NCAA Tournament bracket is set for Notre Dame lacrosse
It’s tournament time in South Bend. The Notre Dame men’s lacrosse team finished the regular season in strong fashion with a 18-9 beatdown of No. 17 North Carolina this past Saturday, and the Fighting Irish earned the No. 3 overall seed in the 17-team NCAA Tournament. They’ll host Utah (12-4) at 2:30 p.m. ET at Arlotta Stadium on Saturday.
The Utes won the ASUN Tournament title for the first time in program history with an 11-9 win over Air Force. Notre Dame has never faced Utah, so the teams’ first-ever meeting comes with do-or-die stakes.
Notre Dame is on a revenge tour of sorts. The Irish were snubbed from last year’s NCAA Tournament, much to the chagrin of Notre Dame fans everywhere and just about everybody who follows the sport. The Irish left little doubt a year later. They were one of the best teams in the country all year, finishing with a 10-2 overall record and a 4-2 mark in ACC play.
The two losses both came to Virginia, the No. 2 overall seed in the tournament. Duke claimed the No. 1 seed. Notre Dame beat the Blue Devils 17-12 on April 8. Notre Dame would not have to face UVA until the national semifinals on May 27 if both teams advanced to that point. The winner of the Utah vs. Notre Dame game plays the winner of No. 6 Johns Hopkins and Bryant in the quarterfinals on May 21. That game will be played in Annapolis, Maryland.
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This is Notre Dame’s 26th trip to the NCAA Tournament. Last year’s snub snapped a streak of 16 straight tournament appearances. The Irish have an all-time tournament record of 21-25. They appeared in the national semifinals in 2012 and 2015 and the national championship game in 2010 and 2014. Notre Dame has never won it all.
This year’s semifinals and championship game take place at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia for the first time since 2016. They were also held there in 2015, so it would be a return trip for Notre Dame after reaching the final four in that campaign.
Maryland is the No. 4 overall seed and is looking to defend its national title. Virginia won it all in 2019 and 2021, sandwiching championships around the 2020 season in which the tournament was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
