2021 NCAA Division I men's lacrosse tournament explained

Gender:Men's
Year:2021
Teams:16
Finalsfield:Rentschler Field
Finalscity:East Hartford, Connecticut[1]
Champions:Virginia
Titlecount:7th
Runnerup:Maryland
Gamecount:15th
Semifinal1:North Carolina
Finalfourcount1:14th
Semifinal2:Duke
Finalfourcount2:13th
Mop:Connor Shellenberger
Attendfinals:14,816

The 2021 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship was the 50th annual single-elimination tournament to determine the national championship for National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I men's college lacrosse. Because the Ivy League did not participate in lacrosse this season, no play-in game was required.

Sixteen teams competed in the tournament based upon their performance during the regular season. For eight teams, entry into the tournament was by means of a conference tournament automatic qualifier and/or play in, while for the remaining eight teams at-large selection was determined by the NCAA selection committee.

Tournament overview

Virginia took control over an undefeated Maryland team in the Championship Game, at one point leading 16–11. Maryland closed the gap in the fourth quarter scoring a goal with 10.8 seconds left to cut Virginia's lead to 17-16. Terps had an open shot on goal to tie the game with two seconds left off a Luke Weirman face off win, but a save by Alex Rode won the title for UVA. This was Virginia's seventh NCAA lacrosse title and second in the prior two NCAA tournaments (the 2020 NCAA tournament had been cancelled due to covid).

Teams

SeedSchoolConferenceBerth TypeRPIRecord
1 style=North Carolina Tar Heels At-large 1 11–2
2 style=Duke Blue Devils At-large 3 12–2
3 style=Maryland Terrapins Automatic 2 12–0
4 style=Virginia Cavaliers At-large 5 10–4
5 style=Georgetown Hoyas Automatic 6 12–2
6 style=Notre Dame Fighting Irish At-large 4 7–3
7 style=Denver Pioneers At-large 7 12–4
8 style=Lehigh Mountain Hawks Automatic 8 10–1
data-sort-value="9"style=Rutgers Scarlet Knights At-large 9 8–3
data-sort-value="12"style=Syracuse Orange At-large 10 7–5
data-sort-value="11"style=Drexel Dragons Automatic 12 10–2
data-sort-value="10"style=Loyola Greyhounds At-large 12 9–5
data-sort-value="14"style=Vermont Catamounts Automatic 15 8–4
data-sort-value="15"style=High Point Panthers Automatic 16 8–5
data-sort-value="13"style=Bryant Bulldogs Automatic 19 9–3
data-sort-value="16"style=Monmouth Hawks Automatic data-sort-value="25"8–2

Bracket

* Overtime

Tournament boxscores

Tournament Finals (5/31/2021 at East Hartford, Conn. Pratt & Whitney Stadium)

Team 1 2 3 4 Total
Virginia 4 5 5 3 17
Maryland (15-1) 4 3 4 5 16
    • Virginia scoring – Connor Shellenberger 4, Matt Moore 4, Jeff Conner 3, Payton Cormier 2, Dox Aitken, Petey LaSalla, Jared Conners, Peter Garno
    • Maryland scoring – Logan Wisnauskas 5, Jared Bernhardt 2, Anthony DeMaio 2, Daniel Maltz 2, Kyle Long, Bubba Fairman, Griffin Brown, Roman Puglise, Joshua Coffman
    • Shots: Maryland 49, Virginia 39
    • Saves: Virginia Alex Rode 12, Maryland Logan McNaney 11
    • Attendance: 14,816

    Tournament Semi-Finals

    Team 1 2 3 4 Total
    Virginia 2 7 3 0 12
    North Carolina 3 1 4 3 11
      • Virginia scoring – Payton Cormier 3, Connor Shellenberger 2, Charlie Bertrand 2, Matt Moore, Ian Laviano, Peter Garno, Jared Conners, Jeff Conner
      • North Carolina scoring – William Perry 5, Chris Gray 3, Connor McCarthy, Lance Tillman, Alex Trippi
      • Shots: North Carolina 49, Virginia 39
      Team 1 2 3 4 Total
      Maryland 2 6 3 3 14
      Duke 1 2 1 1 5
        • Maryland scoring – Jared Bernhardt 5, Logan Wisnauskas 2, Anthony DeMaio 2, Bubba Fairman, Justin Shockey, Eric Holden, Roman Puglise, Griffin Brown
        • Duke scoring – Michael Sowers 2, Dyson Williams 2, Brennan O'Neill
        • Shots: Maryland 32, Duke 32
        • Attendance: 13,707

