College Lacrosse Schedule and Open Thread: May 4 and 5, 2013

I'm not sure how familiar people are with Samuel Barber (you've probably heard his "Adagio for Strings"), but the atmosphere around the NCAA Tournament -- right now -- fits nicely into his "Medea's Dance of Vengeance":

Here are your five highlights for the weekend:

• UMBC v. Albany: The Big Barbecue wouldn't quite have a cooler filled with all the pops you want to drink if Albany doesn't advance, but that's the reality of things at the moment: The Great Danes' profile isn't exceptional compared to others currently situated on a shrinking bubble, and failing to earn the America East's automatic invitation could create problems for the most exciting team in the country.
• Syracuse v. Villanova: The Wildcats' path to the NCAA Tournament includes winning the Big East Tournament and winning that league only, but Syracuse is in an important spot -- a win against Villanova potentially slots the Orange not only as a top four seed, but a high top four seed. It's funny how things can change in a hurry (it's like when you think you have enough toilet paper and then BAM! you're cleaning up your business with Burger King napkins).
• Colgate at Maryland: It's Peter Baum's last game in a Raiders uniform. The 2012 Tewaaraton Award winner didn't have the season he and Colgate anticipated at the start of the season, but he has the opportunity to end his career in a big way in College Park. The Terrapins aren't exactly in a tailspin right now, but Maryland needs some kind of momentum to try and secure a home game in the first round of the NCAA Tournament next weekend.
• Ohio State v. Denver: The Buckeyes ripped Loyola to bits on Thursday night on The Boz and got strong play between the pipes from Greg Dutton. Can Ohio State -- which hasn't been to the NCAA Tournament since 2008 -- pull off another big win and take itself out of the at-large field, earning the ECAC's automatic invitation to The Big Barbecue? It looks like a real possibility -- more so than before Thursday -- and a Buckeyes team with The Silver Gleaming Death Machine (Logan Schuss) firing at maximum capacity is a beautiful thing to watch.
• Princeton v. Yale: Keep it simple, you guys: Faces will melt; an automatic invitation will be conferred; the team that doesn't have an auto-bid in its hand may be antsy on Sunday night.

Here's Saturday's full schedule. If there are errors, please let me know. I'll fix/populate links to live stats and video as the day progresses (if necessary).

And here's your Sunday slate:

This is your open thread for the weekend. Dance like nobody is watching. People will be around to yak about whatever is tickling their fancy.

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