May Madness: Philadelphia is well-represented in the NCAA lacrosse championships with Penn, St. Joe’s and Drexel

The NCAA men’s and women’s lacrosse championships are here, and the Philadelphia area will be well represented throughout the opening weekend.

Saint Joseph’s men’s and women’s lacrosse programs will be making their first NCAA Tournament appearances in program history, Ivy League champs Penn will make its return to the men’s tournament after reaching the quarterfinals round in 2019, and the Drexel women’s lacrosse team will make its second tournament appearance in as many years.

» READ MORE: Penn downs Yale to win second straight Ivy League men’s lacrosse tournament championship

This weekend’s slate of Philadelphia college lacrosse action comes just days after a trio of local players were honored with USA Lacrosse Magazine first-team All-American honors. Penn midfielder Sam Handley, St. Joe’s faceoff specialist Zach Cole, and Villanova midfielder Matt Campbell were recognized.

Below are previews for each of this weekend’s four games featuring Philly-area teams.

Saturday, 2:30 p.m. (ESPNU)

The Quakers dispatched Yale in the Ivy League championship game for the second consecutive season to earn their 14th bid to the NCAA Tournament and fourth under coach Mike Murphy.

Penn enters the tournament fresh off a season that saw the Quakers play close game after close game. Eight of Penn’s 14 contests were decided by two goals or fewer, and three of those games were decided in overtime. Though the Quakers didn’t win all their close games, Murphy believes that playing down to the wire has helped prepare his team for postseason play.

“It’s nice because I feel like one of the things it’s done is kind of give us some breadth and depth,” Murphy said. “We have a bunch of different guys on the offensive end that can step up and create a play or score a goal for us.”

Among the key players to step up for Penn this year include faceoff specialist Jamie Zusi and goalie Patrick Burkinshaw, as well as a midfield group that includes first-team All-Ivy honoree Piper Bond and second-team honoree James Shipley.

Although versatility in scoring options and depth have played a critical role in Penn’s success, the team also has relied on a few familiar faces. Most notably, the team has rallied behind Handley. The Oregon native entered this season having not suited up for a college lacrosse game in nearly two years because of an injury and the Ivy League canceling the past two seasons.

This year, the midfielder resumed his role as one of the nation’s most potent scorers. He is one of five finalists for the Tewaaraton Award, which goes to men’s lacrosse’s most outstanding player, and leads the Quakers in points with 66. He ranks second with 33 goals, behind only senior attacker Dylan Gergar (46 goals).

“He’s one of the rare kids I’ve been around that is kind of at the top of his game in all three areas,” Murphy said. “I think that allows for the other guys to have some success because he can win his matchup, get the ball to the right guy, and score goals from good spots on the field. It has a compound effect on our offense.”

Finding scoring opportunities on the offensive end will be paramount as Penn looks to keep pace with a Richmond offense scoring 14.27 goals per game, the 10th-most nationally. The Spiders’ offense is paced by graduate attacker Ryan Lanchbury. The honorable mention All-America honoree leads Richmond with 39 goals scored, and his 5.20 points per game rank eighth nationally.

Lanchbury plays alongside junior attacker Dalton Young, who has found the back of the net 36 times this season. Together, Lanchbury and Young make up a potent scoring duo that Penn’s defense will look to keep in check on Saturday.

“Their attack in particular, Young is very good,” Murphy said. He’s very forceful on the corner, and then Lanchbury is just so skilled and has got such good vision. No matter what you do, he’s going to hurt you … but if we can keep him to four points instead of six or eight points, then I think that increases our chances of winning the game.”

Saturday, 5 p.m. (ESPNU)

The Hawks enter the NCAA Tournament after defeating Hobart to secure the Northeast Conference crown.

Leading Taylor Wray’s St. Joe’s program is USA Lacrosse Magazine first-team All-American Cole. The Lenape High School alumnus has been the Hawks faceoff specialist since his freshman season. This year, Cole has posted his best statistical season to date, and his .689 face-off percentage is No. 1 in the country.

Faceoffs will be key in Saturday’s matchup with Yale, which boasts a talented faceoff specialist of its own in second-team All-Ivy honoree Nick Ramsey.

“Hopefully we can get a little bit of a possession advantage at the faceoff,” Wray said. “Their faceoff kid is excellent … he’s gone against some really good competition. So the faceoff will be important to us in terms of managing possessions.

“It’s going to need to be not just Zach against their guy, but the wings making it a three-on-three competition, and then it extends from there to a 10-on-10 battle to get that ball.”

