Maryland cruised to a 12-6 semifinal win over Virginia to advance to its third championship game in four years. Watch the full replay of the game here.
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Anthony griel the Navy transfer will take the opening face off for Virginia Luke weirman a second team All-American wins the opening draw for Maryland accelerates downhill fires on cage and Morris makes the first save that play eerily reminiscent of how the 2021 national championship game between these two ended weirman won the final faceof accelerated toward the cage Alex Road made the big body save to preserve the virin win huge huge stop in terms of confidence in terms of comfort you can exhale not only did he make the stop but he scooped it clean both of these teams limped into the NCAA tournament Virginia had lost four in a row Maryland’s offense was in witness protection having lost five of nine they found a second wind here in the month of May and both teams have had their struggles in different areas Virginia on defense Maryland on offense def the two great coaches have shephered their teams to Championship weekend and Conor shellenberger gets the best of Ajax zapello shellburg had the gamewinner in double overtime last week against Johns Hopkins and he’s got the first tally of semi-final number [Applause] two pinch and pop Virginia slow to slide to the Fogo moris digs it out of the turf comes up on his toes this is huge for shellenberger I talked to Lars Tiffany before the game he said I want my star to be selfish I want him to own these one-on-one matchups with zapatel and there was two things that were masterful there it was the low angle shot for the Finish but look how he rejected that pick it looked like zapatel thought he’d have to go through the pick shellenberger rejects it with that backhand shovel shot up goal line extended on the left side of the left side okay talking to Lars yesterday he said we think the vulnerability is up the left side weirman such a weapon Maryland going early good look there by Daniel Mal to at four goals in the quarterfinals and now the turps will go on offense this is a top six where they’ve mixed and matched of late they had some injuries Bren XA was banged up he’s been running out of the box Eric Spanos bumped down to attack seven in Black carrying now for Maryland and he’s been thriving in that [Applause] role Eric moliver number four in Black also been running out of the box more on the Midfield same pieces of the puzzle just rearranged and somehow they’ve made them fit in the last two weeks this one checked Away by Chase joerger who’s had three caused turnovers in both NCAA tournament games he was named a third team All-American or a a second team All-American earlier today shocking and that one going to Maryland closest to the ball when and where it goes out of bounds on a shot Maryland using the 10-man ride in a game where we thought Virginia would want to inject Tempo into this Virginia’s in their ride as well now it’s more of a N9 and a halfman ride mois now Retreats into cage the ride was so effective in the win against Johns Hopkins last week in the quarters how about the turps they could not score going into this NCAA tournament they explode for 16 a season high in round one against Princeton cark that was a game where everybody was picking Princeton and then Maryland rallied twice from four goals down to beat Duke last week in a stunner they went from shooting under 30% on the season to the two NCA games close to 40% limiting the turnovers late in games and as Quint mentioned mixing it up from a Personnel perspective putting maliver at Midfield but inverting and bringing to Defenders behind the cage they went four and five over their last nine losing to John’s Hopkins and then Penn State as Morris makes the save there was miver on the invert as Park pointed out Tillman told us yesterday he said the guys on the team were not convinced they were going to make the playoffs so when they saw their name in the bracket there was a fresh sense of relief and it truly was a second season Virginia thrives in chaos C Asner brought it up 39 and white a long pole will play basketball at Stanford in the fall which will be a part of the AC by them will Cory 14 and white still has it second Midfield production could be vital for Virginia if they are to win a championship that unit has not given them much and it’s a little short-handed today there’s Thomas M Patrick McIntosh has been a fixer on that unit out with an injury shellin bger against zapello second and third pick in the PLL draft shellin bger at a step one point away from breaking Gary Gates NCAA tournament career points [Applause] record Mankey against red one of the short stick D mides spins it back to X The Freshman Millan six points in the quarters last week Millan with a bouncer and the save made by mcnany Mo the sil the Lefty from Corning New York Logan mcnany the money man he knows where the finish line is he is unflappable oh completely you watch how poised he is in the cage a lot of goalies with Happy Feet they like to bait not mcnany he sits on shots he trusts his angles and his Top Hand speed like we saw in game one with Liam entan is exceptional there is Spanos who got it from Whittier guarded by Schroeder now back to Zack Whittier on the invert against Erman castner covers XA playing hangman and Maryland picks it apart that’s the re with the assist that’s the recipe Anish that is the absolute recipe championship game MVP in 20 2022 was Logan mcnany it was his sophomore season he came up with monster stop after Monster stop sitting on shots triggering opportunities for his offense Q somewhere in the postseason this offense has arrived lot of action behind the net simple passing in front malz had four in the quarters he gets on the board here for be the best amen mcan’s prowess this time of the year 9 and one as a starting goalie in the NCAA tournament the one loss to Virginia in the 2021 Championship weirman has won every face off what a weapon he is and they use him now on the offensive end at times in a similar way that Virginia used pety Lala sometimes he’ll stay in to pick sometimes he’ll say stay in and car we’ll see him Dodge sometimes we’ll see him win the face off and score Lefty he was the best offensive player for Maryland in the first half against Duke in the quarterfinals he kept them in that game obviously by dominating the X but also creating offense here comes miver last season cut short by torn ACL biver turns the corner he’s got a short stick matchup skip pass Ryan syracusa syracusa has waited his turn he’s been playing the last couple of years first three years on the scout team Spanos will look to ignite from behind fakes the pass posting up on fton shot clock about to hit 10 Alli Dodge no angle for Daniel Kelly maryn turns it over and they’ll let Morris set up the clear winning matchups on the perimeter that’s where you miss Matt noon Virginia able to get it back NOS is an elite Outlet passer in goal they like Morris’s Outlet passing they think he’s better than what he has shown hasn’t had to do a whole lot again this is his first career start but that’s when Matthew Nunes excelled some of the ground ball play around the crease the 10-man ride in the clearing I think that’s more of a challenge than actually being a stopper Griffin shuts at four goals in the first meeting against Maryland this season Millan missed the cage Shel bger has the backup when these two played in the regular season Virginia won 14-10 back on the 16th of March in a game that they were in control pretty much the whole way zapello shading shellenberger now shuts All-American honors out of the Midfield on Jack McDonald 51 in Black is Maryland’s top LSM long stick midfielder well time double and they light up Noah chismar Burl lit him up mcnany catlike out of the cage love the way he picks his spots mcnany suffered a torn ACL early last year missed pretty much the entire season bur lace would have none of that man he he was decisive and he sent ends the double here and this is perfect body on body chismar posts up thinks he’s got all sorts of time the picture changes rapidly in Championship weekend popped them and I’ll tell you what if you’re chismar you better be careful you’ve battled some upper body injuries throughout the course of the Year this defensive Midfield unit for Virginia is not Uber Deep Zack Wittier inverts will ardman looking for miver turnover that’s Ben weer who has been a human Tempest in this postseason 18 ground balls in the two tournament games three assists six caused turnovers for my money the best middle of the field player I’ve seen in this year’s tournament he’s been awesome and when you look at his numbers too for the season no player in college lacrosse that’s not a Faceoff specialist has more ground balls than Ben wear but I will say this without Matthew Nunes there there might be less fast break opportunities for we Joey terenzi and we’s going to stay on he’s got seven goals they trust him out there if the matchup is Right shellenberger using the pick down the alley missed the cage the back up to Millan and weer not running off he’s still staying on now it looks like he might run off now he’s staying on this this early phase this early offense it can make defense a little uncomfortable playing hangman at the top of the box Millan turns the corner off Target it will stay with Virginia Mankey closest to the ball on the shot that went out of bounds for my money the two most important matchups Millan against shaller 27 in Black a lefty and then who covers shuts Mankey backhanded rip Griffin shuts went for four- two when Virginia beat Maryland in College Park this season he’s the MVP of that game his best game of of the season one of the best of his career shot clock inside of 10 zapello and shellenberger do battle mkey could handle the pass shovels it back shot clock violation shellenberger gets out of the way to avoid a delay of game LS Tiffany two national titles at Virginia turps cough it up on the clear turnovers schizophrenic as a team at times this season and their main Achilles heel has been turnovers rudimentary turnovers in the offensive set and then some