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No. 1 Cornell is looking for its first national championship in men's lacrosse since 1977.
That's the drama heading into Saturday's semifinals at the 2025 men's lacrosse championships at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. The four games in the quarterfinal round were decided by a total of seven goals.
The championship game will be Monday, May 26, at noon.
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Cornell (16-1) faces No. 5 Penn State in the first national semifinal at 12 p.m. ET on Saturday. The Big Red beat Richmond 13-12 in the quarterfinals in a game that came down to the last possession. The Nittany Lions (12-4) knocked out two-time defending national champion Notre Dame 14-12 in the quarterfinals.
No. 2 Maryland (13-3) – which won the national championship in 2022 – faces No. 6 Syracuse (13-5) in the other semifinal. The Terps beat Georgetown 9-6 in the quarterfinals. The Orange beat No. 3 Princeton 19-18 in a thrilling quarterfinal matchup on Saturday. The Orange have won 10 national titles; the most in NCAA history. Syracuse won its last national title in 2009.
Both games are rematches. Maryland beat Syracuse 11-7 on Feb. 15. The Nittany Lions beat Cornell 13-12 on March 8.
2025 NCAA Lacrosse tournament Final Four predictions
Here is a look at our predictions for the first round of the NCAA men's lacrosse tournament Final Four matchups (Last week: 2-2, Overall: 10-4).
Saturday, May 24
- No. 1 Cornell vs. Penn State (12 p.m., ESPNU)
Penn State trailed Notre Dame 12-6 before an improbable comeback led by attackman Matt Traynor and Kyle Lehman and midfielder Ethan Long. Traynor has nine goals in two tournament games, and goalie Jack Fracyon has a 63.8% save percentage in two tournaments. Senior defender Kevin Parnham also forces 1.93 turnovers per game – the most of any player left in the tournament. All of those pieces need to fit to slow down Cornell for the second time this season. Traynor did not play in that first matchup – where Penn State limited CJ Kirst to just two goals. Cornell is averaging 14 goals per game in the tournament, and Kirst has eight goals in two games. Sophomore attackman Ryan Goldstein added four goals in the second round. We're not sure Penn State can limit Cornell to 16 shots on goal again – and Big Red goalie Wyatt Knust should improve on his 48.9% saves percentage in the tournament. The potential for a high-scoring game is here – and the Nittany Lions are 3-4 in games where they score 10 or more goals. Cornell is 9-2 in the same situation.
Prediction: Cornell 14, Penn State 11
- No. 2 Maryland vs. No. 6 Syracuse (2:30 p.m., ESPNU)
The only other team to hold the Orange to less than 10 goals in a game this season was Duke. Terps goalie Logan McNaney had 12 saves in that game. He has a 70% save percentage in two tournament games, and senior attackman Eric Spanos has seven goals in two tournament games. Syracuse attackman Joey Spallina is coming off a four-goal, four-assist performance against Princeton. He averages three assists per game and is the facilitator of that high-scoring offense. This game comes down to which team can control the tempo. Maryland averages 20 shots on goal and allows 16.5 shots on goal in two tournament games. Syracuse averages 27.5 shots and allows 24 shots. Who cashes in? Orange goalie Jimmy McCool will need to steal a few, and face-off specialist John Mullen will need to control the face-offs for the Orange to push that number up. Maryland is 1-2 when it allows more than 10 goals in a game. That's the number to watch. If McNaney stays hot, however, then he will push the Terps back into the national championship game.
Prediction: Maryland 12, Syracuse 10
When is the Men's Lacrosse Final Four?
The 2025 men's lacrosse championships are May 24-26 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. The championship game will be Monday, May 26, at noon.
Who won the men's lacrosse national championship last year?
Notre Dame won the last two national championships in men's lacrosse. The Irish beat Maryland 15-5 in last year's national championship game. Notre Dame beat Duke 13-9 in the 2023 men's lacrosse national championship game.
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