NEW YORK – The field for the BIG EAST Men’s Lacrosse Championship presented by Jeep, was solidified as Denver locked up its fifth-straight regular season title with its 26th consecutive league win. Georgetown locked in the No. 2 seed and Villanova will be the No. 3 seed, defeating Providence 10-9 in the regular season-finale. Marquette will be the fourth seed after the Pioneers won 7-4 at home on Saturday.
No. 1 seed Denver and Marquette will have a rematch of Saturday’s game and rematch of the 2017 semifinal in the first semifinal on Thursday, May 3 at 4:30 p.m. ET. No. 2 seed Georgetown will play at No. 3 seed Villanova in the 7 p.m. semifinal. The semifinal winners will faceoff at 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 5. CBS Sports Network will air all three games of the BIG EAST Championship.
Ranked 15th nationally, Villanova (10-4, 3-2) clicked the final piece into place by defeating Providence (5-10, 1-4), 10-9 at home. The win gave the Wildcats the final spot in the tournament field, where the winner of that game would complete the championship bracket. It is Villanova’s seventh-straight BIG EAST championship appearance. Sophomore Connor Kirst, the reigning BIG EAST Midfielder of the Week, led the Wildcats with six points on four goals and two assists in the must-win game. In the third period, Providence scored three in a row to even the score at 7-7. VU scored the next two to take a 9-7 lead. The Wildcats hung on in the final period. Providence keeper Tate Boyce made 15 saves. Nova keeper Michael Toomey made eight.
No. 17 Georgetown (10-4, 3-2) finished the regular season with a win, defeating St. John’s (6-8, 0-5), 11-6 on the road, which helped the Hoyas secure the No. 2 seed. Reigning Attack Player of the Week Jake Carraway scored a hat trick for the Hoyas. He also added an assist for four points. For the Red Storm, Declan Smartwood also netted a hat trick.
The day closed with the battle for the regular season title as fourth-ranked Denver (11-2, 5-0) hosted Marquette (6-7, 3-2). For Denver it was the 28th straight sellout at Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium. The 7-4 victory marked the fifth consecutive regular season title for the Pioneers. Senior faceoff specialist Trevor Baptiste went 11-of-13 with seven ground balls and added his seventh goal in his last seven games in the victory. Austin French scored a hat trick for the Pios, who led 4-1 after the first half. Marquette’s four goals were scored by four different players. MU keeper Cole Blazer made 14 saves despite the loss. The Pios and Golden Eagles each scored two goals in the third and one each in the fourth.
BIG EAST Men’s Lacrosse Championship Presented by Jeep
Villanova Stadium
Villanova, Pa.
Semifinals - Thursday, May 3
No. 1 Denver vs. No. 4 Marquette at 4:30 p.m. ^
No. 2 Georgetown at No. 3 Villanova at 7 p.m. ^
Final – Saturday, May 5
Semifinal Winners, 2 p.m. ^
All Times Eastern
^ CBSSN