clearing mistakes here and there we saw that last week too they beat Duke but had 18 turnovers in that game they were a disaster when I was doing that game but they only had two in the fourth quarter when it counted when they needed to close it out they cleaned it up here comes [Applause] shuts first Midfield shuts Ryan kce and Jack boen D3 Player of the Year at toughs last season boen setting the pick shellenberger over to shuts puts it on cage missed the mark Virginia has missed eight of its first nine [Applause] shots Millan got a good look boen has the backup [Applause] Virginia’s taken 10 shots only two of them on goal Payton Cormier the ncaa’s division one alltime leader in goals he hits the pipe the Ricochet to [Applause] Maryland TPS have a trailer one more doorstep dunk it’s Daniel Kelly for the turps in the regular season against Maryland or against Virginia last year they have the game- winning goal in [Applause] overtime Turks fans celebrate in style a game of inches off the shin of Logan MCN and then rings off the iron watch it again from go cam dink Ajax cleans it up and then transition a lever pass unbelievable two years ago John Tilman brought a Maryland team to Championship weekend that was one of the most dominant teams that we have seen in modern memory the turps beat Cornell in the championship they had to withstand a late Cornell charge tired legs got to them late but this was a team that really up until the last five or six minutes of the national championship dominated its opposition 18-0 first undefeated Champion the sport had seen since Matt Ward’s Virginia team did it back in 2006 and John Tilman has been the master of May this is not near the same team that he fielded in 2022 most folks expected Maryland to lose to Princeton in round one they were a popular pick to be taken down most folks expected Maryland to lose to Duke in the quarterfinals Ed car here they are hold up hey [Applause] hey Maryland has won every face off so far this one turns into a muck that looked like a push no flag now we get a whistle early timeout John Tilman 10 yds onto the field so that shows you what he’s thinking about possession early in this game to burn a timeout in the first quarter so now weirman has won every face off in this game he’s four and zero two out the front one out the back that was a 50/50 a scrap that his Wingers got it done and Virginia tried to change up they went with Thomas kuchi after griel took the first two officials today Peter McCannon Mark mckinness Scott Mall tp’s offense out of hibernation out of the Chell the last two games transformation You could argue that John Tilman has done his best work in his career at the University of Maryland okay again this is a team that scored five goals and a loss against John Hopkins came back and then got blown off the field by Penn State somehow they’ve managed to move the parts and play efficient offense in the last two weeks you know anise you were mentioning during that face off when we were listening to the mucking it up on both sides as they try to have some way shape or form of limiting weirman John Tilman is so masterful at making adjustments not only longterm for the season we saw some chess pieces moving around you take miver who’s a quarterback as an attackman you put him at Midfield and he kind of feasts off short sticks and he had a huge game in the first round against Princeton Eric Spanos who was a midfielder is now permanently playing attack but it’s what he does in game and we see him on the iPad all the time and I just saw him talking to some of his staff members too he’s constantly making tweaks or poking holes in what the opposition is doing so his in-game adjustments have allowed this team to grow and mature dangerous pass almost picked off by weer Quint if you’re starting a program from scratch is John Tilman your coach yes XA plays it back up top syracusa maneuvering around awayer as Spanos using the pick schroer body Spanos lose shot blocked look at that match up with Spanos and schroer I’ve watched a lot of schroer if you try to play in the body against 49 in white you will not Prevail if you’re Eric Spanos and he did against Princeton he played in space he used X the back of the goal and he used his speed good look here from the wing it’s Kelly his second of the game he had two against Virginia in the regular season meeting this year Kelly can’t miss in the postseason that’s from an angle that’s from a sliver of an angle makes a count he had the winning goal against Virginia in the regular season down at clockner 2023 last year he had big holes to fill in terms of Logan mosis who graduated was the Darton winner in 2022 he occupied that left spot but d Daniel Kelly has range and he has the soft hands to make it count low to low that can’t go but he does use some English and that ball actually kicks for him Virginia’s got to do a much better job off ball defense I think they’re doing a decent job on the ball winning some of those matchups but they’re off ball guys got to tighten it up wman wins another face off another clean exit wman fires and scores that juices the Maryland bench for1 turps it’s a different kind of feeling when 52 brings it right down to the heart of the opposing team’s defense I mentioned earlier he did it twice against Duke broke their hearts in Hemstead a week ago it’s the evolution of the position the rules changed a couple years ago it forced more athletes better lacrosse players and goal scor from that spot Virginia’s Wing players cannot even impact weirman it’s a pinch and pop he’s done that three times in this game he’s Off to the Races the wingman has got to take an angle where they can intersect him before he becomes an offensive threat at the top of the box and LS Tiffany talking to his wing guys about their angles and against griel he’s getting those clean exits which are leading to Opportunities Virginia now counters with kuchi and kuch Luchi makes it more of a [Applause] scrum it’s a hold against Maryland Virginia gets the ball back terrenzi fires on cage easy save mcnany don’t love the clock and score management of that shot feathers the perfect Outlet to Red maltz skip pass zap Patell stick checked that’s a lot that’s a lot of polls out there caster and zap yes indeed Quint you mentioned you didn’t like that shot John Tilman in the last huddle said we’re going to possess the ball and have longer runs at this Virginia Defense if we don’t have something right away love the Kelly fast break goal but they’re going to Tire this Virginia Defense out in a unit specifically from the defensive Midfield spot that’s not very deep Luke weirman could strangle them that’s what they did last week to Duke body blows and body blows Spanos trying to get free of Schroeder ran right into Jurassic Park yeah Spanos is not going to be the answer today Anish that’s not the matchup Virginia’s close defense Schroeder 65 fton 66 cner at 67 dubbed Jurassic Park by Georgetown head coach Kevin War a few years back Cavaliers have struggled with their shooting early 1 for 12 only three shots on goal and the other part of that too to car’s Point you’re going to tire out this Virginia team especially the defensive Midfield it neuters some of your ride as well short stick match up for Ryan kce against George Stamos Ki turns the corner and again Virginia is still struggling to hit the cage one for 13 and 10 of the 13 [Applause] have been off [Applause] goal shellin Berger sets the pick for boen top side save mcnany back to boen shot clock resets to 60 first Midfield on for Virginia Midfield Productions been hit or miss this season here’s Millan The Freshman not much on the shot if Maryland can bottle up shellenberger Millan and shuts Virginia has no chance to win this game colie looking for shots couldn’t handle the feed Maryland comes up with the ground ball McDonald transition opportunity zapello fires to high 33.8 seconds to go opening quarter they go slow here now now Virginia was down four nothing early to Johns Hopkins Mar’s going to manage the game to Perfection that’s a John Tilman state staple you want to win the last minute of every [Music] quarter Here Comes xks of last year’s Big 10 freshman of the year and he throws it away toward Midfield over and back Virginia with 3.5 shellenberger will restart tries to thread it it’s knocked down Maryland wins quarter number one Conor shellenberger scored the first goal of the game Maryland responds with four straight coach you’re one for 15 shooting what do you have to do to make these shots count we got to take the extra step it looks like we’re taking a shot way too early we got to take that as they say the extra ST to Glory um and get in front of the goal thank you coach the extra step to Greatness coach Tiffany to Greatness not to Glory I think he would have had to maybe pay some kind of royalty to you though had he gone greatness trying to figure it out with his offensive coordinator Kevin ciss on the right in the blue polo keep the change Quint keep the change on your royalties I just spoke to John Tilman as well he thinks offensively he’s happy with the way they’re shooting the ball but he thinks from a spacing perspective they need to be more spread out when they get in their six on six and their dodging type opportunities and keep in mind you guys mentioned 67 66 65 the starting defense for Virginia if you play in tight quarters they will dominate you I’ll give you 67 Luke weirman is 6 for seven on faceoffs and even with kuchi trying to make it more of a 50/50 ball there Maryland wins yet another draw and Wan’s been a differen maker as he’s been all season Spanos against Schroeder will’ll go to work on the short stick Jagger and All-American this one trickles toward Midfield Kelly and Kastner Kastner 39 and white fastest player on the team Kastner comes up with it Kelly runs off Maryland getting its defensive Subs in to prevent a Virginia fast break he broke his stick on that play he had a broken stick and he knew he couldn’t play with it that’s why he ran off the field Bizarro world right you think the ground ball is going to be his he looks down at it looks as it’s stick he got to run through the substitution [Applause] box there is boen