For the most part, the first round of the NCAA men’s lacrosse tournament went according to script. There were, however, a few significant surprises, as the round of 16 was not a clean sweep for the seeded teams playing at home.
One of the host squads sent packing early was defending champion Cornell. The Big Red had lost quite a bit of star power from the 2025 title team and managed only a No. 7 seed in this year’s field, meaning a tough draw in the round of 16 with long-time power of the sport Johns Hopkins. The Blue Jays prevailed 9-8 in overtime in Ithaca, New York, in the tournament’s most dramatic finish thus far. But there were other unseeded teams that took down favorites in the eight games played across Saturday and Sunday.
Here’s a look at some of the other winners and losers from the weekend.
NCAA men’s lacrosse tournament winners
Johns Hopkins
Trailing 6-3 at the break, the unseeded Blue Jays rallied behind a monumental effort by the defensive unit that held Cornell to just two goals after halftime. The dramatic game couldn’t be decided in regulation. A goal by Jimmy Ayers off a feed from Matt Collison in overtime completed the comeback, giving Hopkins the 9-8 victory.
Duke
After barely squeaking into the field as the last at-large selection, the Blue Devils scored the last five goals of the games to rally for a 14-12 win at fourth-seeded Richmond. Duke’s Cal Gerard dominated at the X winning 21 of 27 faceoffs, but the Blue Devils still found themselves trailing the hot-shooting Spiders 12-9 in the fourth quarter before finishing strong against the worn-down Richmond defense. Liam Kershis notched a career-best five points on three goals and two assists for the Blue Devils.
Syracuse
A pair of Jimmy McCool saves in the final minute of regulation helped the Orange escape with a wild 16-15 win against Yale. In a game that went back and forth for most of Sunday evening, the Orange finally managed to build a four-goal cushion in the fourth quarter only to see the Bulldogs mount one last rally. Finn Thomson led a balanced Syracuse attack with three goals and two assists, and McCool finished with 16 saves.
High seeds
The field’s three top-seeded teams advanced with little drama. No. 1 Princeton used an 8-0 third quarter to pull away from Marist 17-8, No. 2 Notre Dame played its usual lock-down defense backed by Thomas Ricciardelli’s 16 saves to smother Jacksonville 18-5, and No. 3 North Carolina began the weekend with a 24-6 romp past Albany.
Georgetown
The Hoyas became the third team to win on the road, closing out the first round Sunday with a 14-10 triumph at No. 5 Virginia, thanks in large measure to a 15-save effort from goalie Anderson Moore. The Cavaliers’ loss prevented a clean sweep by the ACC, which had to settle for a 4-1 mark but still comprises half of the quarterfinal field.
NCAA men’s lacrosse tournament losers
Cornell
The defending champs appeared to have matters in hand when a highlight goal by Willem Firth set up by Ryan Goldstein late in the first half gave the Big Red a three-goal lead at intermission. But the offense was kept off the board for the first 21 minutes of the second half As Johns Hopkins mounted its comeback. Cornell goalie Matthew Tully did everything he could to preserve the lead for the Big Red making 17 saves, including a pair in the sudden victory period, but there was nothing he could do to stop Ayers’s point-blank look on the game-winner.
Richmond
There were a number of positives for the Spiders in a historic season. Their first time hosting an NCAA tournament game drew a crowd of 6,805, a record for the round of 16 under the tournament’s current format. They also had one of the top plays of the weekend as a near length-of-the-field pass led to a go-ahead goal by Aiden O’Neil at the close of the third quarter. Ultimately though, their 14-win season was cut short, amounting to a missed opportunity as the highest seed eliminated to date.
Mid-majors
It was a rough weekend for the tournament participants from outside the power conferences. At least tourney newcomer Jacksonville and Marist can claim play-in victories, but they along with America East champ Albany and Patriot League winner Army were collectively outmatched and outmanned.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NCAA lacrosse tournament winners, losers include Johns Hopkins, Duke
