The men’s lacrosse championship matchup is set. Top-seeded Cornell and No. 2 Maryland earned victories on semifinal Saturday in Foxborough, Mass.
They’ll square off Monday at Gillette Stadium for the championship at 1 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Cornell got the day started with an 11-9 triumph over fifth-seeded Penn State. The Big Red (17-1) avenged their only loss of the regular season, while the Nittany Lions (12-5) came up short in their third attempt to advance beyond the semifinals.
It took nearly an entire quarter for either team to get on the board. Cornell finally notched a goal in the final minute of the opening period, but Penn State held a 5-4 lead at halftime. The Big Red took charge with a decisive 6-1 third quarter for a 10-6 margin. The Nittany Lions had erased a six-goal deficit a week earlier in a comeback win against Notre dame and had trailed by four in their earlier victory against the Big Red, but this time they could get no closer than one the rest of the way.
Cornell held on despite record-setting attackman and Tewaaraton Award finalist CJ Kirst being held without a point for the first time in his collegiate career. His teammates took up the slack as Michael Long notched a game-high five points on two goals and three assists, and Hugh Kelleher chipped in with three goals and an assist from the midfield, including the final tally of the game with 5:43 remaining that snapped the Nittany Lions’ three-goal run. Liam Matthews paced Penn State with four goals and Matt Traynor scored twice.
In the second semifinal, Maryland raced out to an 8-2 lead in the first half and coasted to a 14-8 victory over sixth-seeded Syracuse. The Terrapins (14-4) surrendered the game’s first goal in the opening minute but put on a defensive clinic for the remainder of the day. The Orange (13-6), making their first trip to Championship Weekend since 2013, struggled to get good looks at the cage all afternoon.
Eric Spanos led the way on the offensive end for the Terrapins with four goals and an assist. But the day belonged to the defenders as Logan McNaney made 14 saves and Will Schaller held top Syracuse attackman Joey Spallina to a single assist.
Monday’s championship game will be a rematch of the 2022 final, a 9-7 win for Maryland in which McNaney’s 17-save effort earned him tournament most outstanding player honors. That title was the fourth overall for the Terrapins in the NCAA era and the second under current coach John Tillman, and Maryland will be playing on Memorial Day for the fourth time in five years.
The Big Red will be seeking their fourth NCAA crown but their first since 1977. Big Red coach Connor Buczek, a Cornell alum who assumed the reins prior to the abbreviated 2020 season, has led his alma mater to the title game twice in his four full campaigns at the helm.