It was an exciting weekend for the 2011 NCAA Lacrosse Tournament's opening round. The Denver Pioneers victory over the Villanova Wildcats, 13-10, highlighted the weekend for the many firsts it brought about. It was the first game hosted by a team west of the Mississippi; it was the Pioneers' first tournament victory in four tries; and it was the first game from which a team was down at halftime to come back and win.
Next Saturday, the Pioneers, led by Jeremy Noble, will face No. 3 Johns Hopkins for the right to advance to the semifinals the following weekend. The winner plays the Cornell-Virginia victor.
Here are the full results from the weekend:
Saturday
No. 2 Cornell def. Hartford, 12-5
No. 3 Johns Hopkins def. Hofstra, 12-5
No. 4 Notre Dame def. Penn, 13-6
No. 5 Duke def. Delaware, 15-14
Sunday
No. 1 Syracuse def. Siena, 10-4
No. 6 Denver def. Villanova, 13-10
No. 7 Virginia def. Bucknell, 13-12
Maryland def. No. 8 North Carolina, 13-6
The Bucknell-Virginia game saw the Bison leading the Cavaliers late in the game, but Virginia tied the game as time wound down and then won it in overtime. North Carolina was the only seeded team to lose, and make sure you see the video of Maryland scoring on a hidden ball trick in that game.
Here is the upcoming schedule:
Saturday, May 21
No. 2 Cornell vs. No. 7 Virginia, 10 a.m. MT, ESPN2
No. 3 Johns Hopkins vs. No. 6 Denver, 12:30 p.m. MT, ESPN2
Sunday, May 22
No. 1 Syracuse vs. Maryland, 10 a.m. MT, ESPNU
No. 4 Notre Dame vs. No. 5 Duke, 12:30 p.m. MT, ESPNU
Please visit College Crosse for more on the 2011 NCAA Lacrosse Tournament.