It’s Saturday of championship weekend, one of the best weekends on the entire lacrosse calendar.
We will have coverage all afternoon as the games progress, so stay tuned.
If you missed our semi-final previews, check them out below.
We will be back closer to game time. It’s going to be a great day!
Maryland vs Virginia
For all the updates from the Notre Dame game, check them out below. But we will move onto the contest between UVA and Maryland.
Early in this one, I’m watching who is going to guard McCabe Millon, and whether UVA starts in the ten-man or not.
Quarter 1
14:55 – Morris makes the first save! Wiermna wins it out the front but is stuffed. GREAT sign for both teams, Maryland winning faceoffs and UVA getting saves.
1-0 UVA
Shellenberger goes with the Lyle Thompson shot to beat Ajax. Curious if he went to the scoop shot to be a little bit quicker.
0-2 for Maryland on FO fast breaks.
13:30 – Yager causes a turnover and Maryland comes out in 10-man ride! Wow!
12:18 – Another good save by Morris but MD getting good looks.
Ajax wins round two.
11:00 – McNaney makes the save on Millon. Keeping Millon to his left hand is important.
1-1
Danny Maltz gets open in the hang up situation and floats one into the bottom corner. Good O so far by the Terps. Going to higher scoring than the last game.
9:00 Good stand for the Cavaliers there. Thought Maryland could have stepped into a few shots.
8:00 – Elite awareness from Burlace there as Virginia was dodging against O middie Eric Malever, Burlace comes over and clocks him.
5:46 – Good stand for Maryland but a tunover in the ride. Back to UVA.
2-1 Terps
Cormier hits the pipe and Maryland scores in transition. Sick pass by Larkin to Kelly who buries it.
At the first timeout, some thoughts: UMD is sliding more than I thought they would but it’s worked. I wonder if that’s catching the Cavaliers off guard just a little bit.
For UVA, the main thing they will want to clean up is their shooting. They left a couple out there.
Also the ride has been successful for both teams.
5:56 – Really good timeout call by Tillman after the long faceoff battle. Attackmen loose ball by Maltz. Those are huge.
3-1 Terps
Good shot by Kelly as Maryland continues to get good looks.
4-1 Terps
Wierman scores on the faceoff. Maryland has gotten clear fast breaks one three out four faceoffs.
0:33 – Good possession by the Cavaliers but they haven’t been sharp with shooting and around the goal.
End of Quarter 1
Dream start here for the Terps. They’re creating chances off draws and playing stout D. Forcing Millon to his left hand has worked so far, but he has the ability to press into matchups aggressively and get back righty.
For UVA, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a pole come out for the draw soon, if nothing else to avoid getting scored on immediately. Other than that, they need to hit some shots.
Fun game so far.
I always appreciate Lars and his press conferences. Unusual honesty for a high level coach.
Quarter 2
14:10 – Great play by Kelly but breaks his stick. Bad bounce for the Terps. UVA ball.
13:15 – Blocked shot by Maryland and McNaney wins a tough ground ball in the corner. He is awesome out of the cage.
4-2 Maryland
UVA gets an advantage in the sub game and Terenzi crushes it. Maryland has killed teams on that over the years but get beat there. Terenzi is a two-way guy but he can really shoot the rock.
5-2 Maryland
Whittier finds Maltz inside. Maltzy is such a gifted off-ball player and shooter. Up to 30 goals now on the year.
Morris nice save right after that. UMD is getting fast breaks on every faceoff.
6-2 Maryland
Spanos to Kelly out of the hung situation. Those slip picks on the goal line are really tough, because you have to switch those picks most of the time. Virginia needs to avoid the hung situation if they can.
Timeout by Virginia. Faceoffs have been the story here, Maryland feels like they have had the ball the entire game. I’m surprised how many cutters Maryland has been able to find here. Maryland’s middies finding just enough leverage on their dodges to create some confusion and the shooting has been excellent.
In terms of adjustments, there aren’t any for Maryland. Virginia needs to find a solution at the faceoff X. It’s a simple story so far.
