Men's Lacrosse

Star-Studded Ivy League Men’s Lacrosse Tournament Kicks Off in Ithaca Friday

TOURNAMENT CENTRAL
 
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PRINCETON, N.J. – Four nationally ranked teams are heading to Ithaca this weekend and are set to battle for the Ivy League men’s lacrosse tournament title and an automatic bid to the NCAA Division I men's lacrosse championship. Featured in the tournament is top-seeded Cornell, second-seeded Princeton, third-seeded Yale and fourth-seeded Penn.
 
SCHEDULE
Friday, May 3
Semifinal #1: 1: No. 2 Princeton vs. No. 3 Yale – 6 p.m. (ESPNU)
Semifinal #2: No. 1 Cornell vs. No. 4 Penn – 8:30 p.m. (ESPNU)
 
Sunday, May 5
Championship Game: Winner of Semifinal #1 vs. Winner of Semifinal #2 - 1 p.m. (ESPNU)
 
WHAT TO KNOW:
  • IN THE POLLS - All four teams in this weekend’s tournament have been ranked in the national polls each week this season. In this week’s USILA Coaches Poll, Cornell is ranked No. 7, Yale is No. 12, Princeton is No. 13 and Penn is No. 16.  
  • TEWAARATON TALK – In addition to all four teams being nationally ranked, all four teams include one of 25 Tewaaraton Award nominees nationally. Those competing in Ithaca this weekend on the list is Cornell’s CJ Kirst, Princeton’s Coulter Mackesy, Yale’s Matt Brandau and Penn’s Emmet Carroll.
  • STAT LEADERS – Two of the top three scoring offenses in the nation are Ivies. Yale leads the country with 15.93 goals per game while Cornell is third with 15.54 goals per game. Individually, Yale’s Matt Brandau leads the nation with 6.93 points per game and 3.86assists per game, CJ Kirst is second in the country with 3.46 goals per game, and Penn’s Emmet Carroll is third in the nation with a 0.594 save percentage.
  • POSTSEASON AWARDS – The Ivy League men’s lacrosse postseason awards were released this week as Matt Brandau was named Player of the Year, Cornell’s Willem Firth was named Rookie of the Year, and Yale’s Andy Shay was named Coach of the Year. Kirst, Brandau, Penn’s Brendan Lavelle, and Yale’s Machado Rodriguez were all unanimous first team picks.
  • DURING THE REGULAR SEASON – The first semifinal features No. 2 Princeton and No. 3 Yale – which is the second time in six days that the teams will meet. Princeton defeated Yale on the road, 15-8. The second semifinal is between No. 1 Cornell and No. 4 Penn, where the top-seeded outright Ivy champions will look to avenge its only Ivy League loss to the Quakers which was a double overtime 11-10 defeat in Philadelphia.
  • IVY INSIGHTS – Episode 17 of the Ivy Insights podcast is set to be released on Thursday featuring ESPN Play by Play Commentator and Studio Anchor, Chris Cotter. Cotter previews the Ivy League men’s lacrosse tournament and the overall competitiveness of the league. The podcast is available on Spotify and Apple.
  • DEFENDING TOURNAMENT CHAMPS - Last year, Princeton won the Ivy League tournament title, defeating Yale by a score of 19-10. It was the first tournament title for the Tigers since the Ivy League moved to a tournament format in 2010.