In addition to securing the possession advantage, St. Joe’s also will look to stop a Yale offense led by first-team All-American Matt Brandau. The Bulldogs’ offense has been especially lethal in transition, where they rank fifth in the country in man-up offense and 10th in extra-man goals.

A major factor in keeping the Yale offense in check will be the play of goalie Robbie Seeley. The junior entered the season as the Hawks’ backup goalie before getting his first start against Towson in March. Since then, Seeley has manned the net in every game and has steadily improved as the season went on. His 16-save performance in the NEC championship against Hobart earned him the tournament’s MVP award.

Paired with Cole’s play at the faceoff, Seeley’s presence in the net has given an increased confidence to the Hawks as they prepare for their first NCAA Tournament.

“It just helps to build belief in your team that we got a shot at this,” Wray said. “We feel like we can compete to win this game. If you have doubts at either of those positions and you’re playing the No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament, I think you might be a little bit shaky mentally going in.

“But knowing that we believe in those guys and that they’ve demonstrated the ability to play at an extremely high level against some really good teams, it helps your entire team to build confidence.”

Friday, 3:00 p.m. (ESPN+)

The Dragons punched their ticket to the tournament after Allison Drake’s overtime goal helped Drexel upset top-seeded Towson in the Colonial Athletic Association title game.

Drexel is led by graduate midfielder Karson Harris, a four-year starter, who has 62 goals on the season on just under 50% shooting. Harris is flanked on offense by junior attacker Corinne Bednarik and graduate attacker Colleen Grady, each of whom have 36 goals this season.

The Dragons’ opponent on Friday is Stony Brook, which hasn’t lost since falling to No. 5 Northwestern in early March. On offense, the Seawolves are led by midfielder Ellie Masera. The sophomore was one of three Stony Brook players to earn USA Lacrosse Magazine All-American honors, and she was the lone Seawolf to earn first-team honors.

To combat the Stony Brook offensive attack, the Dragons will turn to graduate goalie Zoe Bennett, who has posted a .501 save percentage this season. Drexel also will rely on graduate Maura Cissel on defense. The former Arizona State Sun Devil has started every game for Kim Hillier’s team and has forced 18 turnovers this season.

Opening up scoring opportunities for Harris, Bednarik, and Grady, as well as containing Masera and the rest of the Seawolves, will be key for Drexel as it looks to avoid its second consecutive first-round exit.

Friday, 5:30 p.m. (ESPN+)

St. Joe’s women’s lacrosse program enters the NCAA Tournament fresh off a trio of program “firsts.”

Two weeks ago, the Hawks upset No. 13 Massachusetts to claim the team’s first-ever Atlantic 10 title. In turn, the win helped Saint Joe’s claim its first national ranking — the Hawks were ranked No. 19 in that week’s USA Lacrosse Magazine poll — and its first NCAA Tournament berth.

Front and center in the Hawks breakout season has been senior attacker Lauren Figura. Since joining the program in 2019, Figura has progressed from freshman role player to senior captain. The 2022 Atlantic 10 Offensive Player of the Year is a top-five goal-scorer nationally with 71 goals.

“Lauren Figura is a top attacker for us and has been able to put the ball in the back of the net,” St. Joe’s coach Alex Kahoe said. “She’s really stepped up and been able to execute when we need her. She’s also one of our captains, so she’s a true leader within the team as well.”

Figura’s leadership has been especially key for a program that welcomed 16 new players this season. In addition to adding their 10-player freshman class, the Hawks added six players via transfer.

Among those transfers is sophomore goalkeeper Jorden Concordia, who came to Hawk Hill by way of Syracuse. Concordia, who boasts a .459 save percentage, has been another pillar in the Hawks’ postseason run.

“Defensively, we have Jorden Concordia in the goal cage … she’s a championship goalkeeper,” Kahoe said. “She makes the big saves right when we need it, and she’s stepped up huge and has continued to improve on and fine-tune her craft as the season goes on.”

Concordia and the rest of the Hawks defense figures to have their hands full with Rutgers on Friday. The Scarlet Knights duo of junior midfielder Cassidy Spilis and graduate attacker Taralyn Naslonski has combined to score 125 goals this season.

Though Rutgers is in the midst of its own record-breaking season — the team’s No. 11 ranking is the highest in program history — Kahoe and the Hawks are focused on themselves.

“Rutgers is a great team,” Kahoe said. “They’re very athletic and gritty, and they’re coming off a big performance in the Big Ten tournament. … It’s really important for us to stay true to St. Joe’s lacrosse, focus on ourselves, stay in the moment, and stay disciplined in terms of what we do best. That’s really our focus.”