🗣 PLAYOFF LACROSSE IS HERE

PLAYOFFS!? *Jim Mora voice*Yes, playoffs. The Big Ten and MAAC kick off their conference tournaments this weekend. Both tournaments feature six teams, with the top two seeds getting a first-round bye, which means we get to watch four quarterfinal matchups on Saturday.

Here's a closer look at the Big Ten field...

First-Round Byes: 1 Penn State, 2 Johns Hopkins

These two teams finished with identical 4-1 records in Big Ten play and shared the regular season conference championship. Penn State (9-3 overall) got the No. 1 seed over Johns Hopkins (11-4 overall) due to a head-to-head win in overtime on April 8. The Nittany Lions' only conference loss came against Maryland in late March.

Quarterfinal Matchup: 5 Ohio State at 4 Michigan

These rivals just played each other in the regular-season finale, with Michigan beating Ohio State 19-14 under the lights in Ann Arbor. That game was tied at halftime, but the Wolverines outscored the Buckeyes 10-2 in the third quarter. For Ohio State to have a chance in the rematch, they need to slow down Michael Boehm, who scored a program record eight goals last Friday and is the reigning TLN Player of the Week.

Quarterfinal Matchup: 6 Rutgers at 3 Maryland

Rutgers started the season 7-1, then went 1-4 in Big Ten play. Maryland (8-4 overall, 3-2 in B1G) isn't the same behemoth as last year, but the Terps are still a well-coached team with a strong defense. When these two teams met earlier this month, Maryland built an early 5-0 lead and cruised the rest of the way to an 11-8 victory.

For more information on the MAAC Tournament, click here.

💥 Yale-Harvard: Win or Go Home

The Ivy League Tournament doesn't officially start until next week, but the matchup between Yale and Harvard in Cambridge, Mass. this Saturday is effectively a playoff game. The winner will claim the final seed in the conference tournament, and the loser probably will not be seen again until 2024.

Yale (7-4 overall, 2-3 in Ivy) is starting to pick up some steam. The Bulldogs have won four games in a row, and Chris Lyons is a big reason why. Lyons has scored at least five goals in three straight games and is now up to 46 goals on the season (tied-3rd most in Division I). He was TLN's Player of the Week after dropping seven goals in a 16-10 win over Brown on April 15.

Harvard (5-6 overall, 2-3 in Ivy) has been streaky this season. The Crimson upset Cornell earlier this month, but then they dropped back-to-back games against Princeton and Penn. If there's one player who could deliver some heroics for Harvard in this matchup, it's sophomore attackman Sam King, who leads the team in points (51) and scored a game-winning goal to beat Brown in overtime last month.

While Cornell, Princeton and Penn have already punched their tickets to the Ivy League tournament, the matchup between Cornell and Princeton in Ithaca, N.Y. on Saturday will determine the conference's regular-season champion (and No. 1 seed).

🤯 Was This The Goal of The YEAR?

In the waning minutes of a blowout loss to Virginia last Saturday, Syracuse grad student Alex Simmons (a transfer from Denver by way of Ontario) scored an absolutely ridiculous goal. Watch it below in GIF form:

"That's the sickest goal I've seen all season," ESPN analyst Paul Carcaterra said after the play.

So, was this the Goal of the Year? From a pure skill standpoint, it may be. But the goal came while Syracuse was trailing 19-10, and it was against Virginia's backup defenders. Many in our comment section were unimpressed, with one user calling the Orange "an Instagram team."

As a standalone highlight, this goal was incredible. As we venture into postseason lacrosse, however, it's likely that we'll see a more impactful goal than this one.

6️⃣ Undefeated Teams in Conference Play

In all of NCAA Division I men's lacrosse, there are only six teams that have yet to suffer a defeat in conference play. Here's a little background on each of those teams...

Utah (8-0, ASUN): After a 1-4 start, Utah has been one of the hottest teams in the country. The offense, in particular, has been on fire. The Utes have averaged 20.5 points per game during their eight-game winning streak.

Army (7-0, Patriot): The win over Navy last Saturday was huge, but now Army has to get past a very solid Boston U team. The Black Knights beat beat the Terriers in the regular season last year, but the rematch in the Patriot League championship game went the other way. Army missed the NCAA Tournament as a result.

Delaware (6-0, CAA): After taking the conference title last year, Delaware is dominating the Colonial once again. Some are skeptical that the Blue Hens are legitimate contenders, but attackman Tye Kurtz is a Tewaaraton Award nominee and defenseman Owen Grant projects to be a top pick in this year's PLL Draft.

Vermont (6-0, America East): The Catamounts were 2-4 in mid-March, but they have not lost since opening their conference slate. Their biggest threat in the America East Tournament will be Bryant. Vermont won the regular season meeting by a slim, 13-12 margin.

Saint Joe's (4-0, Atlantic 10): The Hawks have taken care of business in conference play, but it hasn't been easy. St. Joe's only beat UMass by one (11-10), Hobart by one (11-10) and Richmond by two (14-12). Anything could happen in the Atlantic 10 Tournament.

Georgetown (4-0, Big East): Remember when the Hoyas were 0-3 and everyone wrote them off? Well, they've won nine straight games since then, including four against Big East opponents. The regular-season finale versus Villanova will be an interesting test, and don't forget about Denver in the conference tournament.

📺 Midweek TV/Streaming Info

All times Eastern (streaming links via Inside Lacrosse/USA Lacrosse Magazine):

Tuesday, April 25:7 p.m. — Brown at Bryant (ESPN+)7:30 p.m. — Virginia at Lafayette (ESPN+)

Wednesday, April 26:5 p.m. — Penn at Albany (ESPN+)

Thursday, April 27:*No Division I Men's games*

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