        Tournament Quarterfinals

        Team 1 2 3 4 Total
        Virginia 2 7 3 0 14
        Georgetown 3 1 4 3 3
          • Virginia scoring – Connor Shellenberger 6, Ian Laviano 2, Matt Moore, Payton Cormier, Dox Aitken, Petey LaSalla, Charlie Bertrand, Xander Dickson
          • Georgetown scoring – Dylan Watson, Declan Mcdermott, Gibson Smith
          • Shots: Virginia 45, Georgetown 27
          Team 1 2 3 4 OT Total
          Maryland 5 2 2 4 1 14
          Notre Dame 1 6 4 2 0 13
            • Maryland scoring – Jared Bernhardt 5, Logan Wisnauskas 3, Griffin Brown 2, Bubba Fairman, Anthony DeMaio, Kyle Long, Daniel Maltz
            • Notre Dame scoring – Wheaton Jackoboice 4, Eric Dobson 2, Sean Leahey 2, Will Yorke 2, Griffin Westlin, Pat Kavanagh, David Lipka
            • Shots: Maryland 42, Notre Dame 40
            Team 1 2 3 4 OT Total
            North Carolina 1 2 4 4 1 12
            Rutgers 1 2 4 4 0 11
              • North Carolina scoring – Lance Tillman 4, Justin Anderson 3, Connor McCarthy 2, Alex Trippi, Zac Tucci, Nicky Solomon
              • Rutgers scoring – Adam Charalambides 4, David Sprock 2, Connor Kirst 2, Ross Scott 2, Shane Knobloch
              • Shots: North Carolina 41, Rutgers 38
              Team 1 2 3 4 OT Total
              Duke 2 3 1 3 1 10
              Loyola 3 0 2 4 0 9
                • Duke scoring – Brennan O'Neill 4, Joe Robertson 3, Michael Sowers, Brian Smyth, Aidan Danenza
                • Loyola scoring – Evan James 4, Kevin Lindley 2, Seth Higgins, Dan Wigley, Adam Poitras
                • Shots: North Carolina 41, Rutgers 38

