This has been a great year to be a lacrosse fan; Major League Lacrosse expanded and the college season was filled with several great teams. 

The NCAA lacrosse tournament started last week and it’s chockfull of great finishes.  Teams that never make the headlines were some of the top-seeded teams.  The Loyola Greyhounds were the No. 1 seed, the UMass Minutemen were undefeated and the Lehigh Mountain Hawks were the team to beat.

The usual powerhouses were also present as Duke, Syracuse, UVA and Johns Hopkins also made it.  But some of these teams fell in the first round.  Top teams Syracuse, UNC and UMass all lost in the first round.

The quarter-finals are this weekend and if you are free May 19, two of these games will be played in Annapolis. UMD takes on Hopkins at 12 and Loyola plays Denver at 2:30.  Both of these are shaping up to be great games.

Now for my prediction.  This is a tough year to make a call because every team in the tournament has at least one strength that could play to its advantage.  UVA and UMD both have a high powered offense, Johns Hopkins has the league’s best defense and Denver has arguably the country’s best player, attack Mark Matthews.

But if I had to guess, I would pick Johns Hopkins to win it all.  They have the defense to stop any offense, and their first midfield line is one of the best in the country.  They’ve already beaten then No. 1 ranked UVA, and besides a few slip-ups, they’ve played near perfect lacrosse.

The championship game is scheduled for May 28, and no matter what teams make it, it will be an amazing game.