NCAA Lacrosse Championships 2015: Semifinals Schedule, TV Info and More
Four remain in the 2015 NCAA Lacrosse Championships after 16 entered the fray in early May.
The four shouldn't come as much of a shock, either, those being the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Denver Pioneers, Maryland Terrapins and Johns Hopkins Blue Jays, with the first three making it this far last year before the Duke Blue Devils hoisted the trophy once the dust settled.
There are no Blue Devils this time, just four powerhouse teams efficient on both ends of the field looking to win a chess match in the collegiate game's biggest event.
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Before things get underway this weekend, let's look at the pertinent details.
Semifinals Schedule
| Sat., May 23 | 1 p.m. | No. 1 Notre Dame vs. No. 4 Denver | ESPN2 | Watch ESPN |
| Sat., May 23 | 3:30 p.m. | No. 6 Maryland vs. Johns Hopkins | ESPN2 | Watch ESPN |
Full bracket available at NCAA.com.
Semifinals Breakdown
If one glanced at the bracket for even a second, it was easy to see a matchup of juggernauts in the making between No. 1 Notre Dame and No. 4 Denver.
The two are through to the semifinals and will collide in an anticipated bout. It wasn't easy, though, not with the Albany Great Danes pushing the Fighting Irish for all they could handle in the quarterfinals.
There, Mikey Wynne and the Fighting Irish needed six goals in the final frame to eke out the 14-10 triumph.
It wasn't easy for Denver, either, not against a game Ohio State club. The Pioneers fell behind 7-1 and rode Wesley Berg's five goals to a 15-13 result.
"You could see the life go back into us after we got to 7-4, and kept chipping away from there," Berg said, per Mike Chambers of the Denver Post. "You don't want to be in that spot, ever, down 7-1 to begin the game. But we knew it could be done and we knew we had the team to do it."
Translation—Saturday's early game figures to be one for the ages between two teams with star players and rosters capable of putting up massive production in a hurry. There's no easy way to predict how such a matchup might turn out, other than to guarantee it should be an entertaining, down-to-the-wire affair.
It's not wise to miss the second game, either.
Sixth-seeded Maryland knows a thing or two about upsets this year after besting third-seeded North Carolina in the second round, 14-7. There, the Terrapins jumped out to a 9-2 lead and never looked back.
In other words, Maryland knows an upset is possible at any point, which is good knowledge to have going into a showdown with unseeded Johns Hopkins.
After an opening-round dismantling of seventh-seeded Virginia, 19-7, the Blue Jays shocked the globe with a one-goal upset of the No. 2 Syracuse Orange, 16-15. In fact, the higher seed slammed home three goals late to make the score look closer than the game was.
Here's the caveat—Maryland already met Johns Hopkins once this year.
There, the late-April clash went 15-12 in favor of the Blue Jays as Ryan Brown went off for eight goals. The rematch creates a war of contrasting styles, as the Terrapins defense gives any offense an issue, but the Blue Jays have scored 13 or more goals in six straight games.
In short, it's a matchup worthy of sending the winner to a title game. It's also the last semifinal game for good reason, as such opposing strengths don't align often.
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