The 2011 NCAA Lacrosse Tournament comes to an end on Memorial Day when the No. 7 Virginia Cavaliers take on the unseeded Maryland Terrapins. This tournament has been one for the underdogs this year, which could give the advantage to the Terps.
The Cavaliers survived a scare in their opening round game with unseeded Bucknell, needing overtime to win 13-12. Then they upset the No. 2 Cornell Big Red in the quarterfinals, 13-9, to set up a semifinals match with the No. 6 Denver Pioneers. The Cavs jumped out to a 13-3 lead before winning 14-8. The Cavs have won four championships and have made nine appearances in the title game. Their last championship came in 2006 with a victory over Massachusetts.
The unseeded Maryland Terrapins defeated the No. 8 North Carolina Tar Heels in the opening round in convincing fashion with a 13-6 advantage. They upset the No. 1 Syracuse Orange in the quarterfinals when Grant Catalino put one in the back of the net with 32 seconds left in overtime. They followed that up with a 9-4 victory over the No. 5 Duke Blue Devils in the semifinals. This will be the Terps' 10th appearance in the championship game and a chance for them to win their third national title.
In this all-ACC affair, this game may come down to the better of two players: Virginia's Steele Stanwick or Maryland's Grant Catalino. Stanwick has 20 points in this tournament alone and 69 for the season (32 goals, 37 assists). Catalino has 28 goals and 10 assists on the season.
This game will be played at M&T Bank Stadium on Monday, May 30, and will be televised on ESPN at 1:30 p.m. MT. Check out ESPN3.com if no TV is available.
Please visit College Crosse for more on the 2011 NCAA Lacrosse Tournament.