we mentioned a deep replayer of the year at toughs we saw the jumbo yesterday they’ll take on [Applause] R zapello has done masterful work this season dealing with picks getting underneath scraping through [Applause] [Music] shot on the Run by KY it’s blocked McAn and Boyd in battle mcnany two ground balls for Logan mcnany man again picking his spots where he can fly out of that crease remember nobody is assigned to the goalie in Lacrosse you got six on six everyone’s got he’s the free safety so to speak on those ground balls Andro Quint kesik pul ARCA we will complete our Championship picture after this game Notre Dame won earlier today beating Denver 13-6 Irish will defend their national championship on Monday they’ll face either Virginia or Maryland Cavaliers and turps have combined to win four of the last six NCAA championships Spanos speed in front malz had it taken away balls on the ground whan vacuums and Virginia gets something going in transition seven turnovers by Maryland whan plays it to the wing skip past shellenberger he’ll Dodge from high in the restraining area as he brings zapello out trying to pin some offensive personel on the field now Virginia keeps their whan and joerger on the field Kelly was caught on defense the attacker and it looks like joerger is staying on so there’s some numbers right here terenzi out of the Fox steep Down rocket Virginia ends a scoring drought of more than 16 minutes they caught him Daniel Kelly who’s an attacker plays strictly offense was dying to get off the field joerger stayed the short stick D midi Virginia won the substitution game which allowed terenzi to come right down through the middle of the field and get this beautiful step down that is the definition of early offense while it’s not a fast break goal it’s that next phase it’s the substitution portion and your decisions there offensively and defensively have consequences at some point Marilyn’s got to say you know what he’s got a 10 yard start on me I’m going to stay in the hole and try to play some team defense instead Marilyn Bale’s out Virginia makes him pay you know if you are Daniel Kelly there and you’re defending Chase joerger Chase Jagger is a short stick D midi you have to stay on that matchup rather than allow a six on five kuchi lost his stick weirman wins another faceof seven out of eight for the All-American Maryland looking for early offense good recovery that time by 16 in white George fton the [Applause] junior this is a matchup with Eric Spanos he’s played mid field 90% of the Season up until the NCA tournament if you’re seven in Black I would take Schroeder up top at 10:00 at 2:00 if you try to fight him in a phone booth you’ll lose I I don’t think SP Spanos is the answer I I I think maron’s going to continue to to hammer the Shorties of Virginia the Midfield Defenders like this here is Whittier feed in front to maltz Daniel maltz with his second of the game his 30th of the season and his seventh make it eighth of this NCAA tournament yesterday when I asked John Tilman what he what he thought for genius matchups would be he says it doesn’t really matter because we’re going to attack the shorts regardless of who they cover and suddenly Zack Whittier 13 in black is like the next Reincarnation of of incredible assister in the last two weeks he’s been throwing dimes to teammates car last week against Duke I thought he had the best pass of the game it was a skip pass to Daniel malz who’s been automatic he’s their best shooter from an accuracy perspective Whittier is only shooting 11% I would force him to beat you off the Dodge and shoot if you’re Virginia Here Comes wman again clean exit Wing feet Morris with a big [Applause] stop Erdman putt return clear tell you that Faceoff disparity is just a ticking time bomb and it’s not just weirman winning faceoffs weirman is creating offense and scoring chances off a majority of those Faceoff wins Cav still looking to get some answers in terms of shellenberger against a Jack zapello Millan has been stifled so far and Griffin shutz who had six points in the regular season matchup he’s yet to really put a quality shot on Nick they’ve got Millan parked at X six points in the quarterfinals against Hopkins here’s the cutter Boyen rolls back backhanded shot not there gorgeous set piece that was a gorgeous set piece the timing was just a little off cuz boy caught it too severe to the goal line extended he didn’t have enough angle Millan guarded by shallot now shellenberger he had the first goal today for Virginia a four-time first team All-American KY shot turned away shellenberger weaving through traffic Cormier dropped the ball shellenberger somehow came away with it now he lost it transition opportunity for Maryland if they want it McDonald looks like he’ll slam on the brakes and the TPS will settle you got some good matchups now you got KY and shutz caught on defense 13 and 24 24 and white shuts now able to run off it looks like Maryland will wait for its [Applause] Personnel Jack [Music] Brennan Spanos [Applause] again top side and the race to the sideline W by Jack Cadillac chorus Marilyn’s done a nice job of taking castner Cole Kastner third and N in white and putting him off ball in the middle of the field far off the ball he’s seldom covered ball carriers in this [Applause] game Brennan against joerger Spanos feed in front slam dunk hatrick Daniel Kelly 62 [Applause] [Music] [Applause] terapin you never see pton Cormier drop a ball he’s the all-time leading goal scorer in NCA history the combination of shellenberger to Cormier has been magic but that causes a turnover and Spanos sees that double team prematurely I don’t know why they’re showing two here Quint communication communication you get Schroeder and the other Defender Wills Bert both flash to the eyes of the ball carrier who’s by the way not a threat to score a goal they leave a player in front wide open they’re forcing Virginia to play off ball that’s been the weakness of this defense All Season Virginia’s excellent one-on-one Defenders on Ball but Maryland surgically is making this an off ball game inside and now the challenge for Virginia can they solve weirman nope so it’s invert City that that is they’re putting midies behind the net they’re attacking exclusively with the ball from behind the net forcing these Virginia defensive players to play an each with their with their backs to the goal and therefore their heads on a swivel very difficult and the advantage here for Maryland weirman has been such an inevitable force in this game at the face of off effect even if you give up a goal you give up two in a row it’s going to be hard to get any sort of momentum to go on a run when weirman is winning every face [Applause] off it’s going to require the defense to make [Applause] stops Kelly spins it back to maltz Maryland is just seizing the underdog status in this tournament there were home dogs against Princeton Road dogs last week against d they’re dogs today they’re going to attack the shorty here Spanos against Erman jump shot back up malz and John Tilman is now in his 14th season at Maryland seven times already he’s gotten his team to Championship Monday as we get a timeout from Lars Tiffany he is the master tactician he’s had a week to prepare for Virginia and this Terin team that was written off just a few weeks ago up four with a spot in the finals on the line Maryland with a 62 lead on Virginia seven seed versus six seed with a trip to the championship Monday where Notre Dame awaits Daniel Kelly a hatrick Luke weirman dominating and Virginia two for 19 shooting after that first goal by Conor shellenberger the attack has done zero when it’s all mixed up you got to break it down if you’re Lars Tiffany number one you got to fix this defense from these invert scenarios herps meanwhile playing the role of Puppeteer they’ve got Virginia on a string Cavaliers able to get this one back it’s Griffin kogi big weekend for the kogi family his sister plays for Florida they got the championship weekend fell to Northwestern yesterday older brother Kyle kogi won two titles at UVA Anish I just spoke to Kevin ciss the offensive coordinator for Virginia and he told me they’re settling for the first look in a shot I mean they’re two for 19 right now but he also said Maryland isn’t sliding they have to find ways to win matchups so who’s the matchup here is it Millan is it shellenberger is it shutz who can beat their guy Millan will try shaller gives it up to shellenberger Millan setting the pick zapello so good on those picks and that’s a a little big big switch they tried it didn’t work Millan question mark with an exclamation at the end M Millan The Freshman his 40th goal of the Season he needs one more to break Joe Yoli’s freshman record for goals that’s winning a match up it was awesome last week yeah this is a beautiful take here the son of Hall of Famer Mark Millan and Aaron Millan both in the US lacrosse Hall of Fame mccab does an outstanding job of feeling pressure and when shaller gets super aggressive right here that allows him since he kept his balance to find his space and free his hands thought he was uh so assertive last week in the right way picking his spots he he got banged up on this play shaller got him kind of on the on the on the on the wing on the elbow and he’s changing his arm pads top recruit in the country and this is big for Virginia kuchi wins the faceoff only the second Faceoff one by Virginia pton Cormier 24 in white first round against St Joe’s eight goals on 15 shots only one for 11 in the quarter finals 223 career goals most in NCAA division 1 men’s lacrosse the reason they’re not getting looks to Cormier right now is because Maryland is not sliding Maryland’s winning the matchups on the perimeter therefore they don’t have to double team support and help somewhere along the line Virginia’s got to isolate against the Maryland Midfield Defenders take them somewhere they’re uncomfortable behind the net from the wing use shellenberger maybe in the picking game Niche have him set the pick and put zap patello in a decision eror like right now here it comes Shel bger out to set the pick for [Applause] kce kce trying to shake Eric Kar he got a piece of