We truly have gotten down to the best 8 teams in the country advancing to the Elite Eight. This weekend is going to be absolutely insane and may be the best weekend of Lacrosse I’ve ever seen. The names say it all: RIT, Salisbury, Tufts, York, Gettysburg, Union, Christopher Newport, Bowdoin. Thirteen of the last twenty national champions are playing in this Elite Eight. I’m the biggest Tiger fan there is, but I really don’t know which of these games I’m most excited to watch.
Union will take on Gettysburg down in Virginia at 3. Union looked shaky against John Carroll in the first half of round two, but besides that, have been lights out all year. Their only other losses come from playoff teams in RIT and St. Lawrence. Gettysburg has had an up and down year with seven losses on the year. Yes, they lost seven games, but they only have one “bad loss” to Swarthmore. The other losses were to Dickinson twice, Salisbury, CNU, Amherst, and York. Gettysburg has definitely been challenged all year, but they have proven more times than not that they aren’t up to those challenges. For that reason, I have Union moving on to Sunday for the Final Four.
Christopher Newport will take on York in what in any other year would be the game of the weekend. Not this year. Regardless, it will be an unreal game that I can really see going either way. York’s only losses on the year come from #1 and #2 in the country in back-to-back games. Christopher Newport only has one loss to Salisbury that the Gulls later avenged in the conference championship. York has been so close to breaking through and making it to championship weekend. Is this the year? Christopher Newport has just been so dominant; I don’t know if York is either athletic or skilled enough to pull it off. CNU hasn’t been in a close game since February. There’s a chance that works against them in this one. As bad as I want to smash the button and have York take down the big bad wolf, I don’t see it happening. CNU moves on.
How lucky are we that we get to see a national championship matchup in the Elite Eight? Salisbury has met Tufts in the championship game four times. Most recently in 2016 with the Gulls pulling out the win. Salisbury has been beaten in their first two rounds of the playoffs, where Tufts has hardly been challenged. As much as I hate them, it’s hard not to pick the twelve-time National Champions. At the end of the day, I hope these two teams beat the shit out of each other and only the scraps remain for the Final Four game the next day. Salisbury wins by 1.
RIT gets to host for the second straight weekend as they take on Bowdoin. Bowdoin has had a great year, but do they have enough to take down the defending champs? Having to travel and play early will be a challenge that will have to be overcome if they hope to have a shot. They also just came off a very emotional win against St. Lawrence. RIT has had the luxury to mix and match their line-up in the second quarter for both of their games last weekend. I have brought it up fairly often because I think it’s extremely important. The teams that have the most legs going into this weekend (especially Sunday), will have the best chance to make it to the championship. If RIT can play the way they are capable of while also winning faceoffs, they should be just fine in this one. For them to have the best chance to make the finals, they will need to do everything they can to match they did to MIT in the first quarter. #RollTigers
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