May Madness Arrives with OT Thrillers in Conference Semifinals

A trio of overtime thrillers ushered in May Madness on Thursday, as several NCAA Division I men’s lacrosse conferences staged semifinals across the country.

The most stunning turn of events came in the Northeast Conference. Bobby Reaume scored on a buzzer-beater to send the game to overtime and Calum Brennan clinched it with his eighth goal, sending Robert Morris to the NEC title game for the first time since 2019 with a 13-12 victory over LIU in Syracuse, N.Y.

Top seeds Bryant and Towson survived upset bids by Binghamton and Hofstra, respectively, to advance to the America East and Coastal Athletic Association finals Saturday on their home fields.

Brian Russell scored a walk-off goal — his fourth of the game — just 41 seconds into overtime to get the Bulldogs to the America East final with a 10-9 win over the Bearcats.

Bode Maurer was the hero for the Tigers, hitting on a high-to-low shot with 1:43 left in overtime to clinch an 11-10 victory over the Pride. It was Towson’s ninth straight win. Four of the games have gone to OT.

The only No. 1 seed to lose Thursday, Le Moyne, spared the NEC some consternation. Had the Dolphins advanced to the final, the automatic qualifier would have defaulted to Robert Morris because Le Moyne is still in the NCAA’s reclassification purgatory after jumping from Division II to Division I.

Detroit Mercy made that moot, scoring five unanswered goals to defeat the Dolphins 6-3.

✅ RESULTS

Conference semifinal scores from Thursday:

(1) Ohio State def. (5) Rutgers 11-7 (BIG TEN)  
(1) Richmond def. (4) Massachusetts 14-4 (A10)  
(2) Robert Morris def. (3) LIU 12-11 (OT) (NEC)  
(2) High Point def. (3) Saint Joseph’s 14-9 (A10)  
(2) Maryland def. (3) Penn State 10-8 (BIG TEN)  
(1) Sacred Heart def. (6) Quinnipiac 18-11 (MAAC)  
(1) Bryant def. (4) Binghamton 10-9 (OT) (AEC)  
(4) Detroit Mercy def. (1) Le Moyne 6-3 (NEC)  
(1) Towson def. (4) Hofstra 11-10 (OT) (CAA)  
(1) Georgetown def. (4) Marquette 19-8 (BIG EAST)  
(2) Siena def. (4) Marist 15-14 (MAAC  
(3) Drexel def. (2) Fairfield 14-6 (CAA)  
(3) Albany def. (2) UMBC 9-7 (AMERICA EAST)  
(2) Villanova def. (3) Providence 16-14 (BIG EAST)

🐎 STILL IN THE RACE

Conference championships set for Saturday:

(2) Maryland vs. (1) Ohio State (BIG TEN)  
(2) High Point vs. (1) Richmond (A10)  
(4) Detroit Mercy vs. (2) Robert Morris (NEC)  
(2) Siena vs. (1) Sacred Heart (MAAC)  
(3) Albany vs. (1) Bryant (AMERICA EAST)  
(3) Drexel vs. (1) Towson (CAA)  
(2) Villanova vs. (1) Georgetown (BIG EAST)

💰 BID THIEVES LURKING

None

Not from Thursday’s results, anyhow. Rutgers was the one team at-large onlookers feared and Ohio State took care of that. “Big Tasty” Caleb Fyock was sensational once more with 14 saves in an 11-7 Buckeyes victory.

😮 BIGGEST UPSET

Drexel over Fairfield

This is less about 3 beating 2 and more about how handily the Dragons defeated one of the hottest teams in the country. The Stags were the talk of college lacrosse for much of the spring, remaining unbeaten until the end of March and rising in national rankings. But they went out with a whimper Thursday. Drexel controlled the game from start to finish and led by as many as 10 goals at one point. Witt Crawford scored five goals for the Dragons, who just like that are one game away from the NCAA tournament in coach Steve Boyle’s first season.

🌟 TOP PERFORMANCES

Calum Brennan, Robert Morris— The junior attackman from Kingsville, Ontario, who started his college career at Howard (Md.) Community College, scored eight goals, including the game-winner 14 seconds into overtime as the Colonials defeated LIU 12-11.

Luca Accardo, High Point — The junior won a season-high 22 faceoffs on just 27 attempts while gobbling up 16 ground balls in a 14-9 win over Saint Joseph’s. He’s been under 50 percent only three times all season and won 70 percent (14 of 20) in the regular season game against High Point’s Atlantic 10 championship game opponent, Richmond.

Daniel Kelly, Maryland— A fifth-year senior attackman, Kelly scored a career-high five goals on perfect 5-of-5 shooting, accounting for half the Terps’ total in a 10-8 victory over Penn State. Maryland will play in the Big Ten championship game for the seventh time in 10 years.

Mikey Weisshaar, Towson— The All-American midfielder turned attackman did it all Thursday, scoring five goals, doling out three assists and causing a crucial turnover on a one-handed check to get the ball back for the Tigers on the ride in overtime.

Fulton Bayman, Georgetown — It really makes you appreciate how stacked Notre Dame was at the attack position that Bayman barely got on the field for the two-time defending NCAA champion. He’s been awesome as the party-starter for the Hoyas behind the goal, evidenced again Thursday when he had three goals and five assists in their Big East semifinal blowout of Marquette. Georgetown is aiming for its seventh straight conference title.

📈 STAT OF THE DAY

11

Richmond has played in the conference championship game in every season of its existence. The Spiders advanced to their 11th straight conference final with a convincing 14-4 win over UMass. The streak stretches across three different conferences.

🙅 SAVE OF THE DAY

Andrew Arcuri, Siena

Arcuri made five fourth-quarter saves, none bigger than his last-second denial of Jake Deacy on the doorstep as time expired and the Saints held on for a 15-14 victory — their eighth straight win. (The go-ahead goal by Ryan McCarthy was no slouch of a play, either.)