it and it’s scooped up by Colin [Applause] burles George Stamos whose dad by the way is John not not that John but John [Music] Stamos George Stamos had a big moment early this year had the game-winning goal in overtime against Syracuse and the Dome wants to be in Special Forces when he’s done in College Park NCAA division one Women’s National Lacrosse championship game is on ESPN number one Northwestern number two BC for the title tomorrow noon Eastern on ESPN that shot blocked weer picks it up Jay alter she in stand with bur Charlotte North and Dana Bole will have the call from carry North Carolina skip pass to terrenzi fakes the pass over to the wing off sides Maryland ball John tilman’s 10 yards on onto the field by the substitution box he’s the king of restarts nobody practices restarts more than the turps you watch their Friday practices it’s a ton of full field riding clearing how about Spanos getting through the double by Boyen and shellenberger we haven’t seen the same kind of ride from Virginia as we saw last week Maryland when we were at their practice yesterday they repped against the ride quite a bit as they like to do on Fridays miver that one hits the [Applause] pipe Schroeder had it lost it back to Maryland Spanos slowed to get up with a reset and now you got a timeout Maryland was that ball possessed oh no it hit the post so you get the full reset coach Tillman now managing clock and score just going to drain this thing to [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] halftime now so far Maryland has controlled pretty much every aspect of this game you start on the defensive end in goal with zapello at the faceoff x with weirman Luke weerman from Westchester Pennsylvania has put on an absolute Clinic whether it’s the pinch and pop maneuver out the front countering with a with a clamp and rake backside his handle and his ability to put the ball on the 6X six this is a guy who’s won more faceoffs than any player in Maryland history he’s as clutch as it as it gets he’s been Sensational in this NCAA tournament 73% and car he was a fourth round pick of the Denver Outlaws how does his game translate to the PLL uh I think he does real well in the PLL because he’s so athletic and when you win a faceof in the PLL with the 32 second shot clock you need a Faceoff specialist who could generate offense and can shoot and Luke weerman is that next generation of a Faceoff guy his story is awesome too he supposed to go to Fairfield University was recruited by Andy copelan who ended up coaching in the PLL with the water dogs Copeland left Fairfield Luke wman was in the market and John Tilman swooped him up and it was probably the best decision that tman ever made yeah he was a lastminute Edition and he’s been a fixture on some of these Powerhouse Maryland teams over the last few years quite the list of star power that we’ll see this summer in the PLL that we also get to see on Championship weekend shelin Berger and zap patello both first round picks as were entman and Kavanagh who we saw earlier today Dobson a second rounder Kastner maybe a few years before we see him in the PLL he was taken by the Redwoods but he’s going to go play basketball at Stanford this fall first an incredible value for a guy like Cole Kastner did you look at Luke weirman the thing about Connor shellenberger I I think he’s going to be a great Pro because his ability to process uh to anticipate and and his game instincts I think he can even play faster remember the pro gamees faster gets bigger stronger faster and Shell’s AB ability to problem solve to throw accurate passes and to make great decisions I think bod’s well for him as a pro Maryland has problem solved Virginia so far up 63 in full control there comes maliver Jagger tries to stay with him all single invert hit the midi behind the goal Marilyn got top side moris got a peak and picked up by Virginia Mike [Applause] prestopino Ben weer has seven goals joerger has been a big factor in Virginia’s two tournament win so far A little bit lost in the shuffle Virginia’s win over Johns Hopkins in the quarterfinals the defense did eventually figure it out remember they were down 10-7 and shut out Hopkins for the last 23 minutes they only gave up five goal go after the first quarter in a game that went to double overtime so that gives you hope if you’re a Virginia fan that that the defense can figure out what Maryland’s doing you make some adjustments you tighten up you show that toughness that it takes and also that ride it was vintage Virginia Millan snaking through the defense boen can’t handle it black jerseys closed that’s not there dangerous pass red evades sh B awesome handle on the end line and then give red credit because he saw that play happening and he said my teammate on the end Line’s going to need help Virginia in its ride and John Tilman told me yesterday there might be times where they got to put a shot on goal that’s a failure to advance you got to get it across Midfield before that shot clock hits 60 so we see Virginia which hadn’t gotone the ride on every possession they went into that full ride it’s scrambled Maryland Virginia gets the ball back you know Anish you mentioned Virginia fans having hope because they shut down John’s Hopkins in the second half John Tillman though is going to continue to DARE this Virginia offense to make plays from the midfield if the midfielders don’t come alive in this game Virginia doesn’t have a chance no Here Comes shuts against alviti the Vermont transfer Millan that’s off the Stick of kce Maryland’s got it transition opportunity for the turps [Applause] burles puts it on goal and [Applause] connects they can’t stop the [Applause] bleeding Quint you know turp Nation knows the name burles his father Brian was a legendary multi-time first team All-American who is as tough as nails and made plays with a big stick like the young buck is doing right now they called him Bubba he carries in with confidence and nobody is protected from Mayhem whether it’s weirman or a long Paul goal the turps given Virginia a taste of their own medicine no insurance for that huh now you mentioned Bubba schmeiser Award winner in 92 that honor goes to the top defender in the country that’s that’s Turf territory that award I mean you think of the list of of some of the [Applause] greats even in the tman era some of the long sticks I mean I think we’ve seen Chris pasilla Lee zc I don’t know if they all won the won the award but Maryland synonymous with great defense Billy Ralph back in my day the Yorktown cat of carks carks guy from a year ago Mak car Brett Makar who worn that number one Jersey aart Brian Reese aart M guys in the PLL on every roster like Maryland half the whip snakes defense it is defense you you know Maryland is defense you without a doubt yeah you think a Penn State linebacker you it goes back even beyond that with guys like Dan Tracy in the yeah middle 1980s you come by the you get your head taken off it’s that [Applause] simple Jack Brenan from Rochester New York only three goals this season did have one in the quarterfinals 10sec differential game clock and shot clock this has been a disaster for the University of Virginia and you see the Body Language Coach tiffan is going to have to be part psychologist part tactician Kelly low Sidewinder here’s Chism took a big hit early in and car we have not seen much of Noah chismar in this first half well you saw that first hit and he was hanging around on offense he’s a short stick defensive midfielder he played attack in high school so maybe they like the matchup but he had to deal with the contact and the physicality of the turf defense final seconds tereny down the alley meets resistance Kar time expires Maryland puts the clamps and the shackles on this Virginia offense through the first 30 minutes the Cavaliers came into the game averaging more than 14 goals per game John Tilman the master tactician holding Virginia to three Luke weirman dominating the faceoffs this defense the veteran presence of Logan mcnany and Maryland one half away from another trip to the National Championship under John Tilman down to KK Ajax how would you characterize your defense in the first half we’re just playing together that’s the biggest thing we’ve been harping on all years just playing Team defense that’s something Maryland’s been prying themselves on long before any of us got here so just falling back on being a turp Defender what’s the best way to play Virginia’s pick game you just got to talk they they do a really great job of set picks all over the field our short sck have done a great job and not only navigating them but also talking us through it that’s been the biggest thing it’s just communication communication communication thank you Ajax thank you very much Ajax zapello Big 10 defensive player of the year a first team All-American and the first offensive player in more than 20 years to win the ERS award Maryland with a 73 choke hold at the half let’s get you to the studio Chris cter and Matt Ward is standing by you know I just caught up with ls Tiffany as well and obviously dealing with Luke has been a Monumental task so he feels like they might have to put a pole at the faceof to kind of limit his production if they do that expect Virginia to go into a 10-man ride after a weirman win at the faceoff X but make no mistake about it offensively they have had big time struggles in terms of canning shots 36% shooting percentage on the season today only 14% another Faceoff win for Maryland now weirman now has won 11 of 13 what kuchi has done for Virginia since taking the majority of draws for griel he has prevented more times than not those clean exits which lead to transition opportunities weirman is in complete control that time raking it directly out to a Winger now Virginia’s adjustment defensively slower to double team wow they were slow to double team they didn’t double team and Cadillac chorus gets his first goal of the game he was a little quiet in the first half he can do it all he he is about as old school as old school gets he would have fit in well in the 1980s playing for Buddy beardmore Wing a face off play some o play some D get the water round up the balls after