The 2009 NCAA Division I lacrosse tournament was the 39th annual tournament hosted by the National Collegiate Athletic Association to determine the team champion of men's college lacrosse among its Division I programs, held at the end of the 2009 NCAA Division I men's lacrosse season. The tournament was played from May 9–25, 2009.
Syracuse defeated Cornell in the final, 10–9 in overtime.Syracuse 10, Cornell 9 (OT), Syracuse University, May 25, 2009. Accessed 2009-06-07. Archived 2009-08-01.
The championship game was played at Gillette Stadium, the home of the NFL's New England Patriots, in Foxborough, Massachusetts, with 41,935 fans in attendance.
The first round of the tournament was played on May 9–10 at the home fields of the seeded teams. The quarterfinals were held on May 16–17 on neutral site fields at Hofstra University (James M. Shuart Stadium) and the United States Naval Academy (Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium). The tournament culminated with the semifinals and final held on Memorial Day weekend.2009 lacrosse finals to be played at Gillette Stadium, ESPN, January 18, 2008.
Qualifying teams
Sixteen NCAA Division I college men's lacrosse teams met after having played their way through a regular season, and for some, a conference tournament, to play in the NCAA Tournament.
The NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Committee selected the participating teams for the championship tournament. The committee announced the qualifying teams and the seeding order on Sunday, May 3, 2009. Seven conferences received automatic bids for their top team. The remaining nine teams were selected by the committee as "at-large" bids.The Roads To Foxborough Begin, National Collegiate Athletic Association, May 3, 2009.
Five conferences held tournament championships, which also determined their NCAA bids. Siena earned an automatic bid by winning the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) championship for both their first conference title and first NCAA tournament appearance.Siena Wins the 2009 MAAC Men’s Lacrosse Championship , Inside Lacrosse, May 3, 2009. Villanova earned an automatic bid by winning Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) championship and also made its NCAA tournament debut.Villanova, Hofstra To Represent CAA In 2009 NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Championships, Colonial Athletic Association, May 3, 2009. Navy earned an automatic bid by winning its fifth Patriot League championship in six years., Patriot League, May 3, 2009. Both Notre Dame and UMBC repeated as conference champions by winning the Great Western Lacrosse League (GWLL) and America East Conference, respectively.Men's Lacrosse: Notre Dame Wins GWLL Title , Inside Lacrosse, May 3, 2009.UMBC Repeats as Men's Lacrosse Champions, America East Conference, May 2, 2009.
Two conferences awarded their bids based on regular season performance. UMass earned the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) championship and its automatic with a 6–1 conference record.No. 15 UMass Captures ECAC Crown, NCAA Tourney Berth In 11–10 OT Win At Rutgers , Eastern College Athletic Conference, May 2, 2009. The Ivy League awarded its automatic bid to Cornell. Princeton and Cornell possessed identical conference records and were named co-champions. The head-to-head regular season game, which Cornell had won, acted as the tie-breaking criterion.Ivy Men's Lax Earn Three NCAA Bids, Ivy League, May 4, 2009.
The remaining nine berths were awarded to at-large teams. Duke won the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) tournament for the third straight season,Duke Captures Third Straight ACC Men's Lacrosse Crown , Atlantic Coast Conference, April 26, 2009. but the league does not receive an automatic bid because it does not have at least six members.All Four ACC Teams Earn Bids to the 2009 NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship , Atlantic Coast Conference, May 3, 2009.John Driscoll, Terps look to continue surprising season in ACC tournament, ESPN, April 25, 2008. Nevertheless, all four ACC teams received at-large bids: Duke, Maryland, North Carolina, and Virginia. Additionally, the NCAA Selection Committee awarded at-large bids to: independents Johns Hopkins and Syracuse, Brown and Princeton of the Ivy League, and Hofstra of the CAA.
Tournament bracket
* = Overtime
Game summaries
First round The 1st round of the tournament, seven of the eight seeded teams advanced. Every past NCAA tournament had been won by seven of the eight teams that advanced to the quarterfinals, with Duke being the only one to have never won a national title, up to this tournament.A weekend for the bluebloods , The Washington Times, May 10, 2009. For the first time, all four Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) teams advanced to the second round. It was just the second time in tournament history that four teams from the same conference advanced. The first instance occurred in 1990 with Brown, Harvard, Princeton, and Yale of the Ivy League.ACC leads lacrosse conference call, The Washington Times, May 14, 2009. Accessed 2009-06-07. Archived 2009-08-01.
The tournament began on Saturday, May 9, when the Brown Bears traveled to face the eighth-seeded Johns Hopkins Blue Jays at Homewood Field in Baltimore. The Blue Jays pulled away to three-goal leads in the first and final quarters, but the Bears equalized both times. In the final ten seconds of regulation, Brown attackman Kyle Hollingsworth batted in a loose ball to even the score, 11–11. In overtime, Hopkins won the faceoff and called a timeout, before Brian Christopher drove up the right side of the field and made a game-winning top-corner shot on the run. It was the third overtime goal by Christopher in Hopkins' past four games.Warrior May Madness: In-Game Blog - Brown at No. 8 Johns Hopkins, Inside Lacrosse, May 9, 2009. Accessed 2009-06-07. Archived 2009-08-01.
UMBC then played at number-six seed North Carolina. The UMBC Retrievers possessed the most efficient extra-man offense (EMO) and the best-rated midfield in the nation. Their roster, however, lacked depth, and the first-string midfielders were forced to play in the heat for almost the entire game. At halftime, the Retrievers led the Tar Heels, 8–6. The lead changed hands several times in the third period, before North Carolina took control for the remainder of the game to win, 15–13. Tar Heels attackman Billy Bitter, who attempted only nine shots, matched the school single-game record with eight goals.Warrior May Madness: NCAA First Round In-Game Blog – UMBC at No. 6 North Carolina , Inside Lacrosse, May 9, 2009.
