May 8, 2011

LIKE! Maryland Men's Lacrosse on Facebook

LIKE! Maryland Athletics on Facebook

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - For the ninth-straight year the University of Maryland men's lacrosse team will compete in the NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship tournament. The Terps, which received an at-large bid, will play at No. 8-seed North Carolina in the first round at Fetzer Field, Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. The game will be televised live on ESPN.

This marks the second time that Maryland has been unseeded since 1997 and just the fifth time overall since the tournament began in 1972. The Terps were previously unseeded in 1993 and 1994. In those first two unseeded-years Maryland lost its first round game to the No. 8-seeded team, which were Army and Duke, respectively. The Terrapins were much more successful in 1997, advancing to the NCAA championship game. Maryland defeated No. 7-seed Georgetown in the first round before knocking off No. 2 Virginia in the quarters. In the 1997 Final Four Maryland upset No. 3 Syracuse, but couldn't topple No. 1-seed Princeton in the finals. The last time the Terps were unseeded was 2009 and that year Maryland was the lone unseeded team to win a first round game, knocking off previously unbeaten Notre Dame, 7-3. The Terps lost to eventual national champion Syracuse in the quarterfinals.

The Terrapins are 39-10 all-time against the Tar Heels, but have faced them only once in the NCAA tournament. That meeting came 25 years ago in 1986 and Carolina, the No. 5 seed, upset No. 4 seed Maryland, 12-10, in Byrd Stadium.

Maryland and North Carolina have already met twice in 2011. The Tar Heels took the first meeting, defeating the Terps, 11-6, on March 26 in College Park. Maryland evened the season series with Carolina in the semifinals of the ACC tournament, rallying from a four-goal deficit in the fourth quarter to take a 7-6 win on April 22 in Durham, N.C.

The Terps, 10-4 on the season, were awarded one of 10 at-large bids to the tournament. North Carolina, 10-5 on the year, also made it into the field as an at-large selection. The Tar Heels are making their 26th NCAA appearance, while Maryland is making its 34th appearance in the tournament.

Carolina has won four NCAA titles, while the Terps have won two. This is the first time since 1999 (Syracuse vs. Princeton) that two former national championship teams are meeting in the first round.

The winner of the North Carolina/Maryland game will meet the winner of the Syracuse/Siena first round game in the quarterfinals on Sunday, May 22, at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass.

Tournament Breakdown:

No. 1 Syracuse (Big East) vs. Siena (MAAC AQ) - May 15, 7:30 p.m. 

No. 8 North Carolina (ACC) vs. Maryland (ACC)- May 15, 1 p.m.

No. 4 Notre Dame (Big East) vs. Penn (Ivy) - May 14, 2:30 p.m.
No. 5 Duke (ACC) vs. Delaware (CAA AQ) - May 14, 5 p.m.

No. 3 Johns Hopkins (Independent) vs. Hofstra (CAA) - May 14, Noon
No. 6 Denver (ECAC AQ) vs. Villanova (Big East) - May 15, 5:15 p.m.

No. 2 Cornell (Ivy AQ) vs. Hartford (America East AQ) - May 14, 7:30 p.m.
No. 7 Virginia (ACC) vs. Bucknell (Patriot AQ) - May 15, 3 p.m.

Tournament Teams By Conference:
ACC (4): Duke, North Carolina, Maryland, Virginia

Big East (3): Syracuse, Notre Dame, Villanova
CAA (2): Delaware (AQ), Hofstra
Ivy (2): Cornell (AQ), Penn
ECAC (1): Denver (AQ)
Independent (1): Johns Hopkins
America East (1): Hartford (AQ)
MAAC (1): Siena (AQ)
Patriot League (1): Bucknell (AQ)