6-3 Maryland
Millon wins a matchup and hits a question mark shot against Will Schaller. Actually thought it was very good D by Schaller there just a great play. Millon is a superstar and is only a freshmen.
5:40 – Outstanding defence from Eric Kolar leads to a Terp stop after a rare faceoff loss.
Fast break opportunity for Virginia mitigated by an offside call.
4:00 – Kelly ground ball after a Malever shot off the pipe. Maryland timeout.
3:30 – Very nice save by Morris on a good take from Malever. Morris has been pretty solid here.
2:20 – Good stop from the Terps but a turnover on the clear. Didn’t have much time to clear after a long ground ball battle.
7-3 Maryland
Burlace in transition. Another fast break goal from Maryland.
0:00 – Great defence by UMD at the end of the half. Could not have gone better for the Terps.
Halftime
Ok, lets talk adjustments:
I’m frankly shocked that UVA has not tried Wayer on the faceoff. Their inability to cut the break has been significant. And they have to shoot better.
Not sure there are any adjustments from UMD. They did a good job of limiting turnovers and that will be crucial going forward.
Quarter 3
8-3 Maryland
Jack Koras scores unassisted for Maryland. Koras is so nails.
9-3 Maryland
Koras to Spanos as Maryland comes flying out of the half. Koras is so nails.
13:58 – Wayer gets a grade A look but misses. One of the stories today for UVA.
11:05 – Virginia earns a great look but hits the cross-bar. It’s just been a tough day for them.
Lots of talk on the broadcast about the ten-man ride, but it’s basically impossible for UVA to use it because Maryland’s possesions are coming off faceoffs and turnovers.
9-4 Maryland
A rare busted coverage there for Maryland and Chizmar scores in the unsettled situation.
9:20 – Colucci wins the faceoff but gets stripped on the fast break. That’s a killer for the Cavs.
7:54 – A couple good possesions in a row from UVA on defence. But clock is ticking.
6:46 – Really impressive set there for Maryland D and SSDM Nick Redd. Followed by a good clear against the ten-man.
10-4 Maryland
Virginia just doesn’t get matched up defensively and Siracusa buries it. Perhaps some fatigue on the Virginia D.
11-4 Maryland
Two good saves by Maryland and then some great stickwork leads to an Eric Spanos goal. Everything coming up Terps right now.
Maryland runs out the clock on the quarter. Terps won that quarter 4-1.
Not much to say here for adjustments. UVA has to find a way to turn the tempo up, but the faceoff differential is a cheat code.
Quarter 4
UVA puts Nunes back in here. They look like they want to double team the ball the entire quarter. Terps already in clock management mode.
11-5 Maryland
Nice back-cut by Cormier gets an easy one for UVA. Shelly breaks an incredible record for all time tournament points.
11-6 Maryland
Millon hits a shot to cut it to 5. Maryland could probably use one or two more goals, but the morale seems lower than the score would indicate for UVA. They need to keep playing and see what happens.
12-5 Maryland
Perfect possession for the Terps as Spanos finds Brennan at the end of the shot-clock. That probably does it.
Not much to say here as the clock runs. Just an amazing performance from Coach Tillman and the Terps. I don’t think anyone saw this coming.
What a game by the Terps. See you Monday.
Notre Dame vs Denver
Ok folks welcome to the live updates section of our coverage. With about five minutes to faceoff, here is what I am watching.
For Notre Dame, it’s their ability to score from deep. I thought there was a great description of the Denver defence from Matt Dunn of First Class lacrosse and Harvard Head Coach Gerry Byrne.
For Denver, I’m watching for their ability to create good shots, particularly outside of settled 6v6 offence. This ND defensive unit is very good, good looks will be hard to come by.
15:00 – VERY good sign for the Irish with the opening draw. Quick CT by pioneers though.
That first possession went about how I thought it would. This game is going to be a grind.
12:30 – Those shots will be there for Dobson, he just has to hit them.