practice look at him he’s sliding to the turf and uses that free hand to keep his balance Jack chorus can do it all I agree with you Quint I look at the most valuable players on the team it’s Logan mcnany it’s Ajax zapello it’s Luke weirman and it’s Cadillac who just had a birthday yesterday as well turned 23 years old not a bad day to be a birthday boy and maybe he didn’t uh forget to take the candle off the cake before he started eating his that was Paul last night at nitty’s Tavern happy birthday brother thank you thank you look when you’re an Italian guy the food comes first the candle can wait 12-2 faceoffs Luke weirman feed inside Spanos Maryland t on it is nine to three make it take it turn and rake it Quint you mentioned Cadillac can do everything including picking up the balls staying on swings on faceoffs allows him to be productive in early offensive sets this time dodging down through the middle of that defense in that through pass to Spanos Spanos smells this coming man he fills that Gap and knows he’s going to get the rock Now shroeder 49 is ball watch and heads not on a swivel Spanos is at X and he says you know this guy’s not respecting me he’s staring at the ball carrier and he curls top side and presents that visual Target Spanos set a four-point game against Virginia earlier this season four goals in round one earned honorable mention all America honors gobrial took the last face off committed a violation kuchi this time Virginia with a rare faceof win weer all the way he can score good look bouncer High we’s got seven goals Millan fishes it out you needed that one didn’t you Virginia needs a lot more than that shooting three for 22 below 15% shellenberger one for two shooting only one shot in the last 29 minutes of the opening half that’s maybe the best offensive player in the country what’s the adjustment Personnel or scheme shuts has that Sledgehammer downhill Dodge ball stays in his stick stayed in his stick too long CH get pushed back what a double Maryland imperious and formidable just imposing its will right now great flip great flip TPS with a chance and a laser High by AJ Lin the red shirt freshman from Baltimore back up to the turps you get the sense Virginia right now is like a poker player on tilt that was Russ last night oh Russ was fine he was eating heartily Russ delin status dis extraordinaire for all the Press members wondering why the Half Time Buffet is half gone what’s the over under on dogs three and a half s and a half for the weekend Whittier to Spanos he dropped it big ground ball turps can be patient but you know that’s the type of turnover that really plagued them in their losses like fundamental type stuff Virginia knocked it out of bounds stays with Maryland just simple exchanges done a much better job in the last couple weeks in that department this was a Virginia team in three of its last four games leading into the NCA tournament they gave up at least 18 goals Brennan maltz Maryland exhibiting patience they can and will Kyle Morrison goal making his first career start XA doesn’t want any part of cner Spanos behind the back shot clock at four and Maryland will get its defensive Subs on will’ll throw this in the corner [Applause] car at what point if you’re Virginia do you just say we got to go full 10man ride now I think right off the next face off and Lars Tiffany told me that they were going to employ that I think it has to happen on that next face off when pton Cormier has the ball he’s been silent because Maryland is not sliding from the crease this Midfield needs to step up and become Dodgers if Virginia has any shot Maryland has been so sound on defense quit you mentioned the shooting struggles of Virginia how much of that is what the turps are doing defensively oh 90% of it Millan inside to Shel burer that’s the best look they’ve had in a long time and they couldn’t get it alviti off the ground great ground 77 in Black finds zapello man the net is open and now Morris retreats in Ajax makes all the simple plays Look So Easy give alv 77 a lot of credit it’s a first time grounder in the defensive Zone cleared efficiently but not only can Ajax cover he can transition the ball his decision making is on point I I love everything about his game he he could play in front of me any day of the week he is part of the Great Oregon Trail of Lacrosse a Portland de native what a what a pod of Excellence started with Peter bom to Warton winner from Colgate Sam Handley Alex Slusher Tucker dvic Ross Scott chop Gallagher Ajax zapello all like in the same Community trained together played club together grew up together all D1 many are are moving on to the PLL Maryland with a jumper shot blocked Ryan Powell very influential with the Rhino lacrosse getting that going in Port weer takes the pass stops whips it millan’s got the backup one goal in the last 17 minutes that shot shows you the frustration it it’s like a long pole saying you know you guys have had the ball enough settled sets shellenberger skip Cormier one more doorstep there it is Noah chismar it’s still 94 with n and a half to go in the third that with chismar JR out of Baltimore 15th career goal M Cara played at Johns Hopkins dad Richard bestselling author in the horror genre great ball movement skip pass one more down low to chismar who played attack in high school [Applause] really a walk- on for this Virginia program got into school on his own on the virtues of his strong academic career at St Paul school in North North Baltimore I remember Noah as as a little tiek when I I trained his brother his older brother Billy played uh up in the in the ncat for Colby and and I Billy was a goalie no he used to show up it’s like a 10-year-old help me out kuchi wins the face off accelerates ahead there’s the trail check popped into the air ball on the ground and that’s got to be deflating for Virginia we’ll see if Marin can clear but KK that’s a rare Faceoff win and you can’t turn it into a possession no you win the face off but you don’t win the overall battle for possession and that takes the life out of you but to put things in perspective after that chismar goal too with Ben wear and Noah chismar they’ve been staying on for offense and benware is is Marin in on the offensive set he’s a long stick midi but that just tells you the lack of punch they are getting from the Midfield that they need their short stick defensive midfielder to score goals Ben wear is part of the six on six early offense and he’s staying on this has been a defensive effort led by Jesse burnhard the defensive coordinator they are flying to the ball this is perfect team defense in the six on six sets for Maryland just beyond impressive yeah might be a ACC revenge tour for Maryland they beat Duke in the quarters chance to avenge a regular season loss to Virginia Morris presses out of the cage and they might have a chance to avenge a regular season loss to Notre Dame on [Applause] Monday shot clock at four at three and that did not get a piece of the goal leag for the pipe Virginia faithful hoping to find any shred any sliver of momentum down by five we saw them come back against John’s Hopkins a week ago you saw Maryland come back against Duke a week ago surprised Virginia hasn’t used shelburg as a picker I’m surprised they haven’t tried to get burl 40 in Black to switch onto some ball carriers they told me yesterday that’s the guy we want we want to take to the rack and we want to use Connor as a picker one in white just haven’t seen that this Virginia attack which is the lifeblood of the offense has two goals one by shellenberger to start the game one by Millan kce inverts red he goes down KY is scored in 10 straight nothing there top side got to beat to shorty he’ll try it again can’t do it now shutz who’s been quiet today running the weave as has Cormier pinballs off a Defender throws too high off the Stick of boen last touch Virginia Maryland ball unforced error 12 turnovers for the whoos Virginia in its 10-man ride Maryland has to get it across Midfield before the shot clock hits 60 you can go over and back and the first 20 seconds that’s nice that’s exactly what they drilled yesterday in practice they bring Spanos the attack when over the Midfield line he catches it around five yards shy of the Midfield line and immediately redirects remember castner’s playing center field they’re stretching him out from sideline to sideline that you want to clip that if you’re your high school coach a how to clear against a 10 man it’s right there shot and a goal Ryan [Applause] syracusa Lars Tiffany is in disbelief the route seems to be on just like this team it’s all been growth throughout the course of the season and for syracusa it’s been over his career here a scout team player making the most of his opportunity and popping a corner at the top of the broadcast we highlighted the matchup between maybe the best offensive player in the country and arguably the best defensive player in the country Connor shellenberger and Ajax zapello the last time these two met in the postseason zapello double Bagel the great Conor shellenberger 0o points zero assists he’s held Jen bger to just one goal today zapello clearly winning his matchup Maryland clearly in control of this game spoke to Ajax this week and he credited Jesse burnhard not only for being his defensive coordinator but the mentorship that goes with that and they sit down and go over the game plan many times he’ll stay after practice and just rep some of the dodging patterns that he’s likely to see on Game Day young man living on Chipotle in College Park and magiano when he come here come here to Philadelphia two two dinners in a row at Mias yeah that’s a lot of [Music] carbs you know you look at this offense for Virginia and it’s been a masterful defensive performance by Maryland but Kevin C the offensive coordinator in the Huddle just now he emphasized to his group you have to make contact with the picks now the problem is if you watch Ajax zapatel and a lot of these close Defenders from Maryland they’re playing through the picks in terms of their body and the way they get through getting underneath yeah yeah it’s next level Millan works on Canfield he got banged up last week here’s shuts oh