NCAA Lacrosse: Men’s Quarterfinal Preview

Half the field in the mens lacrosse tournament is already gone and after this upcoming weekend only 4 will remain. Here is a preview of this weekends quarter finals match so you know who is most likely to make to Final Four.

Duke vs North Carolina – Duke comes into this game off a 18-5 ass beating of Johns Hopkins, while UNC barely survived a scare from Delaware winning that game 14-13. To say that UNC is coming into this game abit sluggish would be an understandment.

The problem of late for the Heels has been their defense, which has given up 53 goals over the last four games. Duke meanwhile are one of  the hottest teams in the nation having won 11 of their last 12 games. Still I give the edge to Heels because that first round scare and the fact that they’re playing Duke should have them more than ready to play this one.

Notre Dame vs Maryland – The Irish upset Princeton in round one behind David Earls’ five goals and some great team defense that held the Tigers scoreless for the final 20 minutes plus. Maryland beat Hofstra thanks to a balanced attack where ten different Terps scored goals.

Notre Dame is going to be looking to avenge a 7-3 first round loss suffered at the hands of the Terps, a loss that ruined their perfect season. And because I am a big fan of revenge games I am going to have to go with the Irish in this one.

Army vs Cornell – Army shocked the world when they took down the #2 seeded and two time defending champion Syracuse Orange in the Carrier Dome in overtime in the first round and now the question on everyone’s mind is can they continue their Cinderella run.

If they are they will have to beat a Cornell team that struggled in their opening round game against Loyola, squandering a 9-2 lead before finally finishing them off in the third overtime. Cornell did already beat Army back on March 6th in a close one, 12-11 in OT.

Still that little shot of confidence that Army got from defeating Syracuse should be just what they need to get over the hump this time and pull out a victory versus Cornell.

Virginia vs Stony Brook – Virginia absolutely dismantled Mount St. Mary’s last Saturday night at home, this game will be a different story because now must face a decent Stony Brook team on the road in a hostile environment.

The Cavs still have the edge in this one having beat Stony Brook earlier this year in Charlottesville 13-7, so I’m betting this game should not be a problem for the #1 ranked team.