PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The two top seeds and the two teams who shared the 2021 BIG EAST regular season title, Denver and Georgetown, advanced with semifinal victories in the BIG EAST Men’s Lacrosse Championship Presented by JEEP. Fourteen was the lucky number on Thursday night at Chapey Field at Anderson Stadium as the No. 1 Pioneers defeated No. 4 seed Providence Friars,14-5 in the first semifinal and the No. 2 Hoyas outlasted the No. 3 Villanova Wildcats 14-12 in the night cap.
The semifinal wins set up the third straight meeting in the championship final for Denver and Georgetown, fourth overall. Either team will look to become the first school to win three men’s lacrosse titles. Georgetown is the two-time defending champion. Denver won back-to-back titles in 2014 and 2015.
Denver and Georgetown clinched a share of the regular season title with 9-1 records. Denver is currently ranked seventh nationally, Georgetown is ranked No. 8.
The championship will be played on Saturday at 3 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network.
No. 1 Denver 14, No. 4 Providence 5
Denver ( 12-3) got five goals in the first and three apiece in the final three quarters to pull away from Providence 14-5 in the first semifinal. Ethan Walker and Jackson Morrill finished with seven points apiece to tie for the second-most points in a conference tournament game in Denver's Division I history. Walker finished with four goals and three assists, while Morrill finished with three goals and four assists. Alex Simmons and Sam Dwinell rounded out Denver's multi-goal scorers with two apiece. Jack Thompson had another impressive day in net for Denver, stopping 11 shots against just four goals allowed. Danny Logan had two caused turnovers to lead Denver's defense. Denver opened the game with seven-straight and nine of the first 10, spilling over into the second half. Matt Grillo scored two goals for Providence (4-9).
No. 2 Georgetown 14, No. 3 Villanova 12
The second semifinal was tied eight different times. Villanova (7-5) took a 5-2 early lead before the Hoyas came back to tie it at 6-6 with just over two minutes left in the first half. The Wildcats took an 8-6 advantage early in the third, but the Hoyas tied it again at 8-8 before the quarter break. BIG EAST Freshman of the Year TJ Haley gave Georgetown (11-2) its first lead of the game 9-8 less than a minute into the final stanza. Villanova kept threatening by tying it up four times in the fourth quarter, but Georgetown eventually pulled away in the final five minutes with two goals. One by Haley, the eventual game-winner and the final by Nicky Petkevich. Six different Hoyas had at least three points in the win, led by Haley’s five on four assists and the game-winning goal. Declan McDermott added three goals and an assist, Petkevich posted a hat trick and Graham Bundy Jr., Jake Carraway and Dylan Watson each had two goals and an assist. James Reilly scored the remaining goal for the Hoyas while Zachary Geddes, Gibson Smith and Will Tominovich each had assists. At the ‘X’, James Reilly won 17-of-29 (.586) faceoffs and collected 11 ground balls. In goal, BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year Owen McElroy collected 17 saves for his eighth double digit save performance of the season. Villanova’s Keegan Khan scored five goals for a game high. Corey McManus and Eric Overbay had two each. Will Vitton made seven saves.
BIG EAST Men’s Lacrosse Championship Presented by JEEP
Chapey Field at Anderson Stadium ~ Providence, R.I.
Semifinals - Thursday, May 6
No. 1 Denver 14, No. 4 Providence 5
No. 2 Georgetown 14, No. 3 Villanova 12
Final – Saturday, May 8
No. 1 Denver vs. No. 2 Georgetown, 3 p.m. ET (CBSSN)