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The NCAA Men’s Division I Tournament kicks off later tonight with MAAC champion Monmouth taking on NEC champion Bryant at 7 pm. But the postseason has already begun! Last night, the NCAA Men’s Division III Tournament began, while the MCLA held their quarterfinal rounds in California.
NCAA Men’s Division III First Round
NCAA Men’s Division III Second Round Scoreboard
Both Misericordia and John Carroll got their first ever NCAA Tournament wins! Congrats to both teams! And now they have to play Salisbury and RIT respectively later today! Again, congrats to both teams! If you know a little bit about Division III, they’ll probably get creamed by the two of the best programs!
Midfielder Chris Fleming was Misericordia’s leading scorer with two goals and two assists, while John Carroll received SEVEN FREAKING GOALS from midfielder Declan O’Grady. Yes, he scored half of their team’s goals. Will he do the same against RIT, probably not. But hey, we’ve seen crazier things this year.
Every Division III team left in the tournament field will have their games later this afternoon or evening.
MCLA Division I Quarterfinals
MCLA Division I Semifinals
| Box Score | Next Game |
|---|---|
| Box Score | Next Game |
| #9 Chapman 8, #4 Georgia Tech 7 | Chapman: vs. Grand Canyon |
| #2 Grand Canyon 13, #6 California 10 | Grand Canyon: vs. Chapman |
DOWN GOES #1! BYU got pummeled by defending champion Chapman by nine goals in the quarterfinals and will take on fourth-seeded Georgia Tech, who took care of ACC rival Virginia Tech (the ACC doesn’t have an MCLA conference for obvious reasons). Dylan Garner had five goals for the Panthers, while Holland Frost (what a name) had three for the Yellow Jackets.
On the other side, second-seeded Grand Canyon edged out Arizona State, while Cal eeked by third-seeded Colorado by a goal. Joe Balestrierie had a hat-trick for the Lopes, while Nate DeGroat had two goals and three assists for the Golden Bears.
MCLA Division II Quarterfinals
MCLA Division II Semifinals
| Box Score | Next Game |
|---|---|
| Box Score | Next Game |
| #1 St. Thomas 14, #5 Grand Valley State 12 | St. Thomas: vs. Concordia-Irvine |
| #2 Concordia-Irvine 11, #6 North Dakota State 9 | Concordia-Irvine: vs. St. Thomas |
Defending Division II champion St. Thomas is moving on to the semifinals with a good win over Minnesota-Duluth, while Grand Valley State edged out Dayton by a goal. Ryan McNeil had two goals and three assists for the Tommies, while Jake Perry had a goal and dished out three assists for the Lakers. It will be a rematch of last year’s title game, which St. Thomas won, 10-7.
On the other side of the bracket, Concordia-Irvine defeated St. John’s (different school St. John’s) by a goal, and Carson Wentz’s favorite lacrosse team, North Dakota State, beat Sierra-Nevada by three. Brandon Mayo and Jonah Rinaldi each had hat-tricks for the Eagles (lol, Wentz is on the Philadelphia Eagles), and Jack Hughes had three goals for the Bison.
The MCLA had Instagram recaps of the first set of quarterfinals and the second set of quarterfinals you should check out.