The Final Four for the NCAA women’s lacrosse tournament will kick off this weekend on Friday, May 27, 2022. The final four is bringing held in Baltimore, Maryland at John Hopkins University. The teams who will be competing are the top four ranked teams in the tournament and include number 1 University of North Carolina (UNC), number 2 University of Maryland, number 3 Boston College, and number 4 Northwestern.
The Quarterfinals:
UNC vs Stony Brook
UNC faced eighth-ranked Stony Brook in their quarterfinal matchup. Stony Brook held UNC back and even went ahead twice. Stony Brook’s Ellie Masera scored her 66th goal of the season to put the Seawolves up 1-0 early in the first quarter. UNC went on a scoring run after this goal and was able to respond with three consecutive goals. Stony Brook answered back with their own three unanswered goals. In the second half, UNC dominated and the game finished 8-5 to UNC, leaving the Tar Heels as the only undefeated team in the NCAA.
Northwestern vs Syracuse
Northwestern absolutely dominated their quarterfinal match against fifth-ranked Syracuse, winning the game 15-4. Northwestern scored nine goals in the first half and went up 6-2 in the first quarter. Northwestern’s Lauren Gilbert scored a first-quarter brace in the final three minutes while adding two more in the second half. Northwestern’s fifteen goals scored and only four conceded against the fifth-ranked team in the country showed that they are ready for the competition of UNC in the final four.
Maryland vs Florida
Second-ranked Maryland dominated against seventh-ranked Florida, winning 18-5 after an eight-goal third quarter. The game was very close in the first quarter having finished 3-2 to Maryland after two goals from Aurora Cordingley for Maryland. Multiple Maryland players had multi-goal games with three goals from Victoria Hensh, Hannah Leubecker, and Cordingley. Libby May led the Terrapins with five goals with three goals in the third quarter. Maryland will have a huge test against reigning champions, Boston College but they seem to be up for the challenge.
Boston College vs Loyola Maryland
The reigning NCAA champs, Boston College faced sixth-ranked Loyola Maryland and showed off their offensive abilities, besting Loyola 20-13. Led by many attacking weapons, Boston College’s offense shined in a game where their defense struggled. The Eagles’ attack was firing on all cylinders with Belle Smith scoring seven goals, Jenn Medjid scoring five goals, Kayla Martello scoring four and NCAA leading goal scorer Charlotte North scoring three goals. With their offense going strong, Boston College will need to crack down on defense to be able to try to run back their national championship.
The Final Four Match-Ups:
UNC vs Northwestern
UNC will be the favorite but Northwestern cannot be underestimated. After holding Syracuse to four goals, UNC will have to work hard to find their way past the Northwestern defense. Northwestern’s defense can be broken through with the University of Michigan scoring 12 against them in the second round of the tournament. UNC will hope to dominate and get ahead early to hang onto a lead, instead of being stuck in a back-and-forth game like they were against Stony Brook.
Maryland vs Boston College
Boston College is looking to go to their fifth consecutive NCAA tournament final and defend their 2021 title whereas Maryland is looking to go to their first final since 2019 when they beat Boston College for their fourteenth title. Maryland’s history and Boston College’s newness to the field of teams dominating creates an amazing storyline, and the game itself will be a firecracker. With two explosive offenses, there will definitely be goals but who will score more? We will have to find out on Friday.
Final Four Schedule:
UNC vs Northwestern 3:00 pm ET EPSNU
Maryland vs Boston College 5:00 pm ET ESPNU