FOXBOROUGH — Lacrosse fans turned out in the thousands to watch and cheer for four amazing college lacrosse teams battle it out on the field at Gillette Stadium. Two teams punched their tickets to a trip to the Division 1 finals on Monday May 29th for the NCAA championship!

Yale and Duke came out of the semifinal rounds with impressive wins and are sure to provide fans of lacrosse a real treat Monday in the finals matchup.

The crowds for the semifinals games were noticeably bigger than last year.  The fans were really supportive and cheering loud after every goal. It was an electric atmosphere. The energy from the teams and fans was awesome.  

The Yale team on the sideline was so pumped and excited, it was contagious. Since Albany and Yale are relatively local to Foxborough, the fans came out the first semifinal in force. There was also a large show of support from local youth teams who were in attendance and excited to cheer on their favorite teams!

The first semifinal game matched Yale versus Albany. Yale jumped out to quick lead, scoring seven straight goals to start the game. Yale’s scoring was led by Jackson Morrill, Matt Gaudet, and Ben Reeves.

Albany, which was making its first appearance in the NCAA championship weekend, seemed to be really nervous on the big stage of Gillette Stadium. Yale went into the half up, 7-1.

In the second half, Albany, which is known to score a lot of goals in a short amount of time, started to dig its way back into the game. Connor Fields for Albany scored three goals, but the Great Danes just did not have enough to come back and overcome Yale’s offensive power. Yale won, 20-11.

The second matchup of the day was between Maryland and Duke. Maryland was last year’s Division 1 NCAA champion and came into the semifinals ranked No. 1.

The temperature for this matchup was sweltering on the field and in the stands.  The fans were pumped for this matchup and were not disappointed.

Duke jumped out to the early lead, scoring six straight goals to start the game. The Maryland team and fans appeared to be on the ropes early in the game. Duke kept its foot on the gas pedal. But Maryland turned on the jets in the second quarter, but Duke still took a 8-5 lead into halftime.

The scoring in this one was evenly distributed among both teams. Maryland freshman standout Logan Wisnauskas was impressive and is destined to continue to lead the way for Maryland for many years to come. For Duke, rookie Nakeie Montgomery was a fan favorite who scored three goals in the first half and was a force to be reckoned with.

Duke showed poise and control against the defending champions. Duke played a consistent game from start to finish and was able to beat Maryland with a final score of 13-8.

The matchup for Memorial Day is set for what should be a thrilling game: Yale vs. Duke.  Game time is 1 p.m. at Gillette Stadium on Monday, May 28. We are set for a great title game and to be able to witness some top-notch college lacrosse performers fighting to be crowned champion!

–May 27, 2018–