Princeton University Athletics
Princeton Earns Seventh Seed, Will Host UMBC In Opening Round Of Men's Lacrosse Tournament
May 07, 2006 | Men's Lacrosse
May 7, 2006
The Princeton men's lacrosse team earned the seventh seed in the upcoming NCAA tournament and will host UMBC in the first round Saturday at noon at Class of 1952 Stadium.
Princeton, who had appeared in 15 straight tournaments and won six NCAA championships from 1990-2004, returns to the postseason after a one-year absence.
The winner of the Princeton-UMBC game will advance to the quarterfinals at Towson on Sunday, May 21, to take on the winner of the opening-round game between second-seeded Maryland and Denver.
Virginia was the No. 1 seed in the tournament. Princeton was one of four Ivy League schools, along with No. 5 Cornell and unseeded Harvard and Penn, to earn a spot in the field of 16.
The Final Four will be held Memorial Day weekend at Lincoln Financial Field.
"It's great to be back in the tournament," said Princeton coach Bill Tierney. "But I don't want anyone to think it's enough just to do that. Still, for this group, with so many young players, to get a top eight seed and get back in the tournament, that's a great accomplishment."
Princeton and UMBC both enter the tournament with 10-4 records. Princeton, the Ivy League co-champion with Cornell, received an at-large bid, while UMBC defeated Albany 19-10 to win the America East Conference tournament and that league's automatic bid. UMBC enters the NCAA tournament on a six-game winning streak.
Princeton and UMBC have four common opponents: Brown, Penn, Johns Hopkins and Binghamton. The Tigers went 4-0 against those four teams; UMBC lost Penn and Johns Hopkins and defeated Binghamton twice and Brown.
Princeton missed the 2005 tournament with a 5-7 record, but the Tigers bounced back this year to make the tournament for the 16th time in the last 17 seasons. Princeton's four losses all have come against teams seeded in the top six, and those four losses have been by a combined total of eight goals, including one-goal losses to No. 1 Virginia and No. 6 Cornell. Princeton also lost by four to No. 3 Hofstra and by two to No. 5 Syracuse. The complete field:
Opening Round (May 13-14)
Notre Dame at No. 1 Virginia
Navy at No. 8 Georgetown
Penn at No. 4 Johns Hopkins
Harvard at No. 5 Syracuse
UMass at No. 6 Cornell
Providence at No. 3 Hofstra
UMBC at No. 7 Princeton
Denver at No. 2 Maryland
Quarterfinals
Saturday, May 21, at Stony Brook
Penn/Johns Hopkins winner vs. Harvard/Syracuse winner
UMass/Cornell winner vs. Providence/Hofstra winner
Sunday, May 22 at Towson
UMBC/Princeton winner vs. Denver/Maryland winner
Notre Dame/Virginia winner vs. Navy/Georgetown winner
Saturday, May 28
National Semifinals at Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia
Monday, May 30
NCAA Championship at Lincoln Financial, Philadelphia