New York, New York. Three Empire State Teams Win League Titles

If defense wins championships, then someone better have a really good one. How else to stop the juggernaut that is Cornell's offense?

After nearly getting buried early, Princeton came back to take a 14-10 lead over No. 1 ranked Cornell in the Ivy League championship game. And then it was over. Ten straight goals for Cornell and the Big Red won it 20-15. It was the fourth time this year that the nation's No. 1 offense hit at least 20 goals.

They were one of three New York teams to capture league crowns on Sunday, joining Colgate and Syracuse.

There was no automatic bid for the NCAA tournament coming out of the Atlantic Coast Conference, but Syracuse went to Charlotte like a team playing for a berth. The Orange looked to be on the right side of the bubble, but entering the ACC tournament on a three-game losing streak could have made for some anxious viewing tonight for the NCAA selection show if they didn’t take care of business. 

Syracuse did that by beating Notre Dame on Friday and then wrapped up its first ACC tournament championship since 2016 by outlasting Duke 9-8 on Sunday. It was hardly a thing of beauty – and Duke’s Eric Malever was just inches away from tying the game on the final shot – but the Orange found a way to win. 

Air Force did the same thing. The ASUN championship game against Utah was tied eight times and Air Force didn’t string together consecutive goals until it scored the first three goals of the fourth quarter to take an 11-9 lead. The Falcons hung on for the 11-10 win after Utah’s final shot by Will Overly was blocked with 46 seconds left. 

It was quite the turnaround for Air Force, which lost its first four games of the season and was just 2-7 after losing its league opener to Jacksonville. Six straight wins later and Air Force is headed back to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2017. 

Colgate’s offense is as dangerous as anyone in the county and the Raiders rode that offense to its first Patriot League championship since 2015 by beating Boston University 17-10. A team that owns wins over America East champion UAlbany and the two teams likely bidding for the final at-large spot – Army and Harvard – is not someone that any seeded team will be anxious to face.

🎟️👊 CHAMPIONSHIP CLINCHERS

Teams that won their leagues on Sunday:

(5) Colgate def. (2) Boston University 17-10 (PATRIOT)  
(3) Air Force def. (1) Utah 11-10 (ASUN)  
(4) Robert Morris def. (3) Duke 9-8 (ACC)  
(1) Cornell def. (2) Princeton 20-15 (IVY)

🌟 TOP PERFORMANCES

Ryan Goldstein, Cornell — C.J. Kirst is the likely Tewaaraton winner, but Cornell’s offense is so good because it doesn’t have to rely on one player. Goldstein had three goals and four assists in the Ivy League championship game – two days after he had five goals and three assists in a semifinal win over Yale. 

John Mullen, Syracuse — Mullen won 13 of 17 faceoffs to help Syracuse dominate possession time against Duke in a 9-8 victory. Mullen had 11 groundballs and was a perfect 5-0 in the fourth quarter. He won 34 of 43 in the tournament. 

Hunter Drouin, Colgate — The junior midfielder capped a big Patriot League tournament with a team-high six points on four goals and two assists in a 17-10 win over Boston University. He assisted Colgate’s first goal and then scored the third as the Raiders jumped out 3-0 early and never looked back. Drouin had seven goals and two assists in the tournament. 

Jake Marek, Air Force — The senior goalie, in his first full year as a starter, made 14 saves in the 11-10 win over Utah. Ten of his saves came in the second half as Air Force came back from a 7-6 halftime deficit. Marek has made double-digit saves in three straight games, including a 22-save effort against Utah to close the regular season. 

Patrick Jameison, Duke — Jameison made 16 saves and kept Duke in the game in a 9-8 loss to Syracuse. Jameison made eight saves in each half and had four in the fourth quarter – to Syracuse’s none – in the near comeback.

😮 BIGGEST UPSET

Colgate over Boston University

As the No. 5 seed, Colgate is the lowest seed from any confernece to clinch an NCAA tournament berth. But this is no ordinary No. 5 seed. At one point this year, Colgate was 5-2 with wins over Harvard, UAlbany and Villanova during a five-game winning streak. A wild 18-17 loss to Bucknell started a stretch of four losses in five games, but Colgate has turned things around. Can they pull a bigger upset in the NCAA tourney?

📈 STAT OF THE DAY

68

Goals this season for Cornell's C.J. Kirst to set Cornell's single-season record. Kirst had four on Sunday to break former teammate John Piatelli's mark of 66 set in the 2022 season. Kirst, who added two assists, now has 98 points for the season (68 G, 30 A) to lead the country.