University of Massachusets Athletics
Women's Lax To Face Jacksonville In NCAA First Round
May 03, 2015 | Women's Lacrosse
After winning its seventh consecutive Atlantic 10 Championship title, the UMass women's lacrosse team (18-1) will face Jacksonville in the opening round of the 2015 NCAA Lacrosse Tournament as announced Sunday night. The winner will advance to face site host Maryland which is the top seed overall and the defending national champion.
The opening draw for Friday's match at the Maryland Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex is set for 4 PM on Friday afternoon. The winner will then face the Terps on Sunday at Noon in the NCAA second round.
UMass will be making its ninth appearance in the NCAA Tournament overall including its fifth consecutive trip. The Minutewomen reached the NCAA second round in 2013 after defeating Connecticut in the first round at Penn State. Last season, UMass lost in the first round to Loyola at Boston College.
This will mark the first-ever match-up between UMass and Jacksonville on the lacrosse pitch. The last time the Minutewomen played Maryland was in the 2013 NCAA Tournament at College Park where the third-seeded Terps held on for a 15-12 win.
Friday's match-up pits the nation's No. 3 offensive unit in Jacksonville against the NCAA's No. 2 defensive unit in UMass. The Dolphins are averaging 16 goals per game, while the Minutewomen are allowing just 5.39 goals per game prior to Sunday's matches. Jacksonville leads the NCAA in scoring margin (8.89 goals), while UMass is 5th with a margin of 7.44 goals per game.
Jacksonville is making its third consecutive NCAA appearance following a 15-5 win over Detroit in the Atlantic Sun Conference Championship Tournament final earlier on Sunday. At 17-2 on the year, the Dolphins have already produced the most wins in school history. The 17 wins are the third best in the country this season behind only UMass and Stony Brook (18-1).
Tickets for the first and second rounds are $6 for adults at $4 for students, children and seniors. Tickets may be purchased in advance through the Terrapin Ticket Office located at the XFINITY Center, online at umterps.com or the day of the game at the Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex. For ticket information, call the Terrapin Ticket Office (301-314-7070).
Teams Receiving Automatic Qualification:
America East Conference: Stony Brook University
Atlantic 10 Conference: University of Massachusetts
Atlantic Coast Conference: Syracuse University
Atlantic Sun Conference: Jacksonville University
Big East Conference: University of Florida
Big South Conference: Winthrop University
Big Ten Conference: Pennsylvania State University
Colonial Athletic Association: James Madison University
The Ivy League: Princeton University
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference: Fairfield University
Mountain Pacific Sports Federation: Stanford University
Northeast Conference: Bryant University
Patriot League: Loyola University Maryland
Teams Selected At-Large:
University at Albany
Boston College
Duke University
Johns Hopkins University
University of Louisville
University of Maryland, College Park
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Northwestern University
University of Notre Dame
The Ohio State University
University of Pennsylvania
University of Southern California
University of Virginia