 2-11 last year.
“The last three games are the first three we have played with a sense of urgency,” Hopkins coach Dave Pietramala said. “These last three one-goal games are a character builder for us and is showing me the poise and leadership of players learning their roles.”
UMBC (10-4) is unseeded and is preparing for its Saturday game at a rejuvenated No. 7 Princeton (10-4). The Retrievers, who could meet the Terps in the quarterfinals, qualified for the tournament for the first time since 1999 by defeating Albany, 19-10, Sunday for the America East title.
Navy (11-3), the Patriot League champion, is also unseeded thanks mainly to losses against Johns Hopkins and Georgetown that canceled out a win over Maryland. The Midshipmen get a chance for revenge in the latter loss when it travels Sunday to take on the No. 8 Hoyas.
TOURNAMENT TIME
» First-round tournament pairings for the state schools are: Pennsylvania at No. 4 Johns Hopkins (Saturday at 1 p.m.), UMBC at No. 7 Princeton (Saturday at noon), Denver at No. 2 Maryland (Saturday at 2 p.m.) and Navy at No. 8 Georgetown (Sunday at 1 p.m.). Virginia (13-0) is the tournament?s No. 1 seed and hosts Notre Dame (10-4 Saturday. Stony Brook and Towson will host the quarterfinals with Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia hosting the semifinals and championship games May 27 and 29, respectively.
» Towson?s weak Colonial Athletic Association schedule and its inability to win a big non-conference game did in the Tigers. The Greyhounds missed out on the postseason thanks to losses against Towson and Fairfield, which offset their win over Georgetown.