                Tournament First Round

                Team 1 2 3 4 Total
                Virginia 2 7 3 0 14
                Bryant 3 1 4 3 3
                  • Virginia scoring – Payton Cormier 3, Connor Shellenberger 2, Charlie Bertrand 2, Matt Moore, Ian Laviano, Peter Garno, Jared Conners, Jeff Conner
                  • North Carolina scoring – William Perry 5, Chris Gray 3, Connor McCarthy, Lance Tillman, Alex Trippi
                  • Shots: North Carolina 49, Virginia 39
                  Team 1 2 3 4 Total
                  Maryland 3 4 4 5 17
                  Vermont 4 2 1 4 9
                    • Maryland scoring – Jared Bernhardt 6, Kyle Long 3, Logan Wisnauskas 2, Griffin Brown 2, Bubba Fairman, Joshua Coffman, Daniel Maltz, Luke Wierman
                    • Vermont scoring – Thomas McConvey 4, JJ Levandowski 3, Tommy Burke, Jonas Hunter, Liam Limoges, Michael McCormack
                    • Shots: Maryland 40, Vermont 30
                    Team 1 2 3 4 Total
                    North Carolina 3 4 4 5 16
                    Monmouth 0 1 1 2 4
                      • North Carolina scoring – Chris Gray 4, Jacob Kelly 2, Nicky Solomon 2, Ryan O'Connell 2, William Perry, Alex Trippi, Brian Cameron, Justin Anderson, Lance Tillman, Cole Herbert
                      • Monmouth scoring – Connor Macrae, Dwayne Mattushik, Matt Karsian, Mike McIntyre
                      • Shots: North Carolina 43, Monmouth 35
                      Team 1 2 3 4 Total
                      Duke 4 6 3 3 16
                      High Point 1 4 2 3 10
                        • Duke scoring – Michael Sowers 4, Sean Lowrie 3, Owen Caputo 2, Brennan O'Neill 2, Garrett Leadmon, Nakeie Montgomery, JPBasile, Dyson Williams, Jake Naso
                        • High Point scoring – Jack Vanoverbeke 2, Brayden Mayea 2, Kevin Rogers 2, Koby Russell, Asher Nolting, Tyler Stinson, Colin Clothier
                        • Shots: Duke 43, High Point 34
                        Team 1 2 3 4 Total
                        Rutgers 3 4 2 4 12
                        Lehigh 1 2 2 1 5
                          • Rutgers scoring – Connor Kirst 3, Kieran Mullins 3, Adam Charalambides 3, David Sprock, Cole Daninger, Brennan Kamish
                          • Lehigh scoring – Justin Tiernan 2, Scott Cole, Ryan Niggeman, Cole Kirst
                          • Shots: Rutgers 42, Lehigh 35
                          Team 1 2 3 4 Total
                          Georgetown 3 5 5 5 18
                          Syracuse 2 2 0 4 8
                            • Georgetown scoring – Declan McDermott 5, Jake Carraway 5, Dylan Hess 4, Graham Bundy Jr. 2, Nicky Petkevich 2
                            • Syracuse scoring – Jamie Trimboli 3, Owen Seebold 2, Brett Kennedy, Stephen Rehfuss, Owen Hiltz
                            • Shots: Georgetown 43, Syracuse 33
                            Team 1 2 3 4 Total
                            Notre Dame 4 3 1 2 10
                            Drexel (10-3) 2 1 4 1 8
                              • Notre Dame scoring – Wheaton Jackoboice 3, Morrison Mirer 2, Pat Kavanagh 2, Sean Leahey, David Lipka, Will Yorke
                              • Drexel scoring – Reid Bowering 4, Jack Mulcahy, Sean Donnelly, Ryan Genord, Aidan Coll
                              • Shots: Notre Dame 47, Drexel 42
                              • Saves: Notre Dame Liam Entenmann 17, Drexel Ross Blumenthal 15 - Casey DuBois 0
                              • Location: Denver, Colo. (Peter Barton Stadium) - 5/15/2021
                              • Attendance: 838
                              Team 1 2 3 4 Total
                              Loyola 2 7 2 3 14
                              Denver (12-5) 2 2 6 3 13
                                • Loyola scoring – Aidan Olmstead 5, Kevin Lindley 2, Seth Higgins 2, Evan James 2, Liam Bateman, Peter Swindell, Adam Poitras
                                • Denver scoring – Jack Hannah 3, Jackson Morrill 3, Lucas Cotler 2, Ethan Walker 2, Kyle Smith, Ted Sullivan, Malik Sparrow,
                                • Shots: Denver 48, Loyola 36
                                • Saves: Loyola Sam Shafer 16, Denver Jack Thompson 7
                                • Location: Denver, Colo. (Peter Barton Stadium) - 5/16/2021
                                • Attendance: 970
                                Team 1 2 3 4 Total
                                Duke 2 7 2 3 16
                                High Point (12-5) 2 2 6 3 10
                                  • Duke scoring – Aidan Olmstead 5, Kevin Lindley 2, Seth Higgins 2, Evan James 2, Liam Bateman, Peter Swindell, Adam Poitras
                                  • High Point scoring – Jack Hannah 3, Jackson Morrill 3, Lucas Cotler 2, Ethan Walker 2, Kyle Smith, Ted Sullivan, Malik Sparrow,
                                  • Shots: Duke 48, High Point 36
                                  • Saves: Duke Sam Shafer 16, High Point Jack Thompson 7
                                  • Location: Denver, Colo. (Peter Barton Stadium) - 5/16/2021
                                  • Attendance: 970

                                  Record by conference

                                  Conference
                                  1. of Bids
                                  RecordWin %
                                  America East10–11
                                  ACC51-154311
                                  Big East21-221
                                  Big Ten26-22211
                                  CAA10–11
                                  MAAC10–11
                                  NEC10-11
                                  Patriot20-121
                                  SoCon10-11

                                  All-Tournament Team

                                  Connor Shellenberger, Virginia (Most Outstanding Player)
                                  Cade Saustad, Virginia
                                  Alex Rode, Virginia
                                  Petey LaSalla, Virginia
                                  Jared Connors, Virginia
                                  Matt Moore, Virginia
                                  Nick Grill, Maryland
                                  Logan Wisnauskas, Maryland
                                  Jared Bernhardt, Maryland
                                  William Perry, North Carolina

                                  Citations

                                  External links

                                  Notes and References

                                  1. Web site: Men's Lacrosse Champ Info NCAA.com . www.ncaa.com . en.