took a big hit bounced off Kar shuts again left hand mcnany the save only the eighth shot on goal for Virginia mcnany gobbles rebounds does a nice job of seizing the moment Around the Net he’s got a bunch of ground balls to his credit in this game as as well car you were at Hofstra last week where in the second half Maryland had nine goals and held Duke to nine shots what Luke weerman does to you I mentioned in the first half if you’re not careful and you let the turps to hang around he strangles the life out of any type of philosophy you have offensively and defensively I saw the Duke short stick D mides who are for my money the best in the country a Maguire and Jack Gray and Jake Caputo they were so gassed by the fourth quarter because of the possessions and the length of the possessions that Maryland had there just no juice left Mankey how how’s Virginia’s juice right now cark I don’t see it what’s the feeling you get I feel like it’s down when I was in the Huddle just the body language and the overall fight it it seemed to be honest he like they’ve been defeated that was tough shot there by Millan almost a desperation heave five saves for mcnany they don’t get easier than that Logan made it back from that zapello thought about putting him one on cage but I don’t think Marilyn’s going to give Virginia an opening here they handle the ride Morris gets back in net Spanos off the scramble bingo [Music] [Applause] [Applause] quent you were very astute in terms of Cole Kastner and breaking this ride from Virginia they are forcing him to commit to one side and then the redirect which opens up the middle and then it’s a numbers game hand to one under pressure just simply brilliant right here you’re dealing with the check you go one-handed there for the Cradle you know Spanos is open on the backside and you throw it to space great clear burlace handling he face Dives and then he gets to celebrate John Tilman spent a an enormous amount of time this week dealing with repping the Virginia ride his scout team deserves tons of credit for the good looks we watched it yesterday in practice for 20 minutes on a Friday and you you wonder why Maryland clears and rides with such efficiency in May yeah well think of it this way if Cole casner’s a free safety it’s almost like a quarterback using his eyes or misdirection to get the safety to bite one way that’s what they’re doing in the clear game he can’t cover both sides of the field and the failure to clear typically against a 10- man is when you try to run it up one side and you Corner yourself and you bring BR the sideline in as an extra Defender so Maryland when they get that ball reversal it’s kind of like a two-way go and they put castner as the free safety’s got to cover a wi out on both hash marks like I can’t get there Maryland has been the Puppet Master Whittier to Spanos this was unpredictable though Anish I mean come on five losses some of them brutal an offense that was sputtering if you’re wondering only three teams with five or more losses have ever won a national championship Virginia did it in 2011 steel Stanwick and the Cavaliers beat Maryland in the title game that was John tilman’s first season in College Park Duke did it in 2013 when Brendan Fowler won every face off against Syracuse and North Carolina did to Maryland in 2016 the unseated Tar Heels led by Steve pontell Austin Pani Joe br’s Team all of those turs all those teams share like that second win component and I talked to Ajax about that this week I said at a time when the offense was sputtering how did you guys stay together and they did they they said we needed to give the offense confidence it was just a matter of us putting the right puzzle pieces in the right spot so give the players a lot of credit for not turning on one another when you have a team that was so dominant defensively and struggling on offense terenzi skip pass shellenberger brings it in shot clock under 20 Virginia just struggling to get a shot they do it misses the cage think about the task for Virginia right now you’re down by seven and through almost three quarters you’ve only had nine shots on goal the entire game Millan less than 10 to shoot shellin bger lost it zapello all over him shot clock at two get out Marilyn’s bench applauds the defensive effort this is a master class of Defense owning one-on-one matchups but switching in the middle of the possession an example of that was pton Cormier when he’s inside and he doesn’t have the ball they are not sliding off of him when he had the ball that time they have a call where it’s a quick slide knowing that he’s not not going to make a pass off the Dodge that Cormier when he has the ball in his stick it’s all about a shot so they sent that double quick you give John Tilman a week to prepare and look out his overall tournament record John Tilman is 30 and 10 five of those losses are in the National final game where you only have one day to prepare so that makes him what 28 and5 with a weak to prepare in games outside of Memorial Day in the NCAA tournament since coming to College Park Lars Tiffany 13 and2 in the NCAA tournament at Virginia and there is history here as we’ve said 2019 controversial quarterfinals Virginia when they had the fairy [Music] dust got that call off the crossbar that shot misses and beat Marland in overtime 2021 one of the best Championship Games we’ve seen Virginia over Maryland by a goal turps were undefeated entering that game and then 2022 Maryland vanquished Virginia in the quarter finals and route to a perfect season if you’re Notre a and you’re watching this game I think the hardest thing for Kevin Corgan is going to be to convince his team that Maryland is a different animal than you faced a month or two ago they’ve got a seven goal lead on Virginia a Terin team that languished and stumbled and staggered into this NCAA tournament they’re puffing out their chest and they are 15 minutes away from playing for a national championship Maryland 15 minutes away from the national championship game Paul caretero with their head coach John Tilman coach after three quarters you’ve held Virginia to four goals what’s been the point of emphasis defensively uh obviously you know kind of get back make sure we get the right guys on which I think our guys have done a good job of even if we haven’t had a good offensive possession we’ve gotten our defensive people on which allows us to go 6v6 they’re so good in the 6 V5 and the 5v5 so we want to get them to 6v6 get back and then no matchups communicate through any of the picks and let’s give Logan shots that he can save thank you coach appreciate it ajx zapello has been every bit the first team allamerican this Saturday he’s held Connor shellenberger to one goal shelen Berger’s touches have been limited he has not scored or registered a point since scoring the opening goal of this game and at the faceoff backs Luke weirman has dictated all afternoon if you’re Maryland you now have to start thinking about Monday if your lead holds here early in the fourth quarter at what point do you start thinking about resting Luke weerman certainly not now a lot of ball to be played but you want to save some tread for Monday’s battle with Will Lynn should you get there weerman wins this face off dumps it behind the cage to Spanos couldn’t be more impressed with the grad students versatility on these draws again if you were with this earlier he’s winning out the front that’s a pinch and pop now he’s clamping and raik him to himself we’ve seen him drag the ball to to his wing guys unbelievable variety of moves at his disposal the women’s NCAA Championship game tomorrow noon Eastern from carry North Carolina BC and Northwestern the top two seeds BC beat Syracuse in the semis last night Northwestern a winner against Florida Jay alter she and Stanwick bur Charlotte North and Dana Bole will have the call tomorrow cark yeah the matchup I’m looking for to is the Northwestern attack is he G Aaron quall Madison Taylor against Shay douy and cage for BC the sophomore has been incredible thought she was fantastic Quinn I don’t know if you got to catch any of that but from a goalie perspective doce is just so fundamentally sound and took over that game J Syracuse she’s tall but she’s really bendy my my daughter’s a new goalie and I’m like you need to watch BC you need to watch BC if you live in in the Research Triangle in North Carolina maybe even in Charlotte you got to get to that championship game okay there’s such quality on the field shot clock violation on Maryland to seed in person it can change somebody’s life new goalie for Virginia’s Matthew nun so nun who was benched today in favor of Kyle Morris who made his first career start back in there and cark that tells me Virginia knows it’s only Avenue back into this game is the ride it’s with quick Outlet passes and you’re essentially banking on Matthew Nunes to get you some transition one way or the other spot on spot on Anish because Matthew Nunes if you watch him on tape throughout the course of the year he’s one of the best outlet passers in college lacrosse you’re down seven goals you’re going to have to play hypers Speed Ben wear is going to have to be involved in some scoring opportunities the short stick D mides with Chase jger and the only way that happens is quick quick Outlet passes and play at hypers speed forier trying to fight through an armada of turps now shell Berger we just haven’t seen him used as a picker much today that’s what Virginia coaches told us that’s what John Tilman anticipated and it has not been a part of the calculus for Virginia all afternoon shellenberger just three shots one goal Cormier 0 for three shuts 0 for two there’s a lot of things you can do with a star player when when he’s being marked the way Ajax is covering sh you can take him to the hot area inside and make Ajax the double team man saying okay Ajax you going to go double the ball are you going to leave Conor or you going to stay with him Virginia has been very lacking creativity in their attack today Connor’s also been a first team All-American as a midfielder so he’s a lethal Dodger if you watch in the open some of the clips we had there he was scoring from in front of