Hofstra played at fifth-seeded Cornell, where the teams were even at halftime, 5–5. The third period was the decisive quarter, and Cornell won three face-offs and outscored Hofstra five-to-one.Warrior May Madness: NCAA First Round In-Game Final – Cornell 11, Hofstra 8, Inside Lacrosse, May 9, 2009. Accessed 2009-06-07. Archived 2009-08-01. In Durham, third-seeded Duke hosted Navy. At halftime, the Blue Devils led 10–0 and expanded the rout to 13–1 at the start of the final period. Duke advanced with a final score of 14–5.Warrior May Madness: NCAA First Round In-Game Blog: Navy at No. 3 Duke , Inside Lacrosse, May 9, 2009.
The second day of the tournament began with the Maryland Terrapins facing the seventh-seeded Notre Dame Fighting Irish at home in South Bend, Indiana. The Fighting Irish entered the game in possession of a perfect 15–0 record, but still considered an unknown variable due to their schedule.Maryland moves along, The Washington Times, May 10, 2009. Accessed 2009-06-07. Archived 2009-08-01. The magazine Inside Lacrosse called the Terrapins a talented team that had underachieved during the regular season.Warrior May Madness: Superlatives from the first round of the NCAA lacrosse tournament, Inside Lacrosse, May 11, 2009. Accessed 2009-06-07. Archived 2009-08-01. The first-ranked Notre Dame defense frustrated Maryland, but the Terps still managed to gain a 6–1 lead in the third quarter. Maryland's defense effectively shut-down Notre Dame and the leading Irish scorer Ryan Hoff was unable to make a single shot on goal.Warrior May Madness: NCAA First Round In-Game Blog: Maryland 7, Notre Dame 3 , Inside Lacrosse, May 10, 2009.Maryland's defense dominates Notre Dame in 7–3 win , Inside Lacrosse, May 10, 2009. Maryland was the only unseeded team to advance to the quarterfinals.
Both schools making their inaugural NCAA tournament appearance suffered quick elimination. The Villanova Wildcats were trounced by the Virginia Cavaliers, 18–6. The Cavaliers were led by Brian Carroll's career-high five goal performance.Virginia routs Villanova, 18–6 , Inside Lacrosse, May 10, 2009. The Siena Saints were held scoreless for nearly 42 minutes in their loss to the Syracuse Orange, 11–4. Onondaga Community College transfer Cody Jamieson, who had just been cleared academically, scored three goals in his first start for the Orange.Syracuse stifles Siena, 11–4 , Inside Lacrosse, May 11, 2009.
At Princeton University, the Tigers defeated the visiting UMass Minutemen, 10–7. Princeton was led by Mark Kovler's six-point effort. The game was the final in the collegiate career of Minutemen goalkeeper Doc Schneider who led his team to the 2006 championship game as a freshman. His opposite number, Princeton's Tyler Fiorito, became just the second freshman goalkeeper to start an NCAA tournament game for the Tigers.Kovler leads Princeton past Massachusetts, 10–7 , Inside Lacrosse, May 10, 2009.
Quarterfinals
The quarterfinals took place over the weekend of May 16 to 17 at two neutral sites. The first doubleheader was sponsored on Saturday by Hofstra University, followed by games held at the United States Naval Academy on Sunday. Despite overcast weather at both locations, it was the first time that each NCAA quarterfinals venue attracted in excess of 11,000 spectators.Quarters for your thoughts, The Washington Times, May 18, 2009. Accessed 2009-06-07. Archived 2009-08-01.
The second round opened at Hofstra's James M. Shuart Stadium with the Maryland–Syracuse match-up. Al Cavalieri filled in as the Orange goalkeeper for long-time starter John Galloway who was sick with the flu. Syracuse scored three unanswered goals in the first quarter before Maryland goalie Brian Phipps suffered an ACL tear. Terrapins midfielder Grant Catalino narrowed the deficit to 5–3 before halftime on an extra-man score. In the second half, Syracuse made defensive adjustments to shut down Maryland's behind-the-goal attack,Postscript from Maryland vs. Syracuse, The Baltimore Sun, May 17, 2009. Accessed 2009-06-07. Archived 2009-08-01. and the Orange tallied three times in the span of 2:10 to pull away in the third quarter. Syracuse won, 11–6, and extended its postseason streak against Maryland to five.Syracuse Advances to Semifinals With 11–6 Victory Over Maryland , Inside Lacrosse, May 16, 2009.
Ivy League rivals Cornell and Princeton then had their 70th meeting, but first in the NCAA tournament. "New wrinkle in the Cornell Princeton lacrosse rivalry", The Ithaca Journal], May 16, 2009. Earlier in the postseason, the Big Red defeated the Tigers to split the Ivy League championship.Cornell men defeat Princeton, head to NCAA final four, The Baltimore Sun, May 17, 2009. Accessed 2009-06-07. Archived 2009-08-01. Three Princeton shots hit the post in the first half of the second quarter, and Cornell entered halftime with a 5–1 advantage. In the third quarter, Tigers attackman Tommy Davis ended their 27:58 scoring drought with a 15-yard shot. Princeton quickly tallied again with 28 seconds in the period. In the final quarter, the Big Red withstood two penalties to win, 6–4.Cornell Wins Defensive Struggle Against Princeton, Advances to Final Four , Inside Lacrosse, May 16, 2009.