1-0 Denver
Richie Connell wins a matchup and scores out of the invert. To be candid, Entenmann is probably going to save most of those. But a great start for Denver. I expect a ton of invert from Denver.
Ben Ramsay is a baller.
1-1
Angrick with a sick pass back door to Kavanagh. Denver’s defence is set up to avoid plays exactly like that. Strength on strength there and a great feed and finish.
8:50 – Unbelievable attempt from Taylor followed by a big save by Entenmann. Fun game so far.
2-1 Notre Dame
That’s nightmare fuel for the Pioneers. Shawn Lyght is so good, creates the turnover at the midline, and Pat Kav finishes.
Ok at the first media timeout, Denver is going to want to tighten up inside. They gave up the goal to Chris and then the good look to Taylor. If they aren’t going to pressure the ball, they need to rely on being great inside.
For the Irish, it’s patience. They need to keep grinding this Denver defence down and thought they forced some low-angle stuff in that quarter.
5:50 – Entenmann gets Connell back there. Not sure Notre Dame has slid yet.
Third midfield line here for Notre Dame. A ridiculous luxury.
3:20 – A few slides there but no shot for Denver. They need to set better picks.
Taylor went for the bee-sting pick and got called. They had a great angle on it, he should have played it straight up. Ball back to Denver.
3-1 Notre Dame
The Irish are having more success with skip passes than Syracuse did. Great finish by Chris, that’s basically the definition of how you’re supposed to dive with the goal mouth.
Great save by Kleban to end the quarter. Those are the shots they need to hit, I’m telling Dobson to keep being aggressive for his own shot.
End of Quarter 1
That’s about what we expected in the first half. The pace is an issue here for Denver. They have to keep scoring down to have a chance but they put just three shots on cage in that quarter. That’s obviously not going to be enough.
Quarter 2
14:30 – Good take by Malawsky, he’s quicker than most Canadians. He will be really good.
Playing surface seems slippery today, Faison smoked his man but couldn’t turn the corner. Another opportunity for Denver.
3-2 Notre Dame
The Irish gave up the switch for no reason and Lampert kills them. They should be hunting switches for him as much as they possibly can.
All the good looks for Denver are coming in the invert.
3-3
Great offence from the Pioneers. Nice shot by Avery and good multi-pass goal for Denver. When they can draw slides they will be ok.
10:45 – That’s what Denver wants on D. It is so hard to feed the crease against them.
Kleban has been really good here. But Entenmann has been too. There have been 11 total saves and 6 goals.
Kleban again. Wow.
Kleban!
Entenmann matches it. These kids are having a day!
4-3 Notre Dame
Jake Taylor finally gets open and buries it on a third line shift for the midfield. Not sure exactly what happened to get Taylor open there but a major breakdown. Notre Dame has scored 3 of 4 goals right on the doorstep, exactly what DU is trying to avoid.
At the second quarter media timeout, this is definitely going well for Denver. They’re getting better looks than I thought they would and getting bailed out by Kleban. They really need to find something at the X though, Lynch has been a stud.
5-3 Notre Dame
Faison wins a matchup and scores on the run. That’s a really tough shot against a hot goalie.
DU bailed out there by a marginal call. Notre Dame has to play through it.
I HATE that call on Lampert.
I HATE that call on Taylor.
Corrigan giving it to the refs and Brown can get after the refs too. The zebras are not having fun right now.
Entenmann yelling at his boys to slide to Connell. Keep going to it if you’re Denver.
5-4 Notre Dame
Entenmann seems to struggle with Connell’s release up the hash. That’s perfect for Denver has Notre Dame played 75 seconds of good D.
Halftime
GREAT interview there by Lampert. That’s the attitude Denver needs. Just keep running.
That’s as good of a half as the Pioneers could have hoped for in this one. I’ll be back in a minute with some adjustments for both teams.
Ok let’s talk adjustments. For Notre Dame, I’m curious how long we will see the rolling midfield lines. Faison is winning matchups and Dobson has range. I wonder if they will run those guys more. I also wonder if another dodger comes in for Taylor.