the cage it doesn’t have to be at goal line extended or at X behind you could flush him anywhere in the offensive set and make it harder for Ajax to play up top a little bit Maryland just playing clock and score here they’re content running some more midfielders as well the fewest goals Virginia has scored under Lars Tiffany seven it’s happened three times this view will give you an indication about a Maryland what I love is their approaches on the ball their stance and stick positioning as they give up a layup way to go and that is Cormier right on the doorstep his first goal of the game just his second point it’s 11 to5 still a long road ahead for Virginia and Connor shellenberger with that assist breaks Gary Gates NCAA tournament career points record that’s a much better pick but this is just just a an off ball issue where you got ball watching and staring up field and Cormier pulls to string a little Look Away Shel to Cormier Cormier the all-time leader and goal scored he had his co-pilot in shellenberger you think about all the great goal scores and they had that this is the record that was just eclipsed on that last play you know what was so nice about that feed how quick his wrists are and when you watch shellenberger feed and why he’s the greatest feeder in ACC history statistically he rarely gets balls knocked down because his release and how quick his top hand is when he triggers that pass is so quick Defenders don’t have time to get their sticks in the passing Lanes to knock it down and there’s an no look component to many of his passes too again I I think he projects to be a big time star at the pl at the pro level I think it’ll be better it will be the first time where all the attention isn’t on him too he’s playing around some Stars Jeff T and guys like Brian costabel for the New York Atlas he’s going to to be able to breathe and and have an acclamation period where the target isn’t on his back every single time he touches the ball sh burer determined his shot blocked tough for re will be how Cormier transitions to the pro level terenzi spins back now think about what we have seen in the ACC over these last four years Pat Kavanaugh who still plays on Monday shellenberger and Brennan O’Neal their career intertwined they faced each other quite a bit O’Neal’s career is over shellb Burger’s career Holding On by a thread right now shutz has his shot stopped by mcnany Kavanaugh’s got a chance for a second title it’s been a treat to watch those three over the last four years it’ll be a treat to continue to watch them over the next few years in the [Applause] PLL empty M NY thinking about it launches and the back up to noes and Virginia tell you that’s the type of shot Logan’s mom Kim tough day to be a tough weekend to be a goalie mom but she’s got to stand up as if Logan was going to buy one from long distance he did score a goal against Ohio State a couple of years ago the brick wall from the glass town of Corning Notre Dame beat Denver earlier today the Irish have won 13 in a row they’ll play for a national championship on Monday and to try to defend their title Maryland 10 minutes away with a six-goal lead on Virginia if you’re looking ahead the turps played the Irish in South Bend March 3rd in Notre Dame 114 to9 if somehow Virginia’s able to come back Cavaliers 0 for two this season against the Irish last time out in Charlotte ACC tournament Virginia dubbed uh drubbed by nine goals car though you call that Maryland Notre Dame game back in March at South Bend I remember football team was out there in full force what do you remember I remember the football team being out there supporting Jordan fison and he scored a goal right in front of him and they completely erupted but big picture I thought Ajax zapatel did a fantastic job on Pat Kavanaugh Kavanaugh had a goal on him one-on-one but similar to the shot that shellenberger had it was one of those those low angle fancy trick shots that zap patella was there so I I thought he did a fantastic job on Pat Kavanaugh but when you spin forward and you think of the matchups Maryland has the ingredients as we see shellenberger here lose the ball they have the ingredients yeah that’s zapatel they have the ingredients right now to play with anyone they have Luke weerman at The X a Lockdown Defender who could take the quarterback out of the mix and then you have Logan mcnany this is the most experienced goalie in the NCA tournament it’s crazy of a run we’ve seen from Liam Menan Logan has more experience think about this car it’s a battle between the last two national champions the two goalies were the last two most outstanding players of Championship weekend you got John Tilman playing in that championship game for the eighth time should Maryland hold on eight times chance to win his third title one interesting nugget about that game Pat Kavanagh not have had his best offensive output it was still okay he had four clause turnovers in that game more than Ajax zapello the defender had find a way to make an impact syracusa chorus Erman and noon got in the way ball loose in the crease weer knocks it down and allows noones to clamp six goal deficit for Virginia less than eight and a half to play winner to Monday’s championship weer up ahead what’s been the most impressive part Quint of Maryland’s late season turnaround really it happened over these last three weeks the offensive transformation okay all season long you knew Luke we’s Luke weerman Logan mcnany solid as a rock defense was good even when they lost to Hopkins 7 to five you’re like wow they just held John’s Hopkins to seven goals but the offense was so poor and and I remember texting car I’m like I’m not sure Maryland’s going anywhere with with this Personnel on offense there’s no Alpha who can get to the rack and somehow John Tilman coach fips and the group move some parts around found a style that works for them it’s a kind of a passing style out of invert sets and confidence is brimming an amazing turnaround the product they’ put on the field in this tournament the shooting percentage Spike look what they’re doing now Virginia defense Millan got his hands free it’s his second of the game The Freshman had three goals three assists last week 116 713 left this is effective I think for the sheer fact that they’re changing their dodging patterns with Millan and shellberg are trying to go from X not having a ton of success but if you watch MCC Millan down the stretch he’s had a lot of goals like this sweeping across the heart of a defense and making it count on the run while his feet are moving Quint they finally get a matchup too you know it’s the first time that that shaller or a pole was not on McCade Millan from Logan mcan’s View here’s what it looks like you know so difficult for he’s on it he’s on it man he is on it with that goal Millan sets the Virginia freshman goal scoring record 41 goals one better than Joe Yoli I I I I mean obviously he’s got a bright future I love everything about him uh his compete level how hard he played last week against Johns Hopkins he’ll benefit enormously from being around Connor this year that was a chance for Virginia Maryland comes up with the ball you know Quint you mentioned when we were texting back and forth earlier in the season no Alpha the changing of the parts became the alpha for the Maryland offense they have done an incredible job with a couple of the switches with kksa playing some Midfield spano’s playing some attack miver now coming out of the box it’s created short stick matchups that Force defenses to at least show and then the ball spins I don’t know if you’re Notre Dame if you take the bait you know what I mean like when you put your polls on certain guys Marilyn likes that and they become a passing offense out of the invert I think the challenge for Notre Dame is going to be not to slide and make Marilyn beat him off the Dodge why slide to those weak threats those invert guys it’s all smok and mirrors it’s worked this was a team that in the Big 10 tournament its last game before the first round tilt against Princeton they lost to Penn State 19-9 [Applause] Spanos working creas speed Brennan the tally I’m going to you can’t beat him with sheer muscle beat him with heart this is a total effort play by Spanos who’s been put together with duct tape he’s got a knee brace he’s got a wrapped hamstring he’s got a heart you got a ball watching Defender right there standing halfway between his man and the ball carrier without a backside slide to dream finish planted on the crease team defense is about being decisive either go or you don’t go but you can’t stand halfway and if you do you better have [Applause] [Music] [Applause] support weirman still in the game still in there kuchi wins this one and was hit from behind he was in the crease as well and he slow to get up Virginia added three fogos this season in the the [Applause] [Music] portal kuchi griel Matt D Souza from [Applause] [Music] [Applause] bton just the way he lands going to be little bit of Road Rash potential shoulder collar collar bone Maryland is the seven seed as kuchi comes off he’s had to battle weirman most of the afternoon only two seven seeds have won a championship since the tournament expanded back in 2003 Duke did it in 2013 and Virginia did it in 2011 [Applause] fourth trip to Championship weekend in five years for Virginia as Mankey shot got a piece of mcnany last year Virginia season ended in the semi-finals they had a two- goal lead late against Notre Dame Liam Menan stuffed Griffin shuts on the doorstep it would have made it a three-goal game with about 2 and 1 half to play Notre Dame tied the game won it in overtime and then beat Duke on Monday for their first title in school history Maryland a season ago coming off that undefeated campaign in 2022 eclipsed in round one by Army in College Park go go shots at four goals in the first meeting against Maryland he has been quiet today a turnover by Virginia four and 1 half to play do the turps go they do shot blocked it comes back to Maryland and now expect them to squeeze it kks up playing keep away from Kastner waiting for the cavalry [Applause] the NCAA men’s lacrosse coverage continues on Monday with the national