Beware UAlbany and Towson.
Two of the most dangerous mid-major teams in recent college lacrosse memory are headed back to the NCAA tournament.
And the next time someone refers to the season as a marathon rather than a sprint, they’ll point to the Great Danes and Tigers, both of whom turned their seasons around after miserable starts.
A week after a March 8 loss to Virginia dropped Towson to 1-5, the Tigers opened Coastal Athletic Association play with a 19-18 victory over Delaware in an OT thriller that started what’s now a 10-game winning streak.
Towson punctuated its turnaround with a 13-10 win over Drexel in the CAA championship game Saturday. Freshman Ronan Fitzpatrick scored five goals to lead the Tigers, who gave Syracuse fits in the NCAA tournament last year and were ranked 11th in the USA Lacrosse Division I Men’s Preseason Top 20 this year.
UAlbany started even worse. The Great Danes were 3-8 as recently as April 1. But they ripped through the rest of their America East schedule, got a juice win over Yale and on Saturday stormed to a 12-7 victory over Bryant in the conference championship game to punch their ticket.
UAlbany led 6-0 at halftime, weathered a five-goal run by the Bulldogs in the third quarter and pulled away for its first win over Bryant since 2015.
Both Towson and UAlbany have Cinderella experience. The Tigers made the final four in 2017 and the Great Danes got a taste of championship weekend in 2018. No one wants to face either in the NCAA tournament.
Here's a recap of conference championships awarded Saturday.
🎟️👊 CHAMPIONSHIP CLINCHERS
Teams that punched their ticket Saturday:
(1) Towson def. (3) Drexel 13-10 (CAA)
(1) Richmond def. (2) High Point 16-10 (A10)
(2) Robert Morris def. (4) Detroit Mercy 17-8 (NEC)
(3) UAlbany def. (1) Bryant 12-7 (AMERICA EAST)
(2) Siena def. (1) Sacred Heart 12-8 (MAAC)
(1) Georgetown def. (2) Villanova 16-8 (Big East)
(1) Ohio State def. (2) Maryland 14-10 (Big Ten)
🌟 TOP PERFORMANCES
Caleb Fyock, Ohio State — "Big Tasty" lived up to his nickname, making 19 saves to lead Ohio State past Maryland 14-10 to win its first Big Ten tournament championship. Fyock made 10 of his saves in the fourth quarter to deny any hope for a Terps comeback.
Aidan Carroll, Georgetown — A week ago, Jack Ransom scored nine goals in Georgetown's regular season win over Villanova. This time it was Carroll taking on the leading role with eight goals and two assists, both career-highs, in a 16-8 victory over Villanova that gave the Hoyas their seventh straight Big East championship. His fifth goal was a backbreaker. Villanova, trailing 8-4, had a 6-on-4 opportunity, but failed to convert and the Hoyas went in transition with Carroll flipping momentum.
Bo Columbus, Robert Morris — Fire up the "Let's Go Bobby Mo" bandwagon. The Colonials were 0.1 seconds away from their season ending when they stunned LIU with a buzzer beater and beat the Sharks in overtime on Thursday. On Saturday, they were in control from start to finish thanks to Columbus, the faceoff whose 18-for-24 performance helped Robert Morris play make-it, take-it in a 17-8 win over Detroit Mercy in the NEC championship game. The Colonials led 10-1 at one point. They'll advance to the NCAA tournament for the fourth time in the last seven years.
Pratt Reynolds, Siena — The senior attackman added to his school single-season record with five goals in a 12-8 win at top-seeded Sacred Heart, propelling the Saints to their first MAAC title since 2014. Reynolds scored the last two goals of the game to ice it, giving him 55 on the season and 166 for his career — the latter just two shy of another school record.
Ronan Fitpatrick, Towson — A freshman gunslinger, Fitzpatrick started his college career with a five-goal game and punctuated his first conference tournament with the same stat line. He's the biggest beneficiary of the attention Mikey Weisshaar warrants.
Joe Sheridan, Richmond — Not all goals are created equal. While the Spiders had six multi-goal scorers in their 16-10 win over High Point, Sheridan's goals were the timeliest. They included go-ahead markers in the first and second quarters and an early third-quarter tally that stretched Richmond's lead to two. The Spiders put the Panthers away with a five-goal run spanning the third and fourth quarters, ensuring a return to the NCAA tournament for the sixth time in 12 years. They were playing in a conference final for the 11th straight year, the longest active streak in Division I spanning three different leagues.
😮 BIGGEST UPSET
Siena over Sacred Heart
The Saints survived a thriller with Marist on Thursday, winning 15-14 on an incredible last-minute goal by Ryan McCarthy and an even more incredible last-second save by Andrew Arcuri. No such theatrics were required Saturday, as Siena scored five unanswered goals bridging halftime to defeat defending MAAC champion Sacred Heart 12-8 in the final. It's the Saints' first conference title since 2014, which was also the last time they played in the NCAA tournament. The Pioneers were ranked No. 16 and No. 19 in the media and coaches polls, respectively, this week.
📈 STATS OF THE DAY
7.8
Miles between the campuses of Albany and Siena, who could face each other in an NCAA tournament play-in game Wednesday if the bracket forms accordingly. Seventh-year Siena head coach Liam Gleason played for Albany head coach Scott Marr and was the Great Danes’ top assistant before taking over for the Saints after the 2018 season.
3
Number of teeth that Ohio State head coach Nick Myers said that Gannon Matthews will need to get fixed after the Big Ten championship game. Matthews scored the opening goal of the game and was hit after the shot (no foul was called). He had to switch numbers (24 to 32) due to blood on his uniform and camera closeups showed damage to his mouth area. Matthews goal set the tone as Ohio State jumped out quickly to a 6-1 lead and took Maryland out of its game and the Terps had to play from behind.
