2009 NCAA Lacrosee Final Four Preview

The 2009 NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Tournament has cut through its original field of 16 and now is down to the final four. The fastest growing sport in the NCAA will hold the semifinal and championship rounds of its Championship Tournament at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, MA on Saturday and Monday respectively. The four Universities that are left standing are Syracuse, Duke, Virginia, and Cornell. All of these teams have won multiple National Championships except Duke, who has zero National Titles to their name. Syracuse leads the group with ten. On Saturday, the 2nd seeded Syracuse Orange will take on the 3rd seeded Duke Blue Devils at 12:00ET. Then at 2:00ET, the number 1 seed, the Virginia Cavaliers will face off against the 5 seed, the Cornell Big Red. Let’s take a closer look at these two intriguing matchups:

(3) Duke vs. (2) Syracuse – 12ET on ESPN

Duke will look to use the momentum that it gained from the nail biting 12-11 victory over their rival North Carolina in the quarterfinal round to beat the lacrosse powerhouse of Syracuse University. Syracuse is coming off of an 11-6 win over Maryland in the quarterfinals. The Orange have their eyes set on back-to-back National Championships and to raise another banner in the Carrier Dome, but Duke attacker and Tewaarton Trophy candidate Ned Crotty will whatever it takes to crush the Orange. All I know is, this should be a heated matchup between two established lacrosse powerhouses.

(1) Virginia vs. (5) Cornell – 2ET on ESPN

Cornell, the only Ivy League team left in the field is fresh off of an impressive defensive 6-4 win over Princeton, a usual force in NCAA lacrosse. Virginia, on the other hand, has dominated their way to the semifinals, with an average point margin of 11.5. Twin brothers, Rhamel and Shamel Bratton are leading this surge along with the Tewaaraton Trophy candidate Danny Glading. Shamel Bratton and Danny Glading combine for 12 goals so far in the tournament. Virginia shouln’t have any problem taking care of Cornell, but the NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Tournamnet always has its craziness, so don’t count Cornell out so fast.

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This Memorial Day Weekend’s Lacrosse action should be plentiful. This is Lacrosse’s grand stage. Come Monday afternoon, the 16 team field should be narrowed down to just one. Personally, I think the Virginia Cavaliers will be hoisting the trophy after the final whistle blows. Syracuse has some firepower, but Virginia’s offense will prove to be too much for the Orange in the National Championship.