championship game one Eastern on ESPN looks like Notre Dame in Maryland for more information visit ncaa.com [Applause] we cover this tournament we meet these student athletes we spend basically a spring with them and the finality of this event hits home pretty hard game sevens like there’s no more college lacrosse for Conor shellenberger pton Cormier Cole Kastner feels like Connor’s been playing for Virginia for like 10 years and tip of the cap to him it’s a guy who I cannot recall one instance where he didn’t give us all the ultimate teammate I’ve talked to so many players from Virginia and coaches over the years I’ve never heard one bad word about Connor shellenberger he did it the right way he did it with effort he showed up before every single meeting see mccab Millan missing that shot right there same guy KK win or lose yes whether Virginia was ranked number one or struggling ranked number 10 Conor was the same guy a lot of credit goes to his parents Scott and Stephanie they’re amazing people too and they raised a brilliant young man he showed up every week with a notepad approached the lacrosse game like pton Manning doesn’t football and he’s a complete LAX rat I mean he’s loved the game from the moment he picked up a stick and growing up outside of Charlottesville worshiped steel Stanwick and watched every move of Steel Stanwick from the fence at clner and his career and I said this last year and some people thought I was a little nuts but it’s the best player in Virginia lacrosse history and this performance should not tarnish that or take take anything away from that statement because he’s the first player ever to be a four-time first team All-American he’s the all-time leading Point producer and he did it in four years there was no Co year with Connor shellenberger and he did what no player has done in the modern era it’s being a first team All-American in two positions Midfield and attack and today he set the NCAA career record for points in the tournament breaking Gary Gates Mark which stood since 1990 126 Maryland 254 to go but shellen Burger’s career coming to an end and car Quint when this bracket was released and we saw all the prognosticators oh maryn’s going down to Princeton maryn has got no chance against Duke how many times in the text threads did the three words appear Tillman in May yes I I actually had someone send me this mockup t-shirt and the T-shirt says January February March April Tillman that’s a good one that’s a good one it’s incredible what he’s done you think of his early teams at Maryland pre-shot clock and he played a style that you know certainly wasn’t television friendly The Possession shots the long possessions but he didn’t quite have the horses and he still found a way to win that 2011 quarterfinal win Park against Syracuse that team that he knocked off was one of the best teams we’ve seen not to win a National Championship you can say that from a talent standpoint with the Duke team that he knocked off last week that 2012 team again get into the tournament nobody’s really giving you a chance you make it to the championship lost to a great Loyola team and then when we saw him start to get the rambos and the heacock and the horses he ran 2016 they had a great team upended by North Carolina we get a timeout from Tillman 2017 they break through beat Ohio State in the final and then 2022 simply put one of the best teams we’ve ever seen it’s incredible it really is and when you think about it he’s had multiple offensive coordinators over the last four and five years you date back to Jr Jr JL reer and then it was Bobby Benson and then Jake burnhard and now Michael fips and he’s won different ways we look back at like the 2011 it was yeah it was slow ball and everyone thought there should be a shot clock then and that eventually helped lacrosse down the road but then he won putting up some of the best numbers of all time two years ago when Logan WIS nascus won the tarton trophy that offense was one of the best we’ve ever seen yeah and 2021 oh by the way in the semi-finals they blew out a Duke team that had Michael sour and Brennan O’Neal today’s Capital One player of the game it’s Ajax zapello he put the clamps on Connor shellenberger in a playoff game yet again one versus one the top two three the top two of the top three picks in the PLL draft and look at them it just hunting checks good footwork he’s solid in All Phases whether it’s ground ball play making nice Outlets good to decision making defensively his ability to to weave his way through picks is going to really uh help him out this is a guy again from Portland Oregon the part of that Portland pipeline where he told me quality over quantity you got a handful of guys now playing high level D1 and in the PLL his dad Brian worked for Nike as a youngster went to preschool with Alex Slusher who played at princ and and Duke they said they do one-on ones in slusher’s backyard that’s where it all starts someone had to play O somebody had to play D you saw a jack when he was little to an eighth grade everyone was a foot taller than him too he was the Runk of the litter and kind of matured late and he won with with heart and skill and technique early on and then once his body develops he’s become one of the great Defenders ever to put on a turp jersey there’s royalty in his name too Ajax for those familiar with Greek mythology is one of the Mighty Heroes of The Iliad second only in strength to the great Achilles I thought he was named Ajax cuz he can clean things up on the def on the defensive end does he get another night at magianos does he get three for this weekend it’s a superstitious Bunch 137 to go John Tilman is about to take Maryland to the championship game for the eighth time since taking over is the terpin head coach Notre Dame awaits if Virginia doesn’t score another goal this would be the lowest goal output for The Who under Lars Tiffany Cavaliers still get the championship weekend but the bar has been raised for this program Mars Tiffany has raised the bar you win two national titles you get to Championship weekend that has become the Baseline expectation doesn’t take away from a great season getting here getting to the semi-finals still very hard to do but this program was down in the dumps when Lars Tiffany took it over he resurrected it year three he won a national championship then you had Co 2021 another National Championship final four last year final four this year I love his holistic approach to developing young people whether it’s lacrosse reading of books behavior training uh sacrifice like the whole thing like it I would if I had a son I I would send him to Virginia in a [Applause] second car is start to peek ahead to Monday first glimpse of Notre Dame Maryland First Glimpse biggest thought at The X opening faceof will Lynch Luke weirman do we need anything more in terms of selling this in terms of how these teams have have grown over the course of the season I don’t think so this is this is an alltime Faceoff matchup we think back to the days of Trevor Baptist and TD Erland we have an epic battle there’s some other good matchup so we got Ajax against the Cavanaugh you you’ve got the goalie matchup m and ENT but C Millan broke his stick he’s running off West Schmidt in goal for Maryland he asked me first Glimpse not second third and fourth yeah we got time for that tomorrow we need more than one [Applause] paragraph Notre Dame seeking a repeat Maryland seeking its third title under John Tilman looking for its fifth championship in program history 7375 2017 and 2022 Irish will look to go back to back Virginia kind of went back to back 2019 2021 there was no tournament in 2020 but the last team to win in consecutive years was Duke 2013 and 2014 final 5 Seconds Cory John Tillman the master tactician has done it again Maryland against the world they find a way to be the best on semi-final Saturday the turps double up Virginia 12-6 and they will play for a championship on Monday against Notre Dame [Applause] Paul Logan since Lars Tiffany arrived at Virginia no team of his offensively has been held under seven goals how did you guys do it today I mean we go last week I don’t know it was a great week of prep the defensive guys knew it’s going to be a tough job I mean they have a great offense they’ve had a great offense all year and we uh our Scout guys do a tremendous job week in and week out giving us good looks and we knew it was going to be a battle and the defense gave me some good looks and and uh cleared the ball okay but the defense got the job done today one of your Defenders is an absolute buzzsaw in Ajax zapatel what makes him tick everything makes him tick he just loves competing he loves winning and I think you know he he just has such a great attitude every day comes in he works hard every single day and he has a great attitude down whether we’re down or up and he keeps it steady and he he’s a he’s a rock for us what happens when you give your head coach John Tilman time to prepare he’s he’s one of the best I think he’s one of the best preparers in the world uh we go through a lot of film and uh you know he he does a good job he he probably doesn’t sleep as much as he should but um he does a great job every week giving his all to this team and and his shows thank you Logan thanks thanks car that’s why he’s got a temp repic in his office I hear baby face Logan he’s grown up right in front of our eyes and he’s going back to Memorial Day we’ve got two of the best big game goalies in the sport mcnany now 10 and one in his career in the NCAA tournament Monday’s champ ionship game is set Notre Dame against Maryland it’s the last two national champions but here’s what’s different for Maryland two years ago Maryland was that ultimate Goliath that’s Notre Dame this year the turps go to Monday with the slingshot looking to Spring the upset we’ll see you one Eastern on ESPN on Memorial Day we’re down to two our Championship battle is set it’s Notre Dame it’s Maryland the turps a 126 winner and the semis against Virginia for Quin kesik Paul caretera and our entire crew I’m an sh we say goodbye from Philadelphia Maryland and Notre Dame meet on Monday for the national championship [Music]