For Denver, they settled in well. Their defensive strategy is working for the most part, but they’ve had a few key breakdowns. The thing that has kept them in the game has been causing turnovers in the midfield, ride and other scenarios.
Denver has actually been supporting some of the alley dodges, but the Pioneers don’t have outlets to throw to. I would try to keep more players on the same side as the ball, or two players behind the goal so that they can skip those passes through and punish the slides.
Quarter 3
Weird sequence off the faceoff there, DU gets away with one. Notre Dame has to play through these calls.
14:11 – Entenmann is so good down the alley. You just can’t get much by him.
6 -4 Notre Dame
Sick play by Pat. Denver will give up those shots on the run all game, you just have to hit them. For those wondering if Pat can play midfield in PLL, watch that play.
I’ll take Will Lynch on my team any day. Playmaker.
Great defensive set there for Denver. They just don’t get beat very much.
6-5 Notre Dame
Some good karma there for Denver. Sillstrop misses a wide open look then Entenmann looks like he put it in his own goal. I don’t think Malawsky touched that. Denver is sticking around in this game. Not pretty, but it has worked so far.
7-5 Notre Dame
Dobson to McLane is a great sign for Irish. Another frustrating one for the Pioneers because they don’t really slide but also lose the inside man. Curious if we will see a back to back shift for the first line.
Huge save for Entenmann.
Dobson back out there. Love it.
8-5 Notre Dame
Dobson sweeps and crushes it past Kleban. I thought those would be the ones that Notre Dame was going to have to score from distance. I would give him another shift and try to put this game out of reach.
Huge moment in this game now. If Notre Dame can push this to four or five goals, Denver will be in tough. But they have been sticking around all day.
Taylor with another between the legs shot. Best on best here with the EMO and EMD.
They’re sitting too far back here. Dobson is wide open.
9-5 Notre Dame
Still 20 minutes left in this game, but that might do it. Denver gets a huge stop on the EMO, but turns it over and ND cashes. Denver is in tough from here.
The anti-leaning crusaders will love that one. LOL.
Near miss for Notre Dame. Good break for Denver.
Unforced errors by Denver here are so costly. Denver just hasn’t played much offence this quarter.
1:30 – Another failed clear. Notre Dame will have the ball until the end of the quarter.
0:15 – Vicious possesion from Mercurio. That guy is awesome.
End of Quarter 3
Only one goal there for the Pios, and it came on the possible own goal from Entenmann. They just haven’t had the ball enough.
Quarter 4
Denver needs some momentum here pretty soon. Notre Dame was suffocating in Q3. The faceoff differential from ND is remarkable.
14:10 – I love the Dobson sweeps for Notre Dame. GREAT save by Kleban.
9-6 Notre Dame
Good take by Carlson, he has been winning matchups. Slide just a little late for the Irish and good shot through the wickets.
12:10 – Notre Dame is forcing passes inside instead of throwing them to the top for step downs. I think there are shots up there to be had, but another turnover by the Irish.
11:00 – Good possession by the Pioneers there but a missed shot sinks it.
10-6 Notre Dame
McLane makes a great hesitation move and catches Denver sleeping. That one hurts for the Pioneers, I just don’t think they were ready for him to go.
11-6 Notre Dame
McLane gets some luck there and banks it off the extra defender. BRUTAL bounce for Denver.
12-6 Notre Dame
The floodgates are open for the Irish. Lynch’s performance has been remarkable.
7:28 – The goal mouth is stupid, but he may have avoided it.
Not even close to being a good goal, but a timeout for Denver regardless. Would bet 10 million imaginary dollars that they will run the 10-man ride here.
6:20 – Would imagine we see the third line the rest of the way for Notre Dame. They can buy some rest for their best players.
13-6 Notre Dame
Chris to Pat and he finishes with the BTB. ND needs to get their guys out of the game.
Another Entenmann save. ND is going to roll to the Natty. This team is very very very good.
Elite run continues for Notre Dame. Their closest game in the tournament has been five goals.
I’ll have more updates for game two, but for now let’s break for a few